I Am Witness...To The Importance of Those Three Little Words: "Just Do It"

Nike Co-founder Bill Bowerman once said, “If you have a body, you are an athlete.” This statement embodies the ideas and goals of the world-renowned “Just Do It” campaign. The “Just Do It” campaign began in 1988 as an effort to overcome decreasing market share to Nike’s competitors, such as Reebok and Adidas. At the time, Nike took a gamble by developing a marketing campaign that aimed to express Nike products as more than just shoes, but rather as athletic fashion statement. Nike aimed to promote the experience that when you buy Nike’s you are not just getting a top of line athletic shoe, you are joining the in-crowd that lives an active lifestyle. This new lifestyle was active, hip, and trendy; three qualities Nike believed were very desirable to their consumers.

This call for an active lifestyle comes from the type of marketing known as strategic experience modeling, in particular act marketing. In a book titled Experiental Marketing: How to Get Your Customers to Sense, Feel, Think, Act, and Relate to Your Company and Brand by Bernd H. Schmitt, the author argues about the importance of marketing the experience of your brand to your consumers. Nike excellently challenged their customers to not only use their products, but also to create a new lifestyle. This type of challenge to action is known as act marketing. It encouraged potential customers to perceive the need to go out and exercise(Check Out The Original Just Do It Commercial). Whether your exercise of choice was walking in the mall for 30 minutes or running a marathon, Nike didn’t care. The company just wanted to cash in on the fitness craze of the 1980s by getting everyone to do some form of exercise. By empowering individuals to “just do it” and start exercising, Nike was implicitly improving its bottom-line. Nike knew if they were able sell this “Just Do It” concept, consumers would need athletic shoes and equipment to exercise. As the motivation for people’s workout, Nike was confident that their shoes would be the customers’ product of choice.

Before the “Just Do It” campaign, Nike like most athletic shoe companies at the time only focused on the benefits of the shoe. Through the “Just Do It” campaign, Nike was able to say all they needed to about the Nike product without ever discussing the show or even saying the Nike name. This lack of direct selling is the beauty of experiential marketing. As discussed extensively in marketing literature, people do not like to feel like they are being sold to. Rather, people desire to feel like buying a product provides them something more. For example, L’Oreal Paris’ hair treatment is more than just another brand of hair dye. Through their celebrity spokespersons, L’Oreal Paris has created an image of the woman you can become by using their product. Therefore, countless women will only use L’Oreal Paris products because it represents the lifestyle they live or presently desire.

Like Loreal, Nike also uses opinion leaders to create an image of a certain experience you can have with Nike. In one of the original 12 “Just Do It” commercials, Nike relied on two-sport superstar Bo Jackson to give the image that you can be an athletic superstar by using Nikes (See Original Bo Jackson Commercial). Even today, Nike is known for their innovative marketing programs that make you feel like an athlete and they inspire you to go out and “Just Do It.”

If Nike did not rely on multiple senses of Schmitt’s strategic experience marketing. It can be argued that it would not be as successful as it is today. As a former athlete and avid runner, I understand that Nike’s athletic shoes are usually not the best quality product in the market. Yet, Nike is the leader of athletic shoe revenues in the world. If Nikes aren’t the best shoes, but yet they sell at a tremendous rate, there must be something extra about Nike (besides the extra mark-up they are now able to charge because of their brand equity). The something extra is the experience, the fashion, and the coolness that both star athletes and average individuals feel when they put on their Nikes. And to think, this Nike experience all started because some marketing executives understood the power of a hybrid approach to experiential marketing. “Just Do It!”

I Don't Know What To Do...Too Many Choices

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.” –Robert Frost

The great poet Robert Frost showed it best. The choices you make will cause a huge difference in your life. Or will they? Depending on how you look at it, these choices can be a good thing or a bad thing. Barry Schwartz is his talk about “The Paradox of Choice” indicates that having too many choices is a bad thing. While I don’t necessarily disagree with him, I find his arguments contrary to current product and service marketing. In the year 2009, it seems like consumers are forced to make a choice about every product or service they buy. Businesses seem to be very choice oriented. Most businesses aim to give consumers every possible combination of goods and services imaginable.

Granted, many consumers have different needs, but I think consumers are spoiled. They are no longer satisfied with just getting soap, shampoo, or laundry detergent. Now it must disinfect a certain way, smell another way, and clean a specific spot. Consequently, companies are constantly putting out new products to satisfy those specific desires. Then, consumers get tired of that product and want something new. Since we’ve always received tons of options, we always want more. Basically, the ability to have a choice has made consumers more needy. We want more because we know that companies need to satisfy us because we drive their bottom line. As a result, consumers begin to get this feeling of well they company owes it to me to give me a new product. Once we get a new product, we become overly critical about that product. If the company doesn’t exactly meet our needs, we threaten to switch to a competitor. Now I ask, what we did when we didn’t have so many other options.

Another interesting thought involves the fact that most consumers use their close friends and relatives opinions to select a product. Since we cannot decide on our own, we must rely on people we trust to tell us what to do. For instance, at the grocery store, I find myself calling my mom just to ask her what brand of bacon is better. While this is important for my breakfast, it’s a little ridiculous that consumers cannot make a simple decision on their own anymore. Consequently, marketers must work heavily to reach the decision maker in the family. The ultimate example of this is the success Nintendo has had in marketing the Wii to stay at home moms.



