Last
night we discussed how the need to belong to the tribe is a driving force for
all of us. After all, no one wants to
get eaten by a bear.
Marketers
have discovered that they can use the need to belong to persuade people to buy,
among other things, clothing that proclaims their allegiance to the tribe. But the question is whether that allegiance
can be extended to include products that are not directly linked to the tribe.
The
NBA has announced that this season they will allow teams to wear 2.5 x 2.5 inch
Nike swoosh patches on their uniforms.
The costs of the three year deals with the teams ranges from $24 million
to $60 million. Sounds like a good deal
for the teams. But what about Nike?
According
to NASCAR, their alliance with key sponsor Monster Energy has provided Monster
Energy with numerous marketing opportunities and opened up new channels of fan
activation for NASCAR. A win win for
both. (Janoff, 2017)
But
buying a $2.50 drink at a sporting event is a far cry from making a special
trip to the store to spend upwards of $60 on a pair of sneakers.
Meanwhile,
Nike just announced that their revenue was flat this quarter versus year ago,
with sales up +9% in China, but down -3% in the U.S. (Thomas, 2017) They also announced in June that they will
begin selling direct on Amazon for the first time. So perhaps they are gearing up for more NBA
fans from China?
So,
what do you think? Will the tribe buy in? Will wearing Nike along with team jerseys
become the new norm? If you are an NBA
fan, will the patches move you to buy?
Have you ever bought something endorsed by your tribe that wasn't
specifically designed to show your allegiance to them? If so, what did you buy?
Janoff,
B. (2017, September 26) Nascar Advice To NBA: No Such Thing As Too
Many Logos. mediapost.com. Retrieved
September 27, 2017, from https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/307840/nascar-advice-to-nba-no-such-thing-as-too-many-lo.html
Thomas, L. (2017, September 26) Nike's China sales are
booming, as demand wanes in North America. cnbc.com. retrieved September 27, 2017, from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/26/nike-q1-2018-earnings.html
