Leading the way for diversity and inclusivity

Nike is an American brand that sells athleisure wear; Nike Inc. is comprised of Nike, Jordan, and Converse (Nike, 2022). It was founded in 1964, originally named Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman (Britannica, 2019). Nike may not be one of the first brands that people think of when they hear the words fast fashion, however they do sit within that remit. Nike produce a high volume of garments in their many factories and work based on a fast fashion business model and so have to be labelled a fast fashion brand (My Green Closet, 2022). However, Nike is arguably amongst the few fast fashion brands that are taking big steps to improv the way they are run and the way they are presented.

Nike has been described as ‘thriving’ on social issue-based marketing (Anusic, 2019). They are known for taking a stance on huge social issues such as Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ and feminism. Research in 2019 found that Nike was the top brand for advertising diversity, beating Coca-Cola by 2% (Insider Intelligence Editors, 2020). Nike’s campaign, Dream Crazier focused on feminism and the way in which women are represented in sport. There is a huge imbalance in the way that the media currently represents female athletes; although women make up 40% of sport participants, they only receive 4% of sport coverage (UNESCO, 2018). When they do get coverage, it is usually of a lower quality and isn’t shown on the larger sports broadcasting channels. Over the last 30 years there has been little to no change in women’s sports coverage and the way female athletes are portrayed (McCarter, 2021).

The Dream Crazier campaign was narrated by one of the greatest female athletes of all time, Serena Williams. It also includes other female athlete legends, Simone Biles, Chloe Kim, and Megan Rapinoe, along with many other female athletes of all backgrounds, races, and appearances. The campaign has been described as a celebration of fearless women in sport (LIFSHUTZ, 2019). Dream Crazier was started to not only drive sales and consumer satisfaction, but also to give females a voice within a sector they arguably do not. It was to inspire women to do what they love and be unapologetic (Rebels and Rulers, 2020). The campaign uses lines such as ‘so what if they call you crazy? Fine. Show them what crazy can do.’ Plus, a list of stereotypes that all women face on a daily basis, which is then flowed by highlighting the achievements of the female athletes mentioned above (Binlot, 2019).

SWOT analysis of Nike’s Dream Crazier marketing campaign

Strengths

The biggest strength of this campaign is the focus on female athletes, they are giving women a platform within sport. Dream Crazier went viral overnight, within 1 day of it going live they had racked up 6 million views on YouTube and 28 million on Twitter, with a large percentage of the mentions on Twitter being positive in nature (Anusic, 2019). Representation for female athletes grew rapidly from this campaign and women had finally something to relate to within sport media.

They also used so many females from different walks of life and have been praised for showing how ‘diversity is beautiful’ (Moazedi, 2019). They included athletes from the Paralympics, a boxer wearing a hijab and women of all different clothing sizes. Therefore, not only do they have representation for women as a whole, but for women who enjoy sports from all backgrounds. Nike have been praised many times for their diverse and inclusive campaigns and this one is included in that list.

Weaknesses

This campaign did not receive only good feedback, there was some backlash due to sexual harassment claims within Nike. Ex-employees have come forward to state that Nike fostered a work environment that allowed harassment of female colleagues, due to the gender inequality within the workplace (Helmore, 2018). This became one of the most high-profile cases as an outcome of the #MeToo movement, as Nike was taken to court over ‘boys club’ environment claims (Kish, 2022). They have also been found to have terminated contracts with female athletes after they had fallen pregnant, this sparked a counter campaign with these athletes called ‘Dream Maternity’ (Young, 2019). There were therefore women who were not inspired by the Dream Crazier campaign and instead saw it as an act of hypocrisy. Nike have however, recently launched their own maternity athleisure clothing line, and eliminated the gender pay gap within their corporation, so they appear to be taking some steps in the right direction (Brown, 2021).

Opportunities

Nike have the opportunity to make real change in the world for females due to their huge voice and following. It has been highlighted above that female athletes have largely been muted; they need a big voice in the sport world like Nike to represent them. Representation is about making sure that messages are authentic and relatable, plus having diverse voices at the table to plan the campaign (Witherspoon, 2020). There is still so much they can do to support this movement. The Women’s England football team recently won the World Cup, but their photo was relegated to the bottom of the newspaper (4 Youth, 2022). Showing that there is still a long way to go for gender equality in sport; Nike has the opportunity and resources to be able to keep the conversation going and change the narrative. They should use this huge win to highlight more successes from female athletes.

Threats

There are a couple of threats that Nike face from the campaign, one is for it to not appear just as a money-making tool, rather than fully supporting the cause. If they don’t continue this support, they could be questioned on their authenticity (Wright, 2019). Just because the #MeToo movement was at its height when this campaign was launched, does not mean that it is any less important, today, tomorrow or in a years’ time. The conversation and representation can’t stop until female athletes get an even playing field within the media.

The other threat they face is that of their competitors. Adidas also created their own feminist campaign for women in sport ‘Watch us move’. Which was a campaign that was fully lead and created by the women within the Adidas company (Gosling, 2021). They also support women of all walks of life and put forward their long-term plans to keep this as an ongoing strategy (Stenzel, 2021). Their aim is to make sport accessible for everyone, and similarly to Nike, inspire all females to take part in sport (PT ADIDAS INDONESIA, 2021). In order to keep up with their competitors, Nike should also make a promise to keep this as an ongoing campaign and create initiatives around it to further support female athletes.

