"BEYOND BLACK LIVES MATTER: Nike Sets a Precedent for Corporate Responsibility"

BEYOND BLACK LIVES MATTER NIKE SETS A PRECEDENT FOR CORPORATE RESPONSIBILIT Y

Group 1 Strategic Public Relations Jason Kaufman Ashley LaPlante Katherine Porter John Maggio

Abstract

In response to the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, the US erupted in outrage and protest, demanding racial justice. For seven years, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement had been controversial; for a corporation, demonstrating support could unleash political, reputational, and financial backlash. Nike’s decision to endorse BLM by featuring Colin Kaepernick in their 2018 campaign was highly polarizing, resulting in immediate ramifications for the company. Following the successive murders of Floyd and other Black people in 2020, Nike responded by increasing support for BLM and the Black community. By doing so, Nike has not only experienced financial growth, but set a precedent for corporate responsibility and leadership in the fight for social justice.

Table of Contents An equal playing field for all: Nike’s corporate profile Until we all win: Nike’s ongoing commitment to equality Courage is contagious: A history of Black Lives Matter For once, don’t do it: Nike’s response to Racial Injustice Starting to pay dividends: Business impact & performance Game plan for moving forward: Corporate responsibility & social justice Works cited Appendices

An equal playing field for all: Nike’s corporate profile “Our purpose is to unite the world through sport to create a healthy planet, active communities and an equal playing field for all.”

Nike’s Purpose Statement

About Nike Nike, Inc. is the world’s largest athletic apparel and footwear company, based out of Oregon, USA. Subsidiaries include Converse and Jordan Brand. Nike employs 76,700 people worldwide, with over half of U.S. Nike employees identifying as non-white. Nike’s brand value was $32.4 billion in 2019 and $34.8 billion in 2020. Nike has been a Fortune 500 company for more than 25 years, breaking into the Fortune 100 in 2016 and rising to #85 in 2020 (Fortune, 2020).

Nike’s mission is to “bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world” while their purpose is “to unite the world through sport to create a healthy planet, active communities and an equal playing field for all” (Nike, 2021). Their goal is not just to maximize athletic potential, but to maximize human potential.

Market & Customer Overview The athletic apparel industry is highly competitive worldwide. Nike’s top competitors include Adidas, Anta, Asics, Li-Ning, Lululemon, Puma, and Under Armour (Owler, 2020). Key industry measures that determine brand success are product quality, innovation and development, price and value, customer affinity for brands and products (including identification with high-profile athletes and sports leagues), and more. Nike’s market share was around 27% in 2019, putting it ahead of industry competitors.

Nike seeks to build on existing relationships with customers to build brand equity, and for decades they have not shied away from courting their base with bold, edgy, and potentially controversial ideas. Nike has proven over and again that they listen to their athletes and their market by giving them what they want in terms of athletic apparel, advertising, messaging, and values.

Nike seeks to build on existing relationships with customers to build brand equity, and for decades they have not shied away from courting their base with bold, edgy, and potentially controversial ideas. Nike has proven over and again that they listen to their athletes and their market by giving them what they want in terms of athletic apparel, advertising, messaging, and values.

Corporate Reputation Nike is a well-known, highly respected brand that has faced some recent ups and downs in its corporate reputation, though it has remained near the top of most lists. Nike has a consistently high reputation because they excel at manufacturing quality products and they invest in brilliant marketing that features well-known athletic stars, highlights important issues, and allows individuals to connect with the brand.

Though well-known for their apparel, some negative events have marred Nike’s reputation.

During a basketball game, Zion Williamson was injured while wearing Nike shoes that broke.

Artist 2 Chainz accused Nike of plagiarizing his album cover (UnderTheLaces, 2019). An April 2018 New York Times exposé revealed a “boys’ club” culture at Nike that included widespread sexual harassment, a hostile work environment, and gender discrimination, which lead to the resignation of several executives. And the ongoing polarization around Colin Kaepernick, who was featured in Nike’s 2016 campaign, continues to percolate.

Recent Nike rankings include (Ranking the Brands, 2020): • Axios Harris Poll (corporate reputation): #12 in 2018, #35 in 2019 • Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies: #16 in 2018, #13 in 2019, #13 in 2020 • Global RepTrack 100: #13 in 2018, #15 in 2019, #30 in 2020 • Top 100 Brands for Millennials: #1 in 2018, #3 in 2019

Until we all win: Nike’s ongoing commitment to equality “Nike believes in the power of sport to unite and inspire people to take action in their communities. Equality isn’t a game. But achieving it will be our greatest victory. Until we all win.”

