Brand Activism - Nike and Colin Kaepernick

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Brand Activism - Nike and Colin Kaepernick
Advertising is one of the most effective and guaranteed approaches to reaching an audience. Advertising can positively impact an organization by generating appealing ads and spending enough to reach the target audience. Nike Company is one of the global organizations that invest in product advertisements. Its strategy focuses on creating strong, emotional associations with its clients through advertising. When the company released the “Just Do It” campaign, its brand team knew they were taking a risk by partnering with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in the advert. They acknowledged Kaepernick's influence involving protests, which could have been welcomed with a lot of controversy by some of the customers.
Nike is one of the companies that gains credibility by making a lot of money and selling quality products. The company's sales surged by partnering with Kaepernick during its 30th-anniversary campaign, thus invalidating critics. Sales skyrocketed as it reported a ten percent increase in income to $847 million, accelerated by solid revenue growth (Youn n.p). After the campaign, Nike reported that its stock ended the day 7.2% more at $72.37 on a particular day that most stocks traded precipitously less (Youn n.p). Nike's daring move, although controversial, proved effective to them.
The company also portrayed its smart, risky, and daring traits in the campaign. The company understood that the worst reaction from customers was no reaction at all. Nike recognized that even if the clients hated its brand, it would continue to be part of cultural discussion. It was not seconding the notion of protesting "The Star-Spangled Banner," but instead, it was promoting Kaepernick's decisions that encouraged people to become who they want to be. Today, people are interested in corporations that reflect their values and be strong leaders across social matters. If the organization were interested in supporting the "stand by your convictions" cause, it would raise brand fit and authenticity. Doing so was one of the effective approaches to increase Nike’s credibility.
Activism is viewed as campaigning to convey social change, but brand activism includes organizations speaking openly in the name of social movements. Nike's "Just Do It" campaign brought about a stronger identity as compared to the brand activism effort by Pepsi in its "Live for Now" campaign with Jenner and the "#RaceTogether" campaign of Starbucks in its Coffeehouses. One motive for the disparity bet...