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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 Good piece in Business Week by Alonzo Canada of Jump Associates about how companies can see expansion opportunities beyond their core area of business.

"Their Explore team was given the audacious task of helping Nike become a sports company. The team met the challenge by creating a map to identify the richest opportunities, define a strategy for growth, and set first steps toward a future vision. The map helped the team see product beyond shoes, such as sunglasses, watches, MP3 players, and sports apparel. The data on their map included consumer needs, societal and technology trends, and Nike's chief competitors, adidas, Puma, and Reebok. It also included indirect competitors such as MTV, because it offers a rival option for what kids can do after school: Nike wants them playing sports; MTV wants them parked in front of the tube. By drawing such a comprehensive map, Nike was able to consider new directions, such as partnerships that marry sports and digital entertainment like its successful Nike + iPod platform."

Clearly, looking over the horizon and exploring all the possibilities is a way to see opportunities, but this no test of whether a brand can credibly stretch into these new areas. Much work has to be done to understand the strength and equity of the brand and it's ability to expand into other areas.

In addition, rather than rely on existing published data about surrounding markets, it would make sense to talk leading edge opinion leaders in these areas and in other fields to get some speculative understanding of how the shape of this map could change.

It's also further proof that strategists increasingly need great designers to bring their thinking and ideas to life.


Posted by Ed Cotton Red Bull maybe one of the first brands to recognize the potential of become a media company. Instead of sponsoring events, it now creates and produces its own. This gives it a huge degree of control and the ability to associate itself with the extreme events that best suit the brand.

Nike is starting to move in that direction with a slightly different take. It's using the Olympics as an opportunity to showcase its innovation and technology and to communicate this to the world, it's using the internet and dozens of video interviews with athletes and designers.

Here are some Nike personnel talking about a new sailing shoe for the Olympics.

It's a reminder that all brands have the opportunity to tell much big stories because the media bandwidth available to do so is that much bigger and costs nothing. Although, these videos currently follow a pretty straight formula, it's like that we will see a lot more creativity being introduced into this area in the future.

It's same to assume that in the near future, these brand stories will have as much creative importance as advertising does today. Whether advertising agencies will step up to take on this role, remains to be seen. If they don't PR companies and in-house creative departments will take this over.


Posted by Ed Cotton Spotted on Starbucks V2V online board.

"Nike is hoping to launch its own V2V "neighborhood" or platform in December and we want to learn from the starbucks folks, but also have a place where the Nike folks can brainstorm and post their advice/ learning about what the Nike version should look like..."

Will be interesting to see what form this volunteer initiative takes, but it sounds grassroots and smart.


Posted by Ed Cotton nike-entering a new era? (40.01078714046552 , 116.54296875) Nike is a brand that was built on the back of raw emotion of sports, but is it about to change?

Are product performance and technological innovation going to be the drivers from now on?

Take a look at the amazing exhibition the brand is putting on in Beijing that celebrates the 100 most important innovations in the company's history.

In the past, the company has been reluctant to let technology dominate the story, but in this show, it's the star.

Perhaps, the brand feels it needs to demonstrate the substance that lies at the heart of the company and put fear into anyone, especially the smaller Chinese upstarts, that Nike's success isn't something that can be easily copied.


Posted by Ed Cotton R/GA's Nike+ site, although created in 2005, has been much heralded this year as the gold standard in "Brand Utility".

It has been the marker to judge this new hybrid world between the banner and the website, sadly, nobody, not even R/GA has come close to the excellence of the Nike site.

So, while we wait for another contender, it's worth taking a look at what's happening on the Nike + site today.

Interestingly, in common with every diet product and fitness center, Nike + is now in full resolution mode.

The site is allowing its users to upload their resolutions, to track them and send notes and encouragement to others making resolutions.

It's a great example of the dynamics of the site and how the experience can be flexible enough to respond to short-term needs like New Year's resolutions.



Posted by Ed Cotton