There is some debate as to whether Nike achieved their ethical goals with this campaign. On the one hand, they made a big leap into the feminism movement and gave a voice to female athletes, where usually they are misrepresented. On the other hand, there was backlash on the authenticity of this campaign. The campaign not only sparked conversation on female athletes in the media, but also the inner problems with sexual harassment in their workplace and the unfair treatment to pregnant ambassadors. For this campaign to be completely ethical they need to consider changing the inner workings of Nike and ensure that there is equality within their workplace as well as in the media. If Nike continue to preach something they do not practice, they will continue to be labelled hypocrites. However, there are still huge positives from this campaign, the sheer amount of publicity they received from this campaign and the thousands of women who did resonate with has to be considered a success.

References

4 Youth (2022). Nike ‘Dream Crazier’ 2019 Advert. [online] UK Tribes. Available at: https://www.uktribes.com/report/nike-dream-crazier-2019-advert [Accessed 30 Oct. 2022].

Anusic, I. (2019). Dream Crazier: How Nike Thrives on Social Issues Based Marketing - Mediatoolkit. [online] Mediatoolkit. Available at: https://www.mediatoolkit.com/blog/nike-social-issues-based-marketing/.

Binlot, A. (2019). Nike And Serena Williams Inspire Women To ‘Dream Crazier’ With New Campaign. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/abinlot/2019/02/28/nike-and-serena-williams-inspire-women-to-dream-crazier-with-new-campaign/?sh=4358b0d20a3c [Accessed 30 Oct. 2022].

Brown, A. (2021). With Inclusivity and Diversity, Nike Will Just Do It. [online] CULTURS — lifestyle media for cross-cultural identity. Available at: https://www.cultursmag.com/with-inclusivity-and-diversity-nike-will-just-do-it/.

Gosling, E. (2021). ‘A women’s campaign fully led by women’ for Adidas. [online] Creative Boom. Available at: https://www.creativeboom.com/inspiration/a-womens-campaign-fully-led-by-women-for-adidas/.

Helmore, E. (2018). Nike hit with lawsuit from four women who allege gender discrimination. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/aug/10/nike-lawsuit-women-gender-discrimination.

Insider Intelligence Editors (2020). Nike Leads Consumer Brands for Diversity in Advertising. [online] Insider Intelligence. Available at: https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/nike-leads-consumer-brands-diversity-advertising.

Kish, M. (2022). Inside Nike’s high-profile gender discrimination lawsuit, where plaintiffs claim unequal pay and more thanks to a ‘boys’ club’ culture. [online] Business Insider. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-nike-gender-discrimination-lawsuit-citing-unequal-pay-2022-5?r=US&IR=T.

LIFSHUTZ, H. (2019). Nike Unveils Female Empowerment Campaign ‘Dream Crazier’. [online] Complex. Available at: https://www.complex.com/sports/2019/02/nike-unveils-female-empowerment-dream-crazier.

McCarter, C. (2021). Overlooking her shot: Women’s sports need an assist as coverage remains the same as 30 years ago. Purdue University. [online] 24 Mar. Available at: https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2021/Q1/overlooking-her-shot-womens-sports-need-an-assist-as-coverage-remains-the-same-as-30-years-ago.html.

Moazedi, M.L. (2019). Diversity is beautiful: Dream Crazier. Nike. [online] Diversity is beautiful. Available at: https://moazedi.blogspot.com/2019/04/dream-crazier-nike.html [Accessed 30 Oct. 2022].

PT ADIDAS INDONESIA (2021). Watch Us Move: adidas Accelerates its Commitment to Creating an Inclusive Space in Sport for Women with Product Innovation and Fresh Workout Series - PR Newswire APAC. [online] en.prnasia.com. Available at: https://en.prnasia.com/releases/apac/watch-us-move-adidas-accelerates-its-commitment-to-creating-an-inclusive-space-in-sport-for-women-with-product-innovation-and-fresh-workout-series-312178.shtml [Accessed 30 Oct. 2022].

Rebels and Rulers (2020). Nike Calls for Women to Dream Crazier. No Matter What! [online] REBELS AND RULERS. Available at: https://www.rebelsrulers.com/nike-calls-for-women-to-dream-crazier-no-matter-what/?utm_content=buffer84451&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Stenzel, T. (2021). Adidas launches ‘Watch Us Move’ initiative designed for women. [online] FashionUnited. Available at: https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/adidas-launches-watch-us-move-initiative-designed-for-women/2021022553886.

UNESCO (2018). Gender Equality in Sports Media. [online] UNESCO. Available at: https://en.unesco.org/themes/gender-equality-sports-media.

Witherspoon, A. (2020). Why representation in marketing matters. [online] www.linkedin.com. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-representation-marketing-matters-allyson-witherspoon.

Wright, C. (2019). Nike ‘Dream Crazier’ Ad: Empowering or Provoking? [online] The Dairy Creative Agency. Available at: https://www.thedairyagency.co.uk/journal/nike-dream-crazier-ad-empowering-or-provoking/ [Accessed 30 Oct. 2022].

Young, S. (2019). Is Nike’s campaign ‘Dream Crazier’ activism or just capitalism? [online] www.linkedin.com. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nikes-campaign-dream-crazier-activism-just-capitalism-yann-cai?trk=public_profile_article_view.