Nike: WRITE THE FUTURE

Credits & Description:

Category: Best Use of Screens
Advertiser: NIKE
Product/Service: NIKE FOOTBALL
Agency: RAZORFISH
Date of First Appearance: May 22 2010
Entrant Company: NIKE COMMS TEAM, Portland, USA
: Ad Agency (Wieden & Kennedy)
: Media Agency (Mindshare)
: Media Agency (Razorfish)
: Media Agency (Wieden & Kennedy)
: Digital Agency (AKQA)
Media placement: TV Campaign - Champ League Finals - 22 May 2010
Media placement: Facebook Engagment Takeover - Facebook - 22 May 2010
Media placement: Youtube Home Page Takeover - Youtube - 22 May 2010
Media placement: X-Box Live Takeover - X-Box - 22 May 2010
Media placement: Print - 442 Magazine - 22 May 2010
Media placement: OOH - Global - 22 May 2010
Insights, Strategy & the Idea
We wanted to find a consumer insight that could create a common bond amongst all of the fans, participants and rivalries of the global football event in South Africa. We wanted to develop a campaign that inspired the world through Nike’s POV on football but then created opportunities for consumers to participate in the experience themselves through multiple screens.
And thus, Write the Future was born.
It became our messaging platform that allowed Nike to show how football created a ripple effect through our world…the good and the bad. We inspired the world through a 3-minute launch film that set-up the story and then we invited footballers to participate in experiences where they could Write Their Own Future through physical events and social media.
Creative Execution
Write the Future was a complex, global campaign that was launched simultaneously around the globe in 32 countries. The orchestration of the release of the film across multiple screens was imperative to telling the story and activating consumers to participate in the campaign.
The key was igniting the conversation with the 3-minute film. We wanted to create instant impact and scale. We designed the launch to exclusively take over all of the key “youth” screens globally in social (Facebook in 20 countries), video (YouTube in 14 countries), gaming (X-Box in US / Europe) and Live Sports (Champs League Final on TV in 32 countries) to distribute the film and activate Nike’s social channels.
In literally 5 days, Nike owned the blogosphere leading into the big event. This launch changed the game instantly and Write the Future became the rallying cry for the global event in South Africa.
Results and Effectiveness
“The World Cup has been won. And the winner is Nike.”
The Telegraph
“Other companies who want to win with social media should take note.”
Harvard Business Review
The quotes from the press speak for themselves. Nike was successful in connecting with consumers, driving conversation and creating community around the biggest global sporting event.
The key metrics:
1) Nike global product orders were up 7%
2) Nike sentiment / brand buzz was twice adidas and 30% of the overall football conversation
3) YouTube views of the 3-minute film reached 12 million views in one day and 40+ million and growing.