Branding is all about emotions, expectations and experiences. Yesterday, in downtown San Francisco, the Nike Town store hit a ten on ten for all three.
There was a marathon in the city (going to go out on a limb and say it was targeted to women) and beyond the wicked Nike t-shirt that said, “Ran Like A Girl,” the Nike Town storefront window had the names of all of the runners (mostly women) listed in the window.
To watch the scene of proud mothers taking pictures of their daughters, post run, as they pointed to their names on the window was priceless. Watching husbands snap pictures on their mobile phones, or seeing women who ran the race pointing out their names to their small children. Brilliant. It was touching, it spoke to the ability of oneself to push beyond limits and it was validating.
I’ve been fairly Nike agnostic for the past few years, but this simple act swung the pendulum right back to my initial love affair with the O.G. (Original Gangster) campaign of “Just Do It.”
This was a big bravo. It was personal, targeted, and inspirational and, by the looks of it, drove lots of people to the brand of Nike at an inter-generational level… And the store got some serious traffic.
Reflect on the inter-generational connection. Mothers with their parents and their children. That’s a long legacy of people who will remember this special Sunday in San Francisco, how they felt post-marathon and the role Nike played in it.