FAN(ATIC) USERS CREATING SCARCITY

Nike took all the learnings from interacting with the superfan base – as the most-critical audience Nike has –to create a playbook that is now applied throughout the broader Nike ecosystem. For example, the innovative way of shooting sneakers for the SNKRS app became the design language for all digital outings of Nike.

YEAH, FOUND ‘EM

One of the ways to engage the superfan community is to fuel their passion, energy and urgency with limited editions or exclusive collabs. The experience of how you get the shoe is sometimes as important as the shoe itself. It is no longer just a matter of writing a cheque (Pay to win), that special effort also counts (Play to win). For example, being right on time when, during the Super Bowl performance of Justin Timberlake wearing a new sneaker, a sudden drop is announced on the app. Or visiting a special store or concert to 'unlock' an opportunity to obtain an exclusive pair… And then to share the story!

OTHER PEOPLES NETWORK (OTN)

Nike has partnered with a wide variety of other brands, artists, and influencers to reach audiences outside their typical customer base. Collaborations, among other with Apple, Burberry, Beats and Ben & Jerry, have allowed Nike to grow a new fanbase they wouldn't't have been able to reach on their own.

New Players In Ecosystem

The SNKRS app and all the exclusive collabs and limited edition drops also fuel a lively secondary marketplace that's benefiting from the surrounding hype. The resale of popular models has become a multibillion-dollar industry in itself. Four out of five shoes sold on these secondary market platforms are of either the Nike or Jordan brand. This trend gives space to new players in the ecosystem, varying from blogs tailored to helping people to get access to special 'drops' or sources for how to determine the right market value of a certain model (varying from a few hundred up to thousands of dollars) and to get the authentication that it's a real, verified Nike.

A famous app providing the last service is StockX, a company valued at over $3.8 billion. It's been a steady rumour that Nike might start its own secondary marketplace to better serve the user and, more importantly, to leverage the data about what models are popular in what group and why!