Martech: Martech is Marketing Logo
  • Topics
    Transformation
    Operations
    Data
    Experience
    Performance
    Management
    Special Reports
    All Topics
  • Conference
  • Webinars
  • Intelligence Reports
  • White Papers
  • What is MarTech
    Mission
    Team
    Newsletter
    Search Engine Land
    Third Door Media

Processing...Please wait.

MarTech » Performance Marketing » Nike’s PHOTOiD Puts Social Content In The Picture

Nike’s PHOTOiD Puts Social Content In The Picture

Content marketing is one of the biggest buzz phrases of the moment, with many people talking about it as if it’s a new phenomenon. The fact that The Guinness Book of Records will be 60 years old next year should put paid to that suggestion — but so, too, should the creative work put out […]

Ciaran Norris on April 29, 2013 at 9:33 am

Content marketing is one of the biggest buzz phrases of the moment, with many people talking about it as if it’s a new phenomenon. The fact that The Guinness Book of Records will be 60 years old next year should put paid to that suggestion — but so, too, should the creative work put out by Nike, which has consistently shown that great marketing is great content. And, they’re still doing it now.

PHOTOiD is a new mash-up Nike has created that allows you to use an Instagram photo to inspire a pair of personalised Nike iD trainers. It’s built in HTML5, is lovely to look at, is intrinsically linked to social platforms, and produces great user-inspired content for people to share. And, most importantly, its hero is the product.

Screen Shot 2013-04-26 at 5.03.39 PMWhat Nike has done, in this case, is brilliantly understood a number of the key trends driving audience behaviours, such as the creative self-promotion that the likes of Twitter and Instagram encourage and celebrate, and turned those into what is, at heart, an ad. The key is that that it adds value as much as it advertises.

In hindsight, we can see that Nike has been doing this for years. In many ways; PHOTOiD is an evolution of the original Nike iD iPhone app, which allowed people to take photos and use them as the inspiration for their shoes.

Meanwhile, Nike+ creates content out of people’s activities, then turns that content into something that acts as social currency. Their commercials have long been short movies rather than simple TV ads; for instance, the track recorded by Kanye West in honour of the 25th anniversary of Air Force One is undoubtedly one of the coolest-ever pieces of marketing.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=munMGzeqCQE[/youtube]

As someone who has worked on Nike (disclosure: they’re a client), I know that some people dismiss such praise because, “Well, they’re Nike.” And whilst they are certainly “lucky” in that trainers are inherently more interesting than washing liquid or other household goods, that doesn’t negate the fact that the way they approach their marketing can provide lessons for us all.

What Nike does brilliantly is understand the trends and cultural shifts that are influencing people and determine how they can build those into their products and marketing. And, with the rise of the likes of Nike+, they’re creating products that are marketing.

Whilst most brands may not get to work with the likes of Michael Jordan or Wayne Rooney, we can all think about how the stories our brands tell might be of interest or even of use to our customers.

Disclosure: Nike is a client of Mindshare.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


New on MarTech

    The rise of omnichannel content platforms

    3 changes coming to Google Ads audience features

    FTC hits Twitter with snark and $150 million fine for allegedly selling security data to advertisers

    Hootsuite joins TikTok’s Marketing Partner Program

    Getting started with the Agile Marketing Navigator: Aligning on a Guidepoint

About The Author

Ciaran Norris
Ciarán Norris is the Chief Digital Officer for Mindshare Australia, where he is responsible for the overall digital output of the agency, including ensuring that search, social, mobile and video are integrated into the broader marketing mix. Ciaran spent 7 years working in online publishing in the UK, and was then responsible for award winning campaigns as Head of Search & Social for London-based digital agency Altogether (now merged with ad-agency WCRS). He moved to media agency Mindshare in 2009, originally as the first Head of Social in their worldwide office in London, and then to the Dublin office as the Head of Digital at Mindshare Ireland. Ciarán is a regular speaker at events around the world, and has contributed to the likes of AdNews, B&T, econsultancy & AdAge.com.

Related Topics

Performance Marketing

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

The MarTech Conference logo.

June 7, 2022: Master Classes

September 28-29, 2022: Fall

Start Discovering Now: Spring

Learn More About Our MarTech Events

The SMX Conference logo.

June 14-15, 2022: SMX Advanced (virtual)

November 14-15, 2022: SMX Next (virtual)

March 8-9, 2022: Master Classes (virtual)

Learn More About Our SMX Events

Webinars

Benchmark Your Social Media Performance For a Competitive Edge

Take a Crawl, Walk, Run Approach to Multi-Channel ABM

Content Comes First: Transform Your Operations With DAM

See More Webinars

Intelligence Reports

Enterprise SEO Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Identity Resolution Platforms

Email Marketing Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Sales Enablement Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Digital Experience Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Call Analytics Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

See More Intelligence Reports

White Papers

The State of Influencer Pricing

How to Measure Influencer Performance

Reputation Management For Healthcare Organizations

Unlock the App Marketing Potential of QR Codes

Realising the power of virtual events for demand generation

See More Whitepapers

Receive daily marketing news & analysis.

Processing...Please wait.

Topics

  • Transformation
  • Operations
  • Data
  • Experience
  • Performance
  • Management
  • All Topics
  • Home

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • Search Marketing Expo - SMX

About

  • What is MarTech
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS

© 2022 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.