Introduction
This paper aims to present a case study of Nike’s use of social media marketing, utilizing an example of the #YouCantStopUs campaign. It was launched amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and aimed to keep the audience engaged with the brand and convey the company’s message about equality. The campaign appeared to be very successful, generating massive feedback on social networks and bringing much value to the company’s business.
Background
Nike launched its #YouCantStopUs campaign in July 2020 on several social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Although the campaign was comprised of visually appealing images and videos, it became viral after the release of the third video in the campaign. This 90-second film uses a split-screen to combine the footage of Asian, Black, Muslim, and White athletes doing different kinds of sports. Many of these athletes are widely known to the public, for example, Naomi Osaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Serena Williams, and LeBron James. Soccer player Megan Rapinoe is the narrator in the ad, calling the audience not to give up during this difficult time.
Apart from this video, Nike used other images and videos in this social media campaign. For example, in Nike’s tweet on Twitter entitled “Nothing can stop what we can do together,” the company used an image of hugging Black athletes and encouraged the audience to install the Nike app. In Nike’s Facebook profile, the company posted emotional videos featuring athletes. According to its official website, Nike also advertised online experiences under the name “You Can’t Stop Us Camp,” featuring famous athletes interacting with the audience.
The Audience and Their Feedback
The #YouCantStopUs campaign was intended for the American audience comprised of sports enthusiasts. The campaign turned out to be engaging and attracted much public attention. It was liked by many people, including celebrities and athletes. The videos gained millions of views on Twitter and YouTube the same day they appeared online. According to a blog post on Valens Research, entitled “You can’t stop us! This iconic brand made a mark with its impactful campaign during the trying times. [Fridays: Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing],” by October 2020, the campaign’s videos received more than 90.5 million views on Twitter and 184 million views on YouTube. Nike’s post on Facebook, entitled “#YouCantStopUs: No matter what we’re up against, we are never too far down to come back,” has got 13 million views, 74,000 likes, and 690 comments. The company’s tweet called “Nothing can stop what we can do together. You can’t stop sport. Because #YouCantStopUs” gained 385 retweets and 3,945 likes. Given the audience’s engagement with the company’s social media content, one may conclude that the campaign turned out to be successful.
The Success of the Social Media Tactic and Experts’ Opinions
By launching the #YouCantStopUs campaign, Nike has achieved its goal of keeping its audience engaged and its sales high during the difficult times of the pandemic. The social media tactic used by Nike was successful for three main reasons. First, its message addressed topical issues that disturbed the minds of many people at the time when the campaign was launched. These issues were the stress due to the global health crisis and a rising trend toward equality among different races, genders, and ability statuses. Second, Nike used high-quality and appealing visuals in all of the images and videos the company created for the campaign. Third, the firm utilized its connections with celebrities to reinforce its brand image.
Experts’ opinions support each of these three reasons for Nike’s social media tactic’s success. According to a blog post on Valens Research, entitled “You Can’t Stop Us! This Iconic Brand Made a Mark with Its Impactful Campaign During the Trying Times,” Nike’s campaign was inspiring because it managed to lift people’s spirit by addressing the health crisis while reinforcing its brand image of a sports company. Further, as noted in the post on Adgully, entitled “What Makes Nike’s ‘You Can’t Stop Us’ an Editing Marvel,” Nike has created a “memorable commercial” due to the extensive work it did on researching, editing, and making visual effects for its films used in the #YouCantStopUs campaign. Finally, according to the blog post on LaunchMetrics, entitled “How Nike Drove $8.95M in MIV® from the ‘You Can’t Stop Us’ Campaign,” the company gained large media impact value from its campaign because it was supported by such influencers as Cristiano Ronaldo and Naomi Osaka. Thus, Nike’s social media tactic was successful because of its relevance, high-quality visuals, and support from celebrities.
The Key Takeaways and Lessons Learned
Nike’s #YouCantStopUs campaign cannot be viewed as an example of “what not to do.” On the contrary, it may be considered a best practice because of its large success: the campaign managed to engage the audience and elicit much positive feedback from the public. One key takeaway from this case is that social media marketing should search for current trends in the audience’s environment and create content based on these trends. In the given case, Nike capitalized on the public’s need for emotional support during difficult pandemic times and on the rising trend for equality.
Another lesson one can learn from this campaign is that visuals have an important role in social media marketing. In order to produce the desired effect, the visual content should be unique and of high quality. Nike’s visuals have these characteristics; in addition, they effectively appeal to the audience’s emotions, inspiring them and evoking a sense of unity. One final takeaway is that using the company’s connections with influencers may significantly increase the media impact value of the social media campaign. Being a sports company and targeting the audience of sports enthusiasts, Nike uses professional athletes in its campaigns to reinforce its messages.
References
Official resources:
https://www.nike.com/experiences/details/140585
Online sources:
https://www.facebook.com/nike/videos/353688522272944/
Opinion pieces on the initiative:
https://www.launchmetrics.com/resources/blog/nike-data-analysis