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Thank you very much for the letter this morning welcoming me to the “With Compliments” reward scheme and informing me that “as one of our most valued customers we’d like to show you our appreciation by bringing you extra rewards over the coming months”.
I am delighted that I get a value added reward each month for the next 3 months. I am delighted that I get to choose which of the four rewards I prefer. We all know that value for money and customer service matters greatly at the moment.
I am not delighed that the letter arrived this morning, 4th September, and that the cut-off date for collecting my reward was 3rd September, or yesterday.
Nike+ is a fantastic innovation whereby users, using their Apple iPod and a Nike+ sensor, can track and upload their runs to the NikePlus.com website. Runs are compiled into charts and personal bests/goals achieved etc. With over 2 million users worldwide, it’s a great motivational tool. It’s also a fantastic marketing and up-selling tool for Nike and a great example of companies successfully collaborating.
Over the last few weeks Nike has introduced users to the updated NikePlus website. The new version is less Flash heavy and loads faster. The layout is clearer, there is a strong emphasis on community and crucially Nike has made an important step to integrating social media.
Forums are more prominent
Users can link their accounts to Facebook & Twitter to share their running activity
Users can import their contacts (currently from Gmail only) to find current Nike+ users
Users are encouraged to invite friends to join Nike+ and grow the community
Additionally Nike has introduced a new Nike+ running band with a lower price point than an iPod, which opens the Nike+ system up to a much larger potential audience.
Nike captured 48% of the market share for running shoes in 2006 and that rose to 61% in 2008. The Nike+ system is largely credited with that increase. Additionally, lets consider the data that Nike is gathering for free from over 2 million runners worldwide. Nike knows for example that runners in the US run more often in Winter than do runners in Europe, but for shorter distances. Nike has data based on age, location, sex and weight. Nike knows what music runners are buying via the NikePlus linkup to iTunes. Nikes knows the world’s favourite powersongs. All this places Nike in a very favourable position to respond to that data and develop future products and services accordingly.
Running is often a very solitary endeavour, and there is something encouraging as you log-in to see runners from all over the world log their runs. It gives a sense of being part of something bigger – of all us runners, the Nike+ Community, clocking up our kilometers on the Nike counter. For Nike the opportunity to harness this community spirit is golden.
As part of the ‘How things change’ Eurosaver campaign in Ireland, McDonalds’ current radio advert features Gerry the Builder. The advert is a series of voice mails that Gerry the builder is leaving for his client. The first message proclaims that the job is going to come in at double the initial quote, and he won’t be able to do it until 6 months down the line. Another message knocks €200 off the quote, and it proceeds in this fashion to the final message where the desperate builder is outside the woman’s front door begging to start the job right now.
“Funny how some things change” smirks the advert. In a country where unemployment is now at 11% who thought that this represented good humour? Presumably someone who doesn’t have a friend or relative working in construction, conveyancing, architecture or civil engineering to name but a few of the sectors seriously affected by the downturn. Presumably someone who hasn’t had trouble paying their mortgage, keeping up with their car repayments or paying the income levy. Or maybe, just maybe, after the emergency budget, the creative genius behind it is slowly joining the dots and realising that this affects their own pocket very directly.
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