Menu
Sponsorships Advertising Marketing

THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGING: NIKE TO STRESS FASHION?

          Nike is "shifting its media strategy to add more
     entertainment/prime time programming, while slowly moving
     away from the dogmatic devotion it has held" for sports
     programming, according to Terry Lefton of BRANDWEEK. 
     Network sources tell Lefton that Nike execs have "recently
     warned them of impending cuts in sports spending up to" 30%
     or more, and that Nike is making the change "in order to
     reach" the 16-and-under market that "now finds the brand
     less meaningful."  Nike Ad Dir Rob DeFlorio said the company
     is "still skewed strongly to sports in our media, but the
     price of sports programming is rising, while the delivery of
     key audiences isn't.  We have to go where our audience is,
     and generally you'll see us more in lots of time periods
     versus just sports."  Lefton adds that sneaker retailers and
     analysts have said that the word "fashion" is "no longer
     anathema" at Nike.  DeFlorio: "We've learned to say the F-
     word [fashion] around here, and it's not a curse word
     anymore."  Lefton: "While the change by no means suggests
     that Nike is considering abandoning sports programming or
     performance shoes or attire, it is culturally as significant
     as though Coke were to shift to a 'good for you' strategy. 
     Any brand tweaking by Nike in the post-Michael Jordan era
     bears scrutiny" (BRANDWEEK, 5/24).
          MORE FROM BEAVERTON: Lefton also reports that in an
     effort to "restate its absolute dominance of the basketball
     category," Nike will launch a new basketball campaign from
     OR-based Wieden & Kennedy on Friday that "contrasts power
     players" like Spurs F Tim Duncan with "finesse players" like
     Michael Jordan.  The "Force/Flight" campaign includes two
     spots and features Rockets F Charles Barkley, Bucks F Robert
     Traylor, Grizzlies F Shareef Abdur-Rahim, T'Wolves F Kevin
     Garnett and Comets G Cynthia Cooper.  Another "shoot,
     tentatively set for mid-June," will likely include Kings G
     Jason Williams.  The campaign touts both the Flightposite
     and the Air Tuned Force (BRANDWEEK, 5/24 issue).
          A HOLDS-CLAW ON THE DETAILS: Lefton cites "reliable
     sources" who put Nike's average annual payout to Mystics
     rookie G Chamique Holdsclaw in their five-year deal at
     $500,000, in addition to a $50,000 signing bonus and a
     royalty guarantee.  Nike gets exclusivity in shoes, apparel,
     basketballs, video games and sunglasses, as well as right of
     first refusal when the deal expires.  Among aspects of the
     deal: Holdsclaw gets at least one national print campaign
     and two national TV ads and a "pledge from Nike" for an
     apparel line and signature shoe (BRANDWEEK, 5/24 issue). 

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/1999/05/25/Sponsorships-Advertising-Marketing/THE-TIMES-THEY-ARE-A-CHANGING-NIKE-TO-STRESS-FASHION.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/1999/05/25/Sponsorships-Advertising-Marketing/THE-TIMES-THEY-ARE-A-CHANGING-NIKE-TO-STRESS-FASHION.aspx

CLOSE