They, Just Did It Nike and Colin Kaepernick

LOS ANGELES - Sept. 13, 2018 - PRLog -- In business, there are four P's that define a market. Product, Price, Promotion and Politics. All of them are equally important, all of them can be detrimental or uplifting to the brand.  Nike made a political decision to do something, why take the risk?

Colin Cowherd, on The Herd said Nike is the type of company that is "comfortable being uncomfortable." What does that mean in the business world; they take risks on all four factors.

When I am consulting with companies and we talk about revenue generation most executives must get uncomfortable being comfortable. You are never going to grow just being comfortable, you can be satisfied, you can be happy, but it is hard to get to the next level being comfortable. Sometimes business owners must look at the product and decide if it is still qualified for the current market. There is also the underlying thought behind price and other ways to manufacture along with capitalizing on the sale.   Products just don't sell themselves, good marketing programs do, and politics always plays a factor in the social platforms of a buyer's decision.

An insightful look at the beginning of Nike is the book, Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. Blue Ribbon started off by being a distributor of Japanese shoes at a time when sneakers were not popular in the United States. Phil Knight took a risk and decided he could sell gym shoes domestically.  After Blue Ribbons sales skyrocketed in the US Phil Knight's sales team was dumped; he took another chance and developed his own brand,  that has become the global leader in athletic apparel.

Nike has taken risks in all four phases of business:  with the Air Jordans they made some of the highest priced basketball shoes ever, they have made products for sports that no-one thought were sellable, and they have created marketing campaigns that inspire millions every day to, "Just Do It."

Nike took a risk by backing Colin Kaepernick, developing an advertisement platform that brought sales up 31% and challenged a political platform on what it means to stand or kneel for the National Anthem. They have been doing it for a long and with a high degree of success because as a company, as a business philosophy, they have been comfortable being uncomfortable.

By Dane Flanigan

Dane Flanigan is a business consultant who help companies build strategies to grow sales. https://www.DaneFlanigan.com

#Nike #DaneFlanigan #Justdoit