Nike and Colin Kaepernick

[ulukinatme]

 

[ACamp1900]

 

[bkess8]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: <a href="https://twitter.com/Nike?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Nike</a> releases new ad featuring <a href="https://twitter.com/Kaepernick7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Kaepernick7</a> <a href="https://t.co/IECC7HqIBp">pic.twitter.com/IECC7HqIBp</a></p>— Outside The Lines (@OTLonESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/OTLonESPN/status/1037391878256242692?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Awesome ad.

Great commercial but can anyone show me in the ad where is shows his sacrifice? Or where is shows his stand against social injustice?

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

Nike dominates its market, and it's not even close. New Balance has old people. Under Armour may appeal to the white hunter/military class, but they're a falling star. Reebok has the Crossfit crowd, and that's about it. Puma, Adidas... who the hell are they, again?

Nike is, by far, the choice of urban youth/young adults, and that group is clearly on the side of "all lives matter," equal rights, etc. They also spend the most on shoes and apparel. Nike knows exactly what it's getting itself into.

Does anyone honestly think a gazillion-dollar company makes a decision like this without thinking through the political and economic ramifications of its decision? Who do people think the Nike CEO is, Trump? A 3% drop means the stock is now on sale -- buy it before the bump.

I think what takes the cake is people burning Nike stuff. They already have your money, idiots. Why not just give the damn items to Goodwill, or something.

Did anyone at ESPN/ Disney ( a huge company) think their consumers/ sports fans would look at them differently before giving Caitlin Jenner an ESPY and going full tilt social activism for the past 5 years?

Nike can do what they want, but my gosh they could've done so much better. Athletes like Jordan, Kobe, Sampras, Venus and Serena, etc. were all the best at their sport. Kap doesn't deserve to be in that category and he sure as hell didn't sacrifice much, but I don't blame him since he needs the money and a job.

 

[SonofOahu]

I'm sure Nike has analyzed this from every angle and it seems like a good business move to further corner the youth market, but from a PR position it's bad news overall. Stocks are obviously not taking it well either, but we'll see how those bounce back. Nike is up on the year, but so are Adidas and Under Armor with the later enjoying a 40% increase:

https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/04/news/companies/nike-stock-down-colin-kaepernick/index.html

Go look at the 5-Year trends for UA and NKE: Under Armour is barely back to where they were five years ago. Nike looks like a steady riser. Regarding Adidas, their US sales are 50% less than Nike's. Adidas is big on the strength of its soccer tie-ins. That's also the only reason brands like Puma, Umbro, Diadora, etc. still exist, really.

It's not a close race. Kinda bummed about UA's steady decline over the last few years, though, since ND holds a bunch of UA shares. A lesson for ND in the next uni-negotiations: Straight cash, homie.

Agree with the bold. So the question I have is why go with a marketing strategy that appeals to a demographic you already dominate and alienates demographic groups where considerable market share increases can be made? I'm no marketing expert but it seems obvious they do not need Kaepernick to continue dominating this market. Just keep paying the best athletes a premium to peddle your products.

My guess is that Nike knows this is a net negative on the bottom line but are willing to take a loss for the short term political cover and long term ability to influence culture.

I think your second paragraph explains the first. Nike is taking a stand, now, to influence future sales. It's planting its flag to stay culturally relevant -- to belong to something... to not be complacent in its lead.

Millennials are all about belonging to movements. They're the ones who will be moving into those 35-55 demographic groups that marketers love to target because of their pliability and discretionary income. Older groups are less pliable; they're set in their ways. It will cost more to try to swing them to you then it does to hold-on to current customers.

 

[drayer54]

I long for the days that I can buy shoes, chicken sandwiches, blue jeans, sporting goods, or watch cable sports channels without hearing about politics.
Sports channels need to lecture me on politics.
Music channels lecture on politics.

We have ads on voting up or down on judges.

The government has become too powerful and we have too many chips on the table. This isn't good and isn't getting better. It happened before Trump and I don't blame him or either side. Soon we will have apps that track us and prevent us from buying from blue stores or red stores.

It's sad and when people feel like they have lost control and their rights... It will get ugly.

 

[ACamp1900]

 

[ACamp1900]

LOL...

 

[ulukinatme]

 

[ulukinatme]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10212413549516070&set=a.1027921740564&type=3&theater

Dear Nike,

I want to have a conversation about this hat. It's over 13 years old. I don't remember when I bought it exactly, I don't remember where I bought it. But what I do remember is why I wore it.