2019 Nike Campaign

Corporate Social Responsibility In many ways, Nike is a leader when it comes to corporate commitment and social responsibility. Nike has set and has met ambitious Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) targets and goals including pay equity, increasing the percentage of Vice Presidents who are women and/or from underrepresented groups, and providing unconscious bias awareness training to more than 50% of global employees (Purpose.Nike). For 18 consecutive years, Nike has earned “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality” with a score of 100 in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation annual Corporate Equality Index (Purpose.Nike). Nike has committed to investing in underrepresented communities in the U.S. and around the world, including providing $4 million in grants to nonprofits supporting LatinX, Asian, Middle and Pacific, Native American, and LBGTQ+ people, as well as military members, veterans, girls, and women (purpose.nike.com).

Though there are many reasons to commend Nike, it is important to note that the corporation has faced its share of criticism. To start, Nike has had what has been considered “an on-again-off-again” (Goodonyou, 2020) relationship with the Worker Rights Consortium, disallowing them from monitoring Nike’s supplier factories. Disallowing safety and inspection officers from their factories raises questions of just how much Nike cares about their employees’ wellbeing. To add to Nikes woes, it has also been sued for both gender discrimination and sexual harassment, raising serious questions as to what is permitted within the corporate culture, as well as whether Nike’s calls for equality are authentic.

In addition to showing a lack of care for its employees, Nike has also shown a lack of concern for the environment in an era where environmental awareness is an increasingly popular topic.

Nike has absolutely zero deforestation-related policies, which has increasingly hurt local habitats during Nike’s resource expenditures. This lack of care for the environment has become a concern for politically left-leaning consumers, which make up the largest portion of Nike’s market.

Advertising Campaigns For decades, Nike’s marketing has focused on boundary-stretching advertising campaigns that promote social justice, including: • Nike’s first ‘Just Do It’(1988) spot featuring an 80-year-old runner to combat ageism; • ‘I am not a role model’ (1993), which featured NBA legend Charles Barkley and challenged social norms; • ‘Just Do It’ (1995), which featured openly gay, HIV-positive runner Ric Muñoz; • ‘If you let me play’ (1995), which showcased the benefits of girls playing sports; and • “Equality” (2017), which featured the civil rights anthem “A Change Is Gonna Come” and incorporated testimony from Lebron James and Serena Williams.

In 2018, five years after the Black Lives Matter movement started, Nike released their most controversial ad to date featuring Colin Kaepernick, a polarizing figure who had taken a stand for racial justice and equality. ‘Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.’ (2018) featured Kaepernick as part of Nike’s 30th anniversary “Just Do It” ad campaign, alongside athletes Serena Williams, Lebron James, Megan Rapinoe, Alphonso Davies, and others. The ad immediately went viral on social media with strong positive and negative feedback, including people cutting their Nike socks and burning their sneakers using the hashtag #BoycottNike and #BurnNike. Despite the outrage, Nike won an Emmy for the ad and sold out Kaepernick’s’ Icon t-shirts online just hours after they were released. They saw a 31% increase in sales and their share price reached an all-time high (Gahan, 2019), proving investing in social justice and equality can be both right and profitable.

Courage is contagious: A history of Black Lives Matter “The Black Lives Matter movement is a testament to the fact that courage is contagious.�

Opal Tometi, co-founder of Black Lives Matter

Start of a Movement The Black Lives Matter movement began in 2013, following the death of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent acquittal of George Zimmerman, the man who shot him. Three Black women – Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi – founded the #BlackLivesMatter and #BLM hashtags and the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. The movement has continued to gather momentum following more murders of Black people by police, as well as injustices faced by Black women and Black transgender women. Protests and calls for justice have occurred across the United States and internationally as a result of the movement.

As one measure of public response to the movement, the Pew Research Center analyzed the number and nature of #BlackLivesMatter tweets (Appendix A). From the first appearance in mid-2013 through March 2016, #BlackLivesMatter appeared on Twitter almost 11.8 million times. 38% of mentions were positive or supportive, while only 11% expressed criticism of Black Lives Matter (the other mentions were categorized as neutral or other) (Appendix B). The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter was used eight times as often as #AllLivesMatter, a hashtag generally used by people who oppose BLM (11.8 million vs. 1.5 million times, respectively) (Anderson, 2016) (Appendix C).

