Ben Campbell, Senior Global Strategist at LEGO Group/Linked In
It’s genius. In fact, it’s the best damn thing a brand has done this year.
Why? Because Nike are playing the long game, not the short one. Their share price has dropped 2% overnight. Normally that’s bad news. But you need to look deeper.
This week, #Nike stock investment from under-35’s has grown by 45%. Thats 15,000 investments in three days. Overnight, it has climbed to the 37th most popular stock on Robin Hood, a digital investment service aimed at millennials. Why? Because under-35’s pay attention when brands stand up for causes. They listened when Levi’s spoke up about gun control. They listened when LEGO began to invest in bricks made from sugarcane. And you bet they’re going to pay attention when brands stand up for #blacklivesmatter.Nike has raised the middle finger to a whole lot of conservative, older Americans. You know, the ones that buy one pair of discounted $80 sneakers every two years.
But in doing so, they’ve repositioned themselves to an entire generation of new fans.
Young people. And in case you didn’t realise, young people buy a lot of sneakers.The world’s leading apparel brand has just rebooted itself. It’s a challenger brand now, and young people like that. Just do it? Well, they just did.