Nike on the Grid

Clients ask me all the time: "Should we get into social media"? And I say the same thing every time: "Wrong question"!

The question isn't "should" it's "how"! Almost every brand should participate in social media, but only in ways that are consistent with their equity, integrated with the rest of their marketing plan, and providing value to their consumers.

A colleague clued me into an example that illustrates the point perfectly. Nike. I admire the brand both as a marketer and as a consumer. I've incorporated the brand into my life because it offers me so much. The perfect Experience Effect, in my book.

The brand just launched a social media campaign in London that is so spectacular, mere words can't describe it. Check it out here.

Appealing to runners, the program uses location-based social media to inspire "athletes" (that's us!) to run the entire city of London, across the city's "grid". By logging onto the program, you become engaged in a plan to hit points across the city and "check in" to collect each postal code. Once you've hit them all, you will have run the entire city grid, earning points and getting crowned along the way.

I want to do it! The insight about runners is that we love to have trails and maps to run. The notion that I could run the entire city is so inspiring, it makes me want to do it right now. And now Nike can help me to track my progress, and compete with other runners as well.

A brilliant use of social media, including the website, Facebook, and the emerging location-based technology that so many brands are beginning to experiment with. Love it.

What's your experience? Jim