On August 10, 2005, I was a newlywed with two young sons. My husband Tim and I had toasted our one month anniversary the night before, and I was enjoying a rare evening to myself, catching up on reading and relishing the quiet. Until there was a knock on my door. I had no way of knowing that the small act of turning a knob was about to shatter my life into a million pieces. I sat numb and in sheer disbelief as I was told that my husband, while in a foot pursuit and subsequent struggle with a suspect that ended up in the road, had been struck and killed by an oncoming vehicle. He took his last breath lying in the middle of the street. What I lost in that moment is indescribable. I had to watch his mother be dealt the most agonizing blow a parent can face, and I couldn't comfort her because I was in my own hell. I had to find a way to gut my own children in the gentlest way possible, and tell them that this man they had come to love, who they looked up to, who cared for them as his own, would never walk through our door again.

I don't know if you've ever attended a police funeral, but watching grown men who've seen the absolute worst things a civilian can imagine, break down and sob over the casket of their brother is an image that never leaves you. The bagpipes haunt my dreams to this day, but it was the faces of my children, the innocence that abandoned them at such a tender age that brought me to my knees.

I had no choice but to move on. We trudged zombie-like through our days for weeks and weeks on end. I never left the house except to drive the boys to school, or buy food we barely touched. I realized that I had to do something. I had to move my body or I was going to crawl out of my own skin. So I put on the only cap I had and I went for a run. It was short, it hurt and it was ugly. But I felt, just for those few moments on that road, like a normal person. So I kept doing it. I put that hat on and I ran every day. Sometimes I had to stop and sit down because I was sobbing so hard. Sometimes I was so angry I ran until I thought I my heart would stop, sometimes I would just scream over and over again, but it still felt better than doing nothing.

That black cap became a symbol to me, it is sweat stained and it's shape is gone, the buckle in the back barely closes; but that hat represents my family's rise from the ashes. It stands for the strength and the sacrifice we made loving a man who had a job that we all knew could end his life, every time he walked out that door. And it did. And I accept that.

I still wear this hat, I wore it on my run this morning.
And then I heard about your new ad campaign.

Colin Kapernick has the absolute right to protest anything he damn well pleases. I don't dispute that for one second. My father, my husband and many, many friends have all served this country and were willing to fight for his right to kneel.
But that right goes both ways. I also have a right to express my disgust at your decision to portray him as some kind of hero. What, exactly has Colin Kapernick sacrificed? His multi million dollar paycheck...? Nope, you already gave him one of those. His reputation? No, he's been fawned over by celebrities and media alike. Funny, Tim Tebow was never called courageous when he knelt.
This man, whose contempt for law enforcement fits him like a...sock, has promoted an agenda that has been proven false time and time again, in study after study. But facts don't seem to matter anymore. This man has thrown his support behind divisive anti-police groups, and donated money directly to a fugitive from justice who escaped prison after killing a police officer. I question the judgement of anyone who would put someone this controversial and divisive at the head of an advertising campaign, but it isn't my company to run.

I don't know if I'll have he heart to ever get rid of this cap, but I will tell you this, I'll never purchase another Nike product as long as I live. You got this one wrong Nike, terribly, terribly wrong.

Sherry Graham-Potter, surviving spouse of Deputy Tim Graham

 

[ACamp1900]

I’m not even mad, damn:

 

[NorthDakota]

Never been a Nike guy. Always been more of an Adidas/New Balance guy. If they want to pay a guy who lost his job to Blaine Gabbert...they are free to do so.

They'll likely be fine, but I doubt it'll help them really. Seems like an unnecessary risk.

 

[ACamp1900]

Payless all day, er day...

 

[DogDaysIrish]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: <a href="https://twitter.com/Nike?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Nike</a> releases new ad featuring <a href="https://twitter.com/Kaepernick7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Kaepernick7</a> <a href="https://t.co/IECC7HqIBp">pic.twitter.com/IECC7HqIBp</a></p>— Outside The Lines (@OTLonESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/OTLonESPN/status/1037391878256242692?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Awesome ad.

Thought it was spot on. Well done and agree with the message.

Activists weren't born popular with everyone, boys. Everyone has their views. That's the beauty of this slab that we get to exist on every day. Get over it. If you don't...Oh well. The disagreement is what makes it great.

 

[wizards8507]

Nike social media has gone off the deep end.

 

[pkt77242]

Nike social media has gone off the deep end.

Maybe not LB, but

https://www-m.cnn.com/2018/09/08/us/mississippi-placekicking-homecoming-queen/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F

 

[bkess8]

 

[SonofOahu]

Apparently the "cost" was not as bad as some hoped:

https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/14/news/companies/nike-kaepernick/index.html

Sales are up and NKE is at all-time highs. The article also echos the exact point I made a few posts ago: this campaign is about engaging its core market with something culturally relevant. UA is failing, badly, at this.

 

[NorthDakota]

Apparently the "cost" was not as bad as some hoped:

https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/14/news/companies/nike-kaepernick/index.html

Sales are up and NKE is at all-time highs. The article also echos the exact point I made a few posts ago: this campaign is about engaging its core market with something culturally relevant. UA is failing, badly, at this.