On a personal level, I face my own paradox of choice recently. I decided to move into an off-campus apartment after living in an on-campus dorm for three years. I tormented myself for three weeks about whether to move off-campus or not. Even when I decided to move off campus, I immediately faced regret. I kept thinking about the reasons I should have just stayed on-campus. Yet, I originally was really confident in my decisions. I realized I was in a paradox. Either decision I made was really right and that’s why the decision was so difficult.

Similar to my situation, consumers are faced with a paradox. They may be indecisive as to what product to buy or what service to use. This indecisiveness arises from the fact that either decision is really correct. For example, I highly doubt that axe body wash is any better than old spice body wash. Its just now that men have a choice they ponder the pros and cons of each purchase. As a result of so many options, consumers are unsure of their decisions and experience buyers’ remorse.

Consumer indecisiveness relates to the argument in the article “Get Closer to Your Customers by Understanding How They Make Choices” by Itamar Simonson. It seems like all companies have done by diversifying their product portfolio is make it more difficult for them to understand their own consumers. Thus, companies must work to ensure that their products are the most satisfying to the consumer. This satisfaction oriented approach will help to minimize buyers remorse and help the decision making process easier. Now the question becomes, “What satisfies consumers?” If there is one thing being argued here, it is that marketers really don’t know exactly what drives consumer decisions. Marketers may have a pretty good idea, but it seems nearly impossible to completely understand the complex minds of a consumers. As a future marketer, I will definitely try to find the “golden ticket” to consumer decision making.

The "New" Generation Y

It’s amazing to me how far we have technologically progressed since I was a kid. Fortunately, I’ve always grown up with some sort of computer access. Of course, when I was younger the internet was a little more primitive (Oregon Trail anyone?), but I guess I shouldn’t complain considering my computer didn’t tack up an entire room. Now, we have these great inventions known as Iphones. This all-in-one gadget does a great job of summarizing the needs of Generation Y. I’m sure many Baby Boomers find this Apple product a little unnecessary. I, as a member of Generation Y, find it essential. It provides access to all the specific needs of a trendy professional. In the fast pace world we live in, it seems like you would be at a disadvantage if you could not receive email on the go. It’s perfect for us!

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With that said, I think the podcast “The Myspace Generation” by David Byrne captures Generation Y fairly accurately. In its accurate depiction, I feel like it also shows that maybe the generation gap really isn’t that large. The podcast seems to argue that Generation Y is very socially driven (i.e. the comment about music being the social currency in high schools). I’m sure most would agree that every modern generation is very socially driven. It seems like this generation is just using better technology than others. Despite this technology, we are still searching for all the levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. We want social acceptance, confidence, and strong relationships. I think many people look at these Generation Y kids as a puzzle. On the contrary, I think Generation Y kids are quite easy to figure out. They are looking to satisfy the same needs that generations before them have longed for. Fortunately, it’s now a lot easier for this generation to access their needs through the internet. Specifically, one need can be satisfied through MySpace and/or Facebook. These social networking sites help Generation Y to feel socially accepted because they can meet people from across the world that are exactly like them. Marketers need to further focus on how to expand on this ancient need for acceptance.
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On the other hand, I think the Business Week article about Generation Y does not accurately depict Generation Y. It seems to make arguments about many of the brands Generation Ys prefer. I would have to argue that Nike, Converse, and many other established brands are tremendously popular. For instance, I cannot walk to school without seeing nearly three-fourths of The University of Texas student body sporting some sort of Nike, Inc (includes Hurley and Converse brands) product. Thus, I think the article grossly underestimates the amount of brand loyalty teens have to established brands. With that said, I do agree that Generation Ys are easily influenced by peers and celebrities. For instance, the Secret Sparkle deodorant was tremendously popular in large part due to its association with Rihanna. Even so, this desire to follow favorite celebrities brings me back to the need for social acceptance. It seems like marketers should continue to use grassroots efforts to make products seem socially cool. Once this socially cool factor is established, no matter the product, it seams like Generation Y will buy. Some modern examples of this cool factor include Apple’s trendy business strategy and Mountain Dew’s connection with extreme sports.

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To get a little more personal, I think I’m somewhat atypical to Generation Y. While I am driven and already had a 10 year plan entering college, I tend to enjoy classic simplicities. For example, I actually do not have Facebook. According to many, no facebook means social suicide, but I look it as a way to continue to have more personal face-to-face and/or phone conversations. Moreover, I think it’s unnecessary to constantly let people know what you’ve been doing. I want to keep my life as private as possible. Thus, I enjoy life without the hassles of checking my facebook.
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Despite my personal philosophy, I’ve realized that I’m quite rare in my generation. Therefore, I would highly recommend marketers continue to tap into these trendy, alternative styles that most Generation Ys desire. I think marketers must strive to find unique niches and take chances in trying to find the next big thing. The worse thing a marketer could do is to stop evolving their strategies because they think they have figured out Generation Y. If we know anything about Generation Y, it is that we are always changing and looking for the easiest way to do multiple things.

Hello Everyone

Hey,

I'm a third year BHP/Marketing/Sport Management major. I'm curious to see how my blogs turn out because I wouldn't consider myself an interesting writer. Despite this, I look forward to reading other people's blogs and learning from each other