03/21/2009 09:25:12 AM
At the Nike analyst call earlier this week, an analyst asked a question suggesting we were witnessing the bursting of the "Sports Bubble". Below is CEO Mark Parker's very smart response.

Suggesting the company knows how to respond to a changing world where new engagement is taking place, as well as new activities.

"I’ll just jump in. It is an interesting thing, a sports bubble that you mentioned. You mentioned a couple of things. Attendance may be down in some cases but I think viewer-ship is actually up. So I think that is something you have to think about a little bit. You talk about traditional access to events which has been a metric that most people use, versus really what maybe a new access is which is really more like immersion. We are seeing kids online anywhere from 20 minutes to 2-3 hours as they immerse themselves in the new access points to sports whether it is through the athletes, through communities that are talking about it and it is 24 hours a day. So that has changed incredibly.

I think the other thing you think about too is the traditional sports, the stick and ball sports versus the new action sports and the different communities and environments that are being created around some of these and some of the things we have talked about as we build our brand in some of these new areas. For us it is all about a focused effort around each one of these sports and their communities. I think we have talked a lot about that consumer experience and how we continue to build the brand and reinvent the brand, connecting with these kids. I think the bubble may not be as much a bubble. Maybe if you are in the old and not transitioning to the new you may feel like you are in a bubble and it is about ready to burst. But if you are part of the new it is really almost an infinite landscape from which to engage with consumer in new and energetic ways."



Posted by Ed Cotton
Tags: engagement (3) online (6) nike (8) sportsculture (1) sports (3) community (13) markparker (2)

10/24/2007 09:22:52 PM
"I have a personal interest in popular culture and the influence of culture on the consumer landscape.."

Quoted in the Wall Street Journal today

Posted by Ed Cotton
Tags: nike (8) markparker (2)

Articles for tag markparker (2 total).