It likely won't help or hurt them much long term.

They are catering to a specific demographic. The demographic they upset was a group that was already buying New Balance, Adidas, UA, Aasics, and Reebok anyway. Nike is a shit company I've always hated, I generally prefer Adidas and New Balance for shoes and apparel anyway.

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

Where's the NSFW warning label??!??

 

[SonofOahu]

NKE was up something like $6B, last week. Some selling-off, today, as people took back some of their earnings. After Tiger's win, what does Nike go up to?

Fun fact: at the start of yesterday's round, about 50% of the top-10 were representing Nike, including Rory and Tiger in the final group.

 

[IrishLax]

Well, Adidas is the number two sneaker company, so there is that...

https://www.technavio.com/blog/top-15-vendors-athletic-footwear-market-us

My brother-in-law works for Nike in the communications department. They have been studying how this will play out for 18 months. It is going exactly how they expect it to and after a few weeks of protests their thoughts are that sales will increase. They actually think they are going to win back some of the casual style purchases they have been losing to Adidas because of the demographics that purchase that style of shoe.

Shout out to NDOhio for hitting the nail on the head. Pretty well done by Nike in terms of strictly dollars and cents analysis of what to do with Kaep --

It should not surprise you at all to learn, via a behind-the-scenes New York Times report published Wednesday, that the real story of the now-famous “Just Do It” ad mostly involves Nike executives being dragged and pushed along by a combination of internal business concerns and external pressure from Kaepernick’s own lawyers. Savvy people inside Nike eventually reasoned that cutting ties with Kaepernick would be worse for the brand than sticking with him, and that leaning into the affiliation would earn Nike loyalty with generations of whatever percentage of broadly social justice-minded people choose to express solidarity via apparel choices. But that was after Nike came thisclose to dumping Kaepernick:

Knowing the 49ers were planning to cut him, Kaepernick opted out of his contract in the spring of 2017. When no other team signed him, Nike’s top marketing officials realized they had no idea what to do with him: He didn’t have a team, so they couldn’t put his name on any team gear.

Baffled, top executives in Nike’s sports marketing group decided to end the company’s contract with him, according to a former employee who requested anonymity because of a nondisclosure agreement.

This is where Nike’s head of communications swooped in and convinced his bosses to keep Kaepernick on the payroll, using the stirring argument that cutting ties would put Nike on the wrong side of a demographic breakdown and harm their popularity with consumers:

And Nike, along with most apparel companies, is desperate to attract urban youth who increasingly look up to Kaepernick; the largely white, older N.F.L. fans angry at the league over the protests are not a priority for those companies, analysts say.

That first decision, merely to keep Kaepernick on the payroll, was reportedly motivated by concern that Nike “would face backlash from the media and consumers if it was seen as siding with the NFL.” But that calculation only kept Nike from firing Kaepernick—it was the bare minimum, maintaining an awkward status quo in order to avoid angering the wrong people. Nike’s executives were reportedly content to keep Kaepernick on the payroll but hidden in a closet, until Kaepernick’s representatives began agitating for something more:

Earlier this year, Nike’s decision to keep him within its stable of sponsored athletes without using him had prompted lawyers for Kaepernick to tell the company it was not living up to its contractual obligations, according to two individuals involved in the discussions who requested anonymity because of the confidential nature of the talks.

We have still not gotten to the part where Nike was courageous or righteous or motivated by belief in anything other than cold business realities. Even having already made the decision to keep Kaepernick around, and even under pressure from Kaepernick’s lawyers to feature him in advertising, Nike still waffled over concerns over what such a move might mean for their relationship with the NFL, which is run by a bunch of shitheel turkeys doing their own cynical profit analyses. Here two factors appear to have pushed Nike toward featuring Kaepernick, in the absence of any backbone of their own: that Kaepernick was reportedly being recruited by Adidas; and that Nike’s enormous apparel deal with the NFL is set to scale back over the next decade:

The two sides announced a 10-year extension of the deal in March, but after 2020, Nike will only produce clothing worn on the field. It will no longer produce NFL merchandise sold to consumers. That meant the NFL, already a small slice of Nike’s business, was going to shrink further.

So we’ve got Nike making the decision to cut ties with Kaepernick, but being persuaded in the opposite direction by public relations concerns, legal threats, shifting sponsorship arrangements, competition, a hungry ad agency, and every other damn thing shy of—or possibly including—focus groups. This was less “believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” and more “appear to believe in something, once you’ve made sure it won’t mean sacrificing much of anything.” It’s a helpful reminder that however inspirational a brand’s individual clients might be and whatever catchy slogans they come up with, the only thing brands ever really stand for is turning your money into their money.

So they made a shrewd business decision that the fallout from cutting ties with Kaep was way worse than leaning in to what he supports because it helps them with a target demographic.