NIKE SPHERE® TECHNOLOGY – SPORTSWEAR + SHOES

Launching NIKE’s most innovative apparel concept is no small task – and we introducedNike Sphere to the world. With the tenet of design innovation, technology and performance at Nikes’ core – and with over five years in the making, Nike Sphere is the highest-tech of the high-end apparel line. Communicating these attributes to the public at large meant reaching the top tier editors across the country and the world, and there was even more at stake for Nike – this line was a means of reinvigorating Nike’s ‘limping’ apparel division. In less than six months, this highly effective campaign put Nike apparel back at the top of the food chain for performance training gear.

GOALS:
The ultimate goal of the campaign was to introduce Nike Sphere to the public at large, highlighting its aesthetic merit, superior performance and innovative technology. As Nike’s premiere apparel brand, it was conceived and subsequently developed to supplement Nike’s expertise with running shoe technology and provide new inroads in the apparel market – leveraging the reputation of the Nike brand while elevating the altogether-new perception of Nike as a performance apparel company. 

STRATEGY:
Our strategy was to align Nike Sphere with innovative design and use that message to influence key national media. We hosted a highly targeted launch event at the Smithsonian’s Cooper Hewitt Design Museum where key, high-level Nike spokespeople discussed the line in detail, models and star athletes wore the clothing, and we initiated privately curated tours of the ‘Skin Exhibition’ in which Nike was featured prominently. In conjunction with the event, we developed and executed a multi-phased, targeted media blitz based on the technology, innovation and product performance supported by intriguing pitches and “challenges” encouraging the wearer to self-test the swag.

sphere1Once key editors and writers wore the product, they were sold. We connected the product to star athletes, marathons, winter sports, etc. and successfully created excitement for the line on a variety of levels. The result was an incredible amount of top-tier media coverage in all of our top targets. In addition, we designed and implemented customized minimalist inflatable packaging designed with strong, overt references to key elements of the launch event, packed and fitted with ‘swag’ for each and every editor in our media outreach.

PRINT PRESS:

•Sports Illustrated for Women – “What’s New: Watch It. Play It. Eat It. Win It. Put It On. Check It Out. Do It Now”
•Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) -“Nike Readies to Unveil Sphere”
•WWD – “Take Two: Sphere and Body Spa Bow for Fall”
•US News & World Report – “Magic fabrics vs. wet stuff “
•Sports Illustrated for Women, Cover – “Packing for Adventure: You Can Take It With You”
•The Washington Post – “Shopper: Marathon Gear“
•Runner’s World – “Women’s Sphere Thermal Full-Zip Hoody By Nike “
•Atlanta Journal Constitution -“New outerwear and underwear increase your options “
•Rocky Mountain News – ” We Tried It”
•The Indianapolis Star – “Holiday Gifts 2002: Health and Fitness”
•Men’s Journal – “New Stuff”
•Self – “Cold Comfort: Too Chilly? To Hot? Feat Not. High-Tech winter wear keeps you just right on low-temp days”
•Tennis – “Grab Bag: Give the gift of gear this season”
•US News & World Report – “Hoody is a winter runner’s best friend“
•Newsweek – “Gearing Up for Winter”
•Philadelphia Daily News – “Sporting Items for the Athlete Inside”
•O Magazine, Oprah is wearing half-zip top in cover shot and in “Here We Go”, the editor’s note”
•Blue
•Heart & Soul
•Shape

BROADCAST:

•WNBC Today in New York
•The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah wore her Nike Sphere hoody during the entire episode

ONLINE:

•Popular Science .com -“Nike’s latest apparel innovation reinvents how you sweat. Or does it?”
•WNBC.com Health page – “Two New Workouts Tested “
•TechTV(online) – “Nike Takes Simplicity Seriously”
•Elle.com – Daily Essential Weekend: “Gear Up”

NIKE PRESTO® TECHNOLOGY – SPORTSWEAR + SHOES

Following the successful launch of the Nike Sphere performance brand, we were charged with the launch of Nike’s Presto lifestyle brand (footwear, apparel, and misc. gear) in the United States, with particular emphasis on the New York, Los Angeles and Miami markets. The ultimate goal was to position the new non sport-specific Presto line as a large step towards fashion innovation for Nike, creating buzz among design and urban culture audiences in particular.

GOALS:
Our primary initiative was to create awareness, excitement and buzz for Presto and to bring this new lifestyle segment of the Nike brand to life. We devised a phased campaign targeting a defined influencer community first, and then we leveraged their influence, together with our strategic press placements, word-of-mouth, and events to garner attention and thus generate excitement, demand and sales!

One of the challenges we faced was to create a version of the product we had previously identified as a performance line, replacing that message with a new, lifestyle expression of the same master brand– in effect, we created an opposite brand on the heels of the first!

STRATEGY:

Our solution was to position Presto as much more than a new product line, but as a cool lifestyle brand. We developed and aggressively executed a highly targeted phased campaign creating mini-campaigns within the whole, each geared toward specific targets. Influencers first…DJ’s, athletes, artists, designers, actors and musicians to name a few. From there we created broader campaigns, reaching ever-larger audiences until the end, where we reached out to mass markets. We based the campaigns upon the tenets of the comfort and unique design of the Presto product, the design process behind it, and its applicability to music, art, sport, and style audiences. Additionally, we highlighted various events, athletes, and promotions associated with the launch, creating buzz for the Presto launch on a variety of levels. The result? The launch of Presto was one of the most talked-about campaigns of the summer!

KEY PRODUCT/DESIGN PLACEMENT:

• Mixer – “Special Footwear Guide”
• Yolk – “Kicks and More”
• J Magazine – “Presto ‘Instant Happiness’”
• Newsweek En Español – “Nike ‘Sin Cordones’”
• Filipinas Magazine – “Nike’s Presto Line”
• Surface – “When It’s Fashion Week In Oregon Nike Shoots For Style Points”
• New York Magazine – “Best Bets: Presto Change-o”
• U.S. Frontline – News story on new Presto story ran
• Bridge U.S.A. – Two-page product feature in “Trend” section
• KoreAm – “Splurge on this…What’s hot, NOW”
• NBC (LA) – Sally Horchow featured Presto in her “Daily Candy” segment
• Fashion Wire Daily – “Presto: Nike Unveils New Fitness Line”
• Hamptons Cottages & Gardens – “Grab & Go”
• Rolling Stone – “Letters” section ran picture of Presto watch for best letter give-away,”
• New York Metro – “Best Bets: Presto Change-o”
• Glamour en Español – Brief and images include Presto footwear and bag
• Stuff – “Fashion Radar: Keep It Simple”
• Urb – “Instant Vintage: It’s All the Hype – Kicks New and Old”
• BPM – “High Gear”
• Maxim – “MaximWearNews: Shoe Thing”
• WWD – “Shopping Around…Nike: Create Compelling Products”
• Maxim en Español – “Pie de Atleta”
• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution – “Back on Track”
• WWD – “Too Cool For School”
• WGSN.com – “Nike Presto Apparel Lin,”
• Ocean Drive – “What’s Hot: Funky Sneaker,”
• Glamour – “Glam Cam: Red All Over”
• RES – “Nike Presto DVD”
• Gotham – “Most Wanted Holiday Gifts: Time On Your Hands”
• Metro.Pop – “Eye Candy: Nike Presto Windows”

EVENT-RELATED PLACEMENT:

• Hamptons – “The Flash: Nike’s Experience Presto”
• The Book Los Angeles – “Nike Presto @ The Standard Downtown”
• New York Post – “Circus at Niketown”
• New York Daily News – “That’s Shoe Biz”
• The New York Sun – “On the Town: Buzz”
• Footwear News – “And…Presto,” July 22, 2002
• Flaunt – “Paparazzi: Los Angeles” and “Paparazzi: New York”
• MagicOnline – “NY Dish”
• Gotham – “Best of the Hamptons: Nike Presto party at the Wolffer Estate”
• Ocean Drive en Espanol – “Fiesta de Nike”
• Angeleno – “Scene in L.A.: Party Animals”

ATHLETE-RELATED PLACEMENTS (LE PARKOUR, A GROUP OF URBAN ATHLETES, WAS FEATURED IN THE PRESTO T.V. ADS):

• ABC World News Tonight – “Spiderman”
• NBC’s Today Show – “Le Parkour”
• Frank 151 – “Central Parkour”
• Spin – “Into Thin Air”
• Entertainment Weekly – “Burning Questions”