Nike: The Class Of The (Track And) Field

After the torch was extinguished and the athletes went home, there was one Olympic souvenir I still wanted. I’m talking about what was what was on the feet of so many runners. Those super-cool-light-as-a-feather neon green running shoes. Nearly ubiquitous on the athletes’ feet, they were hard to miss. 

 

I knew the runners were in Nike shoes. Actually, about 400 Olympians were in Nikes. But here’s the kicker: Nike was not an official sponsor of the Olympic Games—Adidas was! Despite this, Nike was ‘advertised’ all over the Games by being so noticeably on the feet of so many gold medal winners. This was the kind of exposure that money can’t buy.

 

Not only did Nike get tremendous air-time by outfitting the athletes, but they created desire—in people like me—to own those super cool shoes. As I watched those Olympians I wanted a pair of lime green Nikes too. I wanted them badly. I was a victim of “ambush marketing” by Nike.

 

As small business owners we will always be cash-strapped for marketing initiatives. But this is where we can take a page from Nike’s book. There are lots ways we can market our businesses without breaking the bank: We can partner with other companies; We can host giveaways to drive traffic to our sites; We can reward our loyal customers; We can get influential people talking about our products. We just have to get a little bit clever. 

 

For the record, I got my own Olympic-inspired Nikes soon after the Games ended. I was in the market for new shoes. (Nike cleverly made sure that every product seen at the Games was available for purchase in store.) And I’m not going to lie—I love ‘em. 

 

Now that I’ve acquired the shoes, what do you think I need to do to acquire the body of a heptathlete?