The Digital Campaign of the Decade isn't an ad campaign - it's a self-sustaining platform - and that's what's so great about it. As a runner, and a former Nike Plus user myself, I must say, however, that there is so much more they could do with it.1. Use it to fuel offline campaigns. Contests, more events... Bring the people, the real Nike+ users, from the online service to the print and TV: pose them as the real Nike Just Do Its in select campaigns, and show total stats (total miles run, total calories burned, total energy saved, etc) in the ads. It's authentic content that's coming in from the users, for free, without Nike having to write it. Now use it!
2. Connect to social. They were incredibly slow in adding social connectivity to Nike+, even just in the form of simple sharing to Twitter and Facebook. It's been up there now for a little while, but services like dailymile.com beat them to it.
3. Implement SMS notifications. many bigger running events across NA offer participants the chance to sign up for an SMS service that sends messages to up to five friends' phones when ever the runner passes an official timing spot, e.g. time for 10k, 20k, etc at marathon events. Now that Nike+ works with the iPhone, it shouldn't be hard to add this same functionality to the Nike+ app, allowing people to send running stats to their friends not just from official events but when they're jogging around the park. Friends could also reply to the messages.
4. Besides running stats, track photos, video along the course. The Nokia Sportstracker allows people to also take photos and video on the run and put them on the map (it's GPS-based). I don't see a reason why similar functionality couldn't be added to Nike+ on the iPhone, allowing runners to share photos from their runs, even though it's not GPS-based and thus the photos couldn't be automatically placed on the map.
5. Host offline events. The Human Race is great, but again, like with social connections, I wonder why they didn't start it sooner. Connect the online to the offline more, not just with big coordinated events, but local groups, local "activists"/ambassadors, etc.
6. Offer better hardware. One of the greatest things about the Nike+ for the average runner is its simplicity: its based on RFID and a small accelerometer. That makes it cheap to buy. But the flipside of that is that it's unreliable. The battery runs out eventually, and it can't be easily replaced by the consumer, and the stats aren't accurate. Because of the inaccuracy, I switched my Nike+ to a way more accurate GPS-based system a while ago. Nike could solve this by beginning to offer different versions of the hardware for different types of runners: the current, simple and affordable solution for more casual runners, and a more accurate, robust GPS-based solution for the more serious.
If you've used NIke+, what did you think of it? How would you like to see Nike extend this platform?
Karri Ojanen
Strategists & Planners
Comments (5)
Great post, Karri. I'm also a heavy user and as a digital marketer see so many other basics that are missed.
First, the recent redesign does nothing for me. It brings a more up-to-date look and feel but little else to make my running and tracking experience better.
My biggest disappointment is that they took away the 100, 500, 1000, etc. mileage goals. I had been looking forward to buying a 1000-mile shirt when I hit that number and they were discontinued. Now there is some odd color coding system that is meaningless.
Finally, the biggest user experience miss of all: you have to log-in every time you visit the site. If GMail can let me sign-in for 2 weeks, why can something like Nike+?
Posted on December 22, 2009 09:16
Excellent post. Despite Nike's slow pace of adding new features, the fact that they've been able to create as you said a sustainable platform solidifies it's status as the campaign of the decade. Personally, once they added social integration, I've been pleased that they've taken a more simplistic approach to the core app itself. However, like Foursquare, I'd love to see them take the Foursquare approach and launch a more robust API than is currently available to let other developers build a more diverse lineup of apps around Nike+. http://foursquare.com/developers/
Posted on December 22, 2009 09:36
Thanks for your comments! I think Nike+ definitely deserves its status as the campaign of the decade, despite the slow pace of adding features, like you say, Ryan. It's truly a platform that shows what this channel is capable of so much better than most digital advertising that is out there. But it can get better. Just like you, Bob, I was tracking my mileage goal, when they then suddenly changed it to a new system, tossing the old one. That didn't seem like an improvement, but overall, I enjoy the new look & feel.
Posted on December 22, 2009 10:39
You're right, if you see it as a "campaign". Nike could have done so much more.
But if you view it as a relationship built with thousands of runners (potential shoe buyers) from all across the world, Nike+ earned a gold medal.
Posted on December 28, 2009 23:32
Absolutely, Ben. The whole irony, which AdWeek itself noted very well, of the award is that Nike Plus was awarded as the best digital campaign of the decade, when it's not a campaign - it's so much more. It's a platform, a service, a tool, and that's what makes it so great - just like I, too, noted in the first sentence of this post.
But even as a platform, I think Nike Plus could've already done more. And I look forward to seeing it grow. That's what this post is about.
Thanks for commenting, Ben.
Posted on January 4, 2010 07:04