Analysis of Nike's Breaking2 Campaign - MKTG 430

Article: Is Nike's "Breaking2" marathon bid more than a marketing stunt?

Synopsis

Nike’s Breaking2 campaign was an innovative showcase of their performance running shoe, the Zoom Vaporfly Elite. Lelisa Desisa, Eliud Kipchoge and Zersenay Tadese, all of whom are athletes sponsored by Nike, were called in to use the shoes to try and break the record for the fastest marathon run ever recorded. Nike’s objective was for the runners to break the two-hour barrier, thus the name ‘Breaking2’. The runners were wearing customized versions of the shoe that Nike claimed would reduce the energy needed to complete the race by 4%. The record was previously held by Dennis Kipruto Kimetto, who ran the full marathon in 2:02:57. The race was held at the Monza F1 track in Italy and was live streamed in an attempt to draw attention to the race with an obvious emphasis on the performance of the Zoom Vaporfly Elites. Although the runners did not break the two-hour barrier, Kipchoge did complete the race in an incredible 2:00:251. Not only was this achievement seconds away from Nike’s goal, but it was also a full two minutes and thirty-two seconds faster than the official record. The shoe became strongly favored by running fanatics and Nike has since released a more economical variant; the Zoom Vaporfly 4%, which has become massively popular, is usually sold out, and employs the same technology as the Elites.

Relation to Class

Advertising Strategy Consumers are consistently bombarded with information to the point where Nike realized that an effort to inspire would have a farther reach than one that simply discusses a product. This strategy was previously employed by Redbull in 2014. In choosing to create a movement as opposed to a traditional product launch, Nike was able to emulate Redbull’s Stratos project. Beyond this, Nike embraced the concept of approaching spectators as consumers by creating an “unmissable” event.

Brand Positioning The world of athletics has seen a decline in engagement due to its association with doping, or the use of performance enhancing drugs. However, all three athletes preformed under the regulations of the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which offered a credible foundation for the race. Additionally, none of the runners have had any past issues with drugs. This ties into positive sponsorship and the branding process. In associating itself with people who work hard and pursue greatness Nike is drawing attention to a tale of human achievement. The ‘bundle of benefits’ in this case would include clean sportsmanship. The concept is to grant Nike a new space in the minds of consumers; one that focuses on galvanizing athletes to push the boundaries of human performance. This ties into the branding process as it creates a standard for the kind of people Nike chooses to sponsor.

Technology Nike was able to harness technology on an incredible scale for their Breaking2 campaign. In live streaming their event and flying in social media influencers to live blog the entire race, their product launch evolved into a social media phenomenon. This campaign permeated several different outlets and created a digital movement that amassed a following large enough to see the shoes sell quickly. The campaign generated significant interest on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook with approximately 140k mentions on all three platforms. Beyond sales, the event was regarded as a marketing success (due to the large social media engagement) and even received a congratulatory tweet from rival Adidas to Kipchoge. This recognizes the scale of the movement and provides a larger reach due to the nature of social media algorithms.

Promotion Mix Elements Of the five promotion mix elements, Nike employed three in their Breaking2 campaign. In terms of advertising, Nike made excellent use of technology by promoting the race on social media as discussed above. Public relations is segmented into three pieces of which Nike was able to capitalize on for this launch. The company evaluated the public’s perception of the sport and addressed it in terms of the chosen athletes. They identified how they could connect this product launch to something the sports population might be interested by evolving it into a live-streamed event. Lastly, and this ties into the athletes Nike sponsored, they engineered a race free of drugs and one that would inspire people to reach their full potential. The final element is sponsorship, which holds direct relation to public relations. As previously mentioned, all of the participating athletes maintained drug-free careers. In sponsoring Desisa, Kipchoge, and Tadese Nike is proving not only that the runner’s success can be attributed to the technology of their new shoe, but also that drugs are not a means to success in any shape or form.

Analysis

Nike’s Breaking2 campaign was well curated and enjoyed significant success. The event generated enough interest to see the Zoom Vaporfly 4% fly off shelves. However, I noticed that the event did not permeate the entire market. I conducted a brief survey for people in the greater Los Angeles/Orange County area and learned that a large population of people hadn’t heard of the campaign at all (see below). It seems the success of this campaign was measured through social media engagement. This unfortunately disregards a large population of people with the right purchasing power and interest to buy into the technology Nike developed. I would have integrated a televised campaign with a tribute to historical races, similar to the video series they released online. This might have drawn in a larger audience and created an opportunity for an older crowd, one less inclined to participate on Twitter, to engage with the Breaking2 Campaign. To put this into perspective, Twitter plays host to just under 70 million U.S. citizens, but that number is dwarfed by the 119.6 estimated television homes in the United States. Nike could have also discussed the parameters by which historical races are recorded with the IAAF to ensure this event would be remembered as more historically significant, if not considered eligible for the world record.

#sportsmarketing #advertising #socialmedia