When former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick appeared in Nike's new "Just Do It" campaign, it seemed like a gamble that could explode in Nike's face. The inclusion of Kaepernick, who was responsible for a wave of protests against the national anthem among football players throughout the NFL last season, placed the Nike brand at the center of a highly inflamed political debate and sparked the outrage of some of its own consumers in the process. .Some buy email list critics have called for a national boycott of Nike products. Less diplomatic consumers have recorded videos of themselves burning their Nike shoes, while vowing never to buy from the company again, according to Business Insider.
The backlash was so quick and visible in the media buy email list that it looked like Nike might have made a gross miscalculation. But a few weeks later, the company's sales tell a whole different story. According to Axios , the company saw a 31% increase in online sales immediately after launching the “Just Do It” campaign. CBS News reports that since the ad featuring Kaepernick was released, Nike's market value has increased by $6 billion.nike jumpImage credit: Xavier TéoNike created an advertisement that would certainly alienate some of its existing customer base.
While proponents of the brand's message may want to highlight this decision as a case where the company risks losing profits to take a social and political stand for what it believes in, the more likely reality is that Nike has did his research and decided a campaign featuring Kaepernick made good financial sense. That $6 billion increase in market value wasn't the product of a truly compelling new line of basketball shoes; it was the result of a well-executed brand buy email list story, designed to serve Nike's most critical customer segment.