Athletes Kneel to Take a Stand By 2016, American sports stars had begun to get involved in the BLM movement, including LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Dwyane Wade, who opened the ESPY awards ceremony by speaking up against gun and police violence, retaliation, racial profiling, and the lack of valuing of Black and Brown bodies. In August 2016, NFL player Colin Kaepernick was the first player to be recognized for protesting racial injustice by sitting and then taking a knee during the National Anthem. He was soon joined by fellow NFL players, US Soccer star Megan Rapinoe, high school and college athletes, WNBA, and NBA players across the country. The October 3, 2016 cover of Time Magazine featured Kaepernick kneeling in his 49ers uniform with the headline, “The Perilous Fight: National anthem protests led by Colin Kaepernick are fueling a debate about privilege, pride and patriotism.” (Sandritter, 2017). Although many of the athletes who supported the movement for Black lives were supported by their fans, they also faced intense criticism from fans and critics alike, and even repercussions from the organizations that employed them, who sought to minimize crisis and maintain the status quo.

America’s Racial Reckoning In the midst of the 2020 global pandemic, multiple high-profile murders of Black people – including Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Elijah McClain, and George Floyd – occurred in rapid succession, many at the hands of police. A massive wave of protests erupted after

Floyd’s murder on May 25, spreading from Minneapolis across the US and throughout the world.

The use of #BlackLivesMatter hit record levels, averaging just under 3.7 million daily uses between May 26 – the day after George Floyd’s death – and June 7 (Gramlich, 2020). According to a June 2020 survey, “two-thirds of U.S. adults say they support the movement, with 38% saying they strongly support it. This sentiment is particularly strong among Black Americans, although majorities of white (60%), Hispanic (77%) and Asian (75%) Americans express at least some support” (Parker, Horowitz, and Anderson, 2020) (Appendix D).

Between May 26, the day after Floyd’s death, and August 22, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) Project recorded “over 7,750 demonstrations linked to the BLM movement across more than 2,440 locations in all 50 states and Washington, DC” (Kishi & Jones, 2020).

More than 93% of the demonstrations connected to the movement were peaceful, and “despite the fact that demonstrations associated with the BLM movement have been overwhelmingly peaceful, more than 9% — or nearly one in 10 — have been met with government intervention, compared to 3% of all other demonstrations” and “over 5% of all events linked to the BLM movement have been met with force by authorities, compared to under 1% of all other demonstrations” (Kishi & Jones, 2020).

As 2020 progressed, the premise behind the hashtag, that we exist “in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted” (Black Lives Matter, 2020) was being proven in real-time. BLM co-founder Patrice Cullors noted, “what Black Lives Matter has done is changed the entire cultural understanding of what anti-Black racism is. Black Lives Matter is not just a fight for Black Lives. It also means a fight for all of our lives. When Black people get free, everybody else gets more free.”

For once, don’t do it:

Nike’s response to Racial Injustice “Don’t pretend there’s not a problem in America. Don’t turn your back on racism. Don’t accept innocent lives being taken from us. Don’t make any more excuses. Don’t think this doesn’t affect you. Don’t sit back and be silent. Don’t think you can’t be part of the change. Let’s all be part of the change.”

Nike Campaign

Support for Racial Justice Recognizing the import of the racial crisis spreading throughout the United States, on May 29, 2020, four days after George Floyd’s murder, Nike was one of the first corporations to speak out with an impactful video that cut through the social media cacophony. Nike took its ever famous “Just Do It” slogan and flipped it to “For Once, Don’t Do It.” The simple yet powerful one-minute spot featured only white words on a black background with a dramatic, single piano providing the soundtrack, absent of Nike’s signature athletes, action, and voice-overs. It named the problem of racism and the loss of innocent lives, and invited everyone to “be part of the change.” The ad had more than 15 million views on Instagram, 108k retweets and 225.7k on Twitter. The ad gained even more popularity when rival Adidas shared it on their social media channels, showing solidarity with the movement (Young, 2020).

On June 5, in their “Statement on Commitment to the Black Community,” Nike announced a $40 million commitment on behalf of the Nike, Jordan, and Converse brands. In addition, Michael Jordan and Jordan Brand announced they will donate $100 million over the next ten years to organizations that teach about racial equality, social justice, and greater access to education (Nike, 2020). President and CEO, John Donahoe noted, “Systemic racism and the events that have unfolded across America over the past few weeks serve as an urgent reminder of the continued change needed in our society. We know Black Lives Matter. We must educate ourselves more deeply on the issues faced by Black communities and understand the enormous suffering and senseless tragedy racial bigotry creates” (Nike, 2020). In addition to this public statement, Donahoe issued an internal statement, writing, “While we strive to help shape a better society, our most important priority is to get our own house in order... While we have made some progress over the past couple of years, we have a long way to go” (Nike, 2020).

