This project utilizes a combination of data visualization and semiotics to explore the relationship between Nike, their consumers and Nike’s usage of social political protests as a marketing tool. The data visualizations on the main page display about 200 - 300 twitter mentions of Nike and Colin Kaepernick in The United States. They have been split up based on the hemisphere each twitter account associated with said tweet belongs to. The user can then scroll down to see which states are within each hemisphere, the population of each state and the political leanings of each state and it's ethnic make-up, whether Blue, Red, or Split. On the second page entitled “Nike Stock” displays a screenshot of Nike’s Stock from the past 5 years, on which you can see the spike starting from 2018, the year Nike’s 30th anniversary Just Do It ad aired, to 2020.
The Purpose of this project is not to attack Nike. It is rather to display the importance and worth of data and our digital identity, it is used to display the importance of symbols, but most importantly it is to affirm the idea that as Artist and Technologist Alex Wolf says, “Capitalism is an economic system not a moral one.” Therefore it is important to recognize the ways in which we as people are often made to feel insignificant, and or forgotten, in fact, matter and control far more than we are led to believe we do. I urge the average user to take from this, a sense of power and understanding that we as individuals hold far more weight than advertised.
On September 5th 2018, Nike released its 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign, in which former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was named as the face. Along with Nike’s “Just Do It” ad which featured Colin Kaepernick, came a series of images, such as the image shown to the left, depicting an image of Kaepernick with the caption, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.” At the bottom of the image can be seen Nike’s popular, swoosh followed by Nike's popular slogan, “Just do it.” The image of Colin Kaepernick has become, itself, a symbol, signifying the fight against police brutality in America, which is also associated with the ongoing fight for civil rights for targeted minority groups. He has also merged his image with the actions and political beliefs of the Black Panther Party by simply, when posing for the cover of GQ magazine, dressing in all black with a black leather jacket while also showcasing his afro, this style of fashion being similar to that of members of the Panther party.
By associating its slogan with this image of Kaepernick, combined with the overlaid text reinforcing his place as a hero in our society, Nike has, as a result, attached itself to the political and social righteousness of all that Kaepernick has come to represent and is now, by the use of this ad, the world is being reminded of him being a representation of. Nike is then using this ad as a means to communicate to its consumers that it is on the side of civil rights and the fight against police brutality.
Nike’s marketing campaign strategy relies on cultural codes and the understanding that once something or someone becomes a symbol, such as an Icon in this instance, it is possible to attach yourself, or a brand or an idea to said symbol in order to associate the idea or in this case a brand with said sign. This can also be utilized to further add, or completely alter the meaning of a sign, which in part is what Nike has done by merging the ideas previously associated with the company, with the ideas that are now associated with the face or image of Colin Kaepernick. As a result of this campaign, their stocks increased by 30% and their image has now been associated with the heroism of Kaepernick.
A Forbes article, published in 2017, stated that in March of that year, while Nike’s global revenue was up 6%, it was slowing to 5%, and in North America, which is the companies largest market, grew by only 4%, which as stated in the article was, “a pace the company can’t be satisfied with.” One of the ways they believed they would be able to get these numbers up was by having a more personal relationship with their customers in 12 cities which held their highest consumer demographics, which the company referred to as their “Consumer Direct Offense.” These “12 Key Cities” included New York, London, Shanghai, Beijing, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, Mexico City, Barcelona, Seoul, and Milan. Nike predicted that these 12 cities would generate more than 80% of the companies revenue. According to the article, Nike was getting this data through their client demographic information (Danzinger, Forbes) Within this list, both Los Angeles and New York City were included as the only representations of North America. This means that throughout the entirety of the United States, New York City, NY and Los Angeles, CA, It has also been expressed that Nikes's highest consumer population is located in North America. Which means that two of the most historically left leaning cities in the United States, currently hold the companies highest consumer population.
When looking at the breakdown of the company's consumer demographic in North America alone, which, as previously stated, holds the largest number of consumers for the company, it can be seen that “13% of Americans identify as African American, yet 18% of Nike buyers are black. Latinx people account for 16% of the population but represent 19% of Nike buyers. And, Asian Americans account for 3% of the population, but 5% of Nike customers.” As for the Caucasian population of North America, 75% of Americans identify as white, and 67% of them are consumers of Nike products, and among that 67%, Nike’s information shows that the majority of those customers agree with Colin Kaepernick's stance (tmz). Furthermore, in a Washington Post article, “Millennials, those Americans between the ages of 22 and 37, are projected to surpass baby boomers as the nation’s largest living adult generation in 2019, and fully 44 percent of them are of some race other than white. For post-millennials, that number rises to 48 percent, and for post-post-millennials (American children under age 10), it grows to more than 50 percent.” The article goes on to explain that the majority of the individuals making up these generations are far more forward-thinking than previous generations, and also want more of their products and content to include a socially aware, and progressive stance on political issues.
Based on this information, and the content in the Colin Kaepernick ad, Nike’s prime reasoning behind taking this public political stance is to in fact further their own economic gain. They recognize that the large majority of their consumers and the population at large is moving further towards a progressive world, one in which Nike will most likely be relevant because of this. They have capitalized off of this age of digital activism on social media platforms, which made an ex-football player a face of political activism. Because of this, Nike has already grossed more revenue and will continue to in the near future. This again lends further to the argument that Nike has, with this marketing campaign, followed the culture codes of this generation and the future generations to come. It is now culturally both acceptable and expected for individuals and companies to both partake in social-political and political issues, and exhibit more left-leaning positions.