How does Nike transform the sports practices?

Launched in 2012 the Nike+ FuelBand, Nike Corporation reached to take advantage of three main socio-cultural changes. Namely, the increasing of personal coaching businesses, the lack of time for people to practice a supervised sport and the increase of the individualism in developed countries. Indeed, this designed high-tech bracelet is conceived to follow your way of moving thanks to the unit Nikefuel, which is a universal way to measure your movements for any kinds of activities. 

The digital fitness device market is dominated by Fitbit with its “Flex” (67% of sales in 2013), followed by the Jawbone Ps (19% of sales) and by Nike (with 10% of sales in 2013). Nike Inc.'s equipment division saw an 18% rise in profits for the 2012 fiscal year after introduction of its flagship (against -1% in 2011).

Nike+ FuelBand: Not just a product, a real innovative concept

The Nike+ FuelBand allows also customers to stay connected through the Nike+ community. From now on the company offers not only a product but also offers a multitude of associated services, a universe and a lifestyle. Nike enable its customers to:

• Follow their physical activities and compare it along the time.
• Define their personal objectives day per day for each training session.
• Train in a clever way by being advised by a famous international personal trainer who is going to care about each individual case, and provide an adapted solution according to the objective of each customer.
• Improve their performance by analyzing them and giving a general trend.
• Find a better circuit which will be adapted to the consumer need. By diversifying the circuit, Nike is also suggesting more or less difficult training.
• Challenge your friends through games and virtual competitions.
• Share your success.

What is the objective of Nike Brand?

Take advantage of “The Quantified Self” among other trends. So, QF is a movement to incorporate technology into data acquisition on aspects of a person's daily life in terms of inputs (e.g. food consumed, quality of surrounding air), states (e.g. mood, arousal, blood oxygen levels), and performance (mental and physical). Such as self-monitoring and self-sensing, which combines wearable sensors (EEG, ECG, video, etc.) and wearable computing, is also known as life logging. The product matches perfectly to needs of these specifics customers.

Firstly created for the runners, the FuelBand is aimed to touch the maximum of people. The most important thing is the ability of Nike to make consumers aware of their need of this product and to adopt daily it. Finally, Nike tries to create virality and extend the Nike+’ community (a real digital cloud) including all daily efforts not just sport, making customers more active “Life is a sport, make it count”. Obviously, this cloud creates dynamics, relationship with customers and a feeling of identity, membership in the brand. It’s also a system of motivation and socialization.

Who is targeted?

We can suggest a segmentation by sports practices frequency and also by benefits. That is why we tried to identify some caricature profiles.

People who are casually practicing sport

First, people who would be not aware of doing physical activities in their daily life. Here, Nike is challenging itself, to make more people practicing more sport activities. Nike encourages the physical efforts. The woman being 50 years old and doing her vegetables market is active! Then, people who taking care about their image and adopted the Nike style. This urban style is linked to a young dynamic trendy. They perceived the product as a fashionable accessory.

People who are regularly practicing sport

We can quote people who are looking for a physical wellness. For example women who are doing Zumba or Fitness in order to feel good in their body [15 to 45]. Or the young executive is looking for staying in a good shape [25 to.40]. Obviously, people who are looking for mental profits and satisfaction. For example, the young trader, who needs to decompress and to forget daily responsibilities, he will quickly adopt the product.

Sportive amateurs who are frequently practicing sport

One hand, we would have people who are practicing an individual sport and are looking for the individual performance and tend to come out of their limits. Cross country running illustrates these customers. In the other hand, we would find people who are practicing a team sport and are looking for the comparison of themselves with the others and supervised by a coach being careful for individual and collective performance.

Finally, this product needs some improvements (because some problems of Nikefuel accounting) before to be adapted for new use and in other areas. We can easily imagine medical applications to struggle for example against some diseases such as diabetes. Indeed, this kind of gadget could be a permanent blood tester and warn people who has a disease. Obviously, we can also imagine many perspectives for this product related to the Big Data trends.

By N. Godard, A. Natta, V. T., S. Datta and M. Quetant - Esc Pau MBA franco-Indien  -  Avril 2014.