On July 29, Nike announced additional donations of $1 million each to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), the Formerly Incarcerated & Convicted People and Families Movement (FICPFM), and $500,000 to Black Voters Matter to support reformative practices that drive real change in the Black community (Nike, 2020).

During the 2020 campaign cycle, on the 55th anniversary of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibited racial discrimination in voting, Nike expanded their commitment to voting efforts. In a campaign encouraging voter participation and minimizing barriers to voting through a partnership with Lyft, ‘You Can’t Stop Our Voice’ (2020) featured LeBron James, Naomi Osaka, Sue Bird, Odell Beckham Jr., A’Ja Wilson, and Tim Anderson. On Nike’s website, they also showed what the major leagues were doing to help communities get out to vote (purpose.nike. com).

On January 8, 2021, Nike increased support of their Black Community Commitment, announcing a $500,000 commitment to Black Girl Ventures, which focuses on economic empowerment for Black and Brown women-identifying founders.

Public Reaction Nike’s response to ongoing systemic racism and the murders of Black people in the summer of 2020 was received positively by most publics. “Despite some variation across demographic groups, the net sentiment related to [Nike’s ‘For Once, Don’t Do It’ ad] was positive. In fact, the sentiment was positive across almost all key demographic groups,” said Lindsey Roeschke, a director analyst at Gartner (Adams, 2020).

However, it was not positive for everyone. Prior to the release of the ad, a group of Black Nike employees repeatedly voiced objections, recommending to leadership “in emails and at least two video meetings that Nike make a public acknowledgment of its own problems before using current social justice narratives ‘for brand building’”(Germano, 2020). Negative reaction was generally limited to these staff members who were doing the challenging work to push for more internal change, people who continued to criticize Nike’s past failures, and others that already disagreed with the Black Lives Matter movement and Nike’s continued support.

From the media (who widely covered the campaign), to competitors like Adidas (who shared it), to investors (who saw strong returns), to the majority of employees (who work to implement Nike’s values), to customers (who aligned with the message of equity and action, engaged with the campaign, and purchased Nike products), the majority of Nike’s publics demonstrated strong support for Nike’s response to the racial crisis in the summer of 2020 and beyond.

Starting to pay dividends: Business impact & performance “This really underscores the need for any type of commentary on social issues to be a long-term strategy rooted in brand values rather than a one-off opportunity to capitalize on a trend. In Nike’s case, this commitment has started to pay dividends.�

Lindsey Roeschke, Gartner analyst

Immediate Financial Impact Due to the impact from COVID-19 beginning just two months before the re-energization of the Black Lives Matter movement, it is difficult to parse the impact from COVID-19 and the impact from support of BLM. But Nike’s financial performance was positive overall.

Starting March 15th, Nike announced a temporary two-week store closing. As the pandemic raged on beyond the initial two weeks, quarantine restrictions around the world contributed to a slow fourth quarter. From 2016 to 2019, Nike saw steady revenue growth. In fiscal year 2020, Nike saw a $1.7 million drop in revenue from the previous year, but still outperformed 2018’s revenue. In July of 2020, President and CEO John Donahoe wrote his first letter to shareholders.

He cited a strong “first nine months of F20, these strengths translated into very strong financial performance. Momentum was strong, resulting in healthy topline growth, gross margin expansion and operating income growth” (Donahoe, 2020). Nike has been able to satisfy shareholders with healthy quarterly dividend growth (Appendix E) through both COVID-19 and aggressive CSR campaigns.

At the close of the first quarter, FY21, Nike reported (Nike, 2020): • Revenues were $10.6 billion, down 1 percent on a reported basis and flat to prior year on a currency-neutral basis • Nike Direct sales were $3.7 billion, up 12 percent on a reported basis • Nike Brand digital sales increased 82 percent At the close of the second quarter, FY21, Nike reported (Nike, 2020): • Revenues were $11.2 billion, up 9 percent compared to prior year • Nike Direct sales were $4.3 billion, up 32 percent on a reported basis • Nike Brand digital sales increased 84 percent Despite COVID-19 temporarily closing stores in mid-March, Nike posted an impressive sales surge. Nike’s business had pivoted from brand and outlet stores to online sales, showing strong growth. Nike saw online sales surge 75% and “achieved a 2030 goal to reach 30% digital sales three years early” (B&T, 2020). A 106% demand increase in loungewear and active wear for the new stay-at-home lifestyle resulted in record sales. The COVID-19 lockdown has left customers reaching for casual comfort over business casual, and Nike seems to be the brand of choice.

“Nike climbed two places on the Lyst’s list to become the hottest brand on the planet” (B&T, 2020), the first time since the Lyst Index’s inception that a luxury brand has not been in the top spot. The Lyst Index takes into account global Lyst and Google search data, conversion rates and sales, as well as brand and product social media mentions and engagement statistics worldwide over a three-month period (B&T, 2020). Part of Nike’s high grade from Lyst can be attributed to

the 5 million Instagram likes from the ‘Don’t Do It’ campaign, and millions of dollars in pledges to organizations in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Corporate Reputation Impact Pairing long-term support for social justice with strong financial performance, Nike has earned its place on the Fortune 100 since 2016 (Fortune, 2020). Nike has served three main constituencies well: employees, customers, and shareholders. An internal corporate social responsibility campaign, re-examined and re-affirmed through the height of the BLM movement, has addressed calls from employees for the large company to step up. While consumer reaction has been negative and positive, online sales growth demonstrates that consumers are casting votes for Nike in dollars and the continued support from customers is paying out increasing dividends for shareholders. By acknowledging racial injustice and advocating for BLM and similar initiatives, Nike has demonstrated authenticity in its marketing (Meena & Kiesler, 2020), and constituencies have reacted accordingly.

Nike’s social media presence continues to grow steadily. On Instagram, over 126 million people follow the main Nike page (Appendix F). Several smaller Nike owned accounts are still viewed by millions. On Twitter, where Nike has 8.3 million followers, they did not lose any as a result of their BLM support (Appendix G). Nike’s Twitter account boasts a one-line bio: #BlackLivesMatter. Nike is inactive on Facebook – they have not posted regularly since 2018.

While less active on Facebook, page likes grew at a much slower rate than on Instagram, but still steadily increased throughout the declaration of BLM support and continued commitment to social justice (Appendix H).

Game plan for moving forward: Corporate responsibility & social justice “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.�

Colin Kaepernick, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback & Nike Spokesperson

As consumers – particularly Millennials and Gen Z – become more focused on the actions taken by big business and government, transparency and honesty become increasingly important.

Consumers expect companies to take a clear stance on social and political issues. Using each purchase as a vote, consumers are doing their homework and casting ballots with each transaction.

More than ever, Americans believe that “corporations should take action to address important issues facing society (81%) and have a responsibility to do so (77%)” (Hootkin & Meck, 2018).

They want to support companies that “see social good as a necessity, not just a marketing strategy” (Zheng, 2020).

Just a few days after the killing of George Floyd shocked the nation, Nike released a simple yet powerful video with a unifying call to action. In addition to social media support, Nike pledged millions of dollars to organizations and initiatives that support the Black community and people of color. Nike also used its large social media presence to highlight and lift amateur athletes, while continuing to focus on Black celebrities and professional athletes. They invested in other ways, too, such as reducing barriers to voting and encouraging young people to use their voice to vote.

Yet, they still faced criticism from internal and external constituencies.

Companies like Nike have an opportunity to do more, to move beyond Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), a “self-regulated framework that has no legal or social obligation for corporations to actually create positive impact for the groups they purport to help,” to Corporate Social Justice (CSJ), “a framework regulated by the trust between a company and its employees, customers, shareholders, and the broader community it touches, with the goal of explicitly doing good by all of them” (Zheng, 2020). More than most corporations, Nike has been leaning into reciprocity with and accountability to their constituencies, and their strong financial performance demonstrates that it can be profitable to do so. But 2020 has demonstrated that, as CEO John Donahoe said, “we have a long way to go” (Nike, 2020).

The fight for racial justice and equity is long from over. Should Nike listen to its employees to acknowledge and repair its own problems before leaning further into social justice? Can Nike maintain its ties to the Black Lives Matter movement, stay true to the mission, and still climb the Forbes 100? Will Nike’s success encourage other corporations follow its lead?

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Appendices

Appendix A

Anderson, Monica; Barthel, Michael; Perrin, Andrew; and Vogels, Emily A. “#BlackLivesMatter surges on Twitter after George Floyd’s death.” 10 Jun 2020,

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/10/blacklivesmatter-surges-on-twitter-after-george-floyds-death/.

Appendix B

Anderson, Monica. “The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter emerges: Social activism on Twitter.” Pew Research Center, 15 Aug 2016,

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2016/08/15/the-hashtag-blacklivesmatter-emerges-social-activism-on-twitter/.

Appendix C

Anderson, Monica. “The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter emerges: Social activism on Twitter.” Pew Research Center, