When Brands Come To Life

Do you enjoy playing with the neat gadgets in the Apple Store? Are you a member of the Harley Davidson club? Have you taken the Banana Boat for a ride? There's many ways to bring a brand to life but what all of these brands have in common is, they engage their audiences with a unique experience. Almost, a year ago I was writing a case study for the Nike+ Human Race at my internship with Chiat. I remember sitting at my desk analyzing the results of the Nike+ Human Race. I was fascinated by how many dedicated runners participated in the Los Angeles race. As I dove deeper into the case study I discovered that the Nike+ Human Race is "The Day The World Runs" and not just Los Angeles. We all recognize Nike from the "Just Do It" tag line and swoosh logo. Nike is a global iconic brand and I wanted to know, how did this brand make the world run?

Nike carefully integrated the brand into their audience's daily lives and connected them with the right resources and people. Participants felt like they were part of the brand, as if Nike acknowledged them and wanted them to succeed, almost as if Nike was saying "Just Do It." A sense of exclusivity made runners feel like they were part of a club. They interacted with the brand on many levels and the brand catered to each and every participant individually. How?, you may ask. Nike offered a line of products and services that were carefully designed and implemented for the Nike+ Human Race.


Nike designed a Nike+ shoe line that paired with a Nike+ Sensor which fits the insole of a Nike+ shoe. The sensor tracked each runners performance and allowed them to connect with other runners to share performance or challenge each other. Nike teamed up with Apple by allowing runners to sync their sensors to an iPod or iPhone. Nike + Coach supported runners every step of the way. Runners created accounts on The Nike+ website and based on personal information, a personalized guide prepared them for the race, week by week leading up to the race. Goals such as burning calories, running faster, running farther, or running more often were easily managed through accounts. Brand evangelist participated in challeneges, for example, Mac evangelists and Windows evangelists challenged each other. Nike even provided runners with routes based on their location and how many miles they wanted to run. Celebrity endorsements from athletes like Serena Williams and Lance Armstrong secured a trusted voice. There's also forums and running clubs in cities. Every detail was catered to the audience and every point engaged the audience by connecting them with the brand on a personal level with a global connection.


Last year I learned about the Nike+ Human Race after it happened. This year I'm racing with my sister-in-laws and friends from college. I'm looking forward to running with the world on October 24th, before the USC game. I invite you all to join the Nike+ Human Race. Click here for more information about the race: http://inside.nike.com/blogs/nikerunning_humanrace-en_US/2009/07/26/university-of-southern-california-race-faqs

Monica Camacho, Junior Strategic Planner