We are surrounded with so
much information today it's a miracle that any messages break through, but
Nike's strategy (via Wieden+Kennedy) of
creating emotional, empowering ads and large viral pyramids that leverage the
Nike brand and message content is one of the most effective emotional branding
examples in the marketing world today. Their customer loyalty is astronomical, all thanks to the masterful application of
emotional branding and the centuries-old storytelling archetype of Heroism.
Nike Advertising and
Emotional Branding
Nike's brand inspires fervent customer loyalty around the world. This is primarily because Nike's advertising uses
the emotional branding technique of archetypes in its advertising – more
specifically, the story of the Hero. It’s an age old tale, a tale of a hero
pitted against a great foe, and after a great struggle, emerging triumphant.
Building Loyalty + The Hero Archetype
Nike's advertising isn’t the
only group that uses the Hero archetype to inspire customer loyalty. Many other
companies use this emotional branding technique to great effect. In most cases,
the foe is external. The most common story of the hero is that of an underdog, a man of
humble origins setting out to defeat a greater evil – one far more powerful than
he – and, against all odds, emerging triumphant. As long as there is a clearly identified enemy and a clearly
identified hero, the emotional branding can begin.
Brand Strategy
Nike's advertising takes the
common hero story and turns it on its head. Instead of inspiring customer
loyalty by singling out an external enemy, it pulls out the stops and focuses
on an internal foe – our laziness. Nike knows just how often we
battle with our lazy side. Every morning when that alarm goes off and it’s
still totally dark outside, the battle begins. When we choose how long to run,
the battle continues. This is how Nike's marketing uses emotional marketing to
inspire customer loyalty. They know that while some people may identify with an
external foe, all people identify with an internal one.
Nike's strategy resonates because laziness is a universal foe and someone we can all
hate, the "consumer is the brand hero". In one way or another, we are all the hero of our
own story. Nike's marketing has long since identified that feeling – and used
it to inspire timeless customer loyalty. They succeed by showing people how to dream bigger and live better. Help them
to care more, enable them to do great things and inspire them to be the
hero of their story. Just watch the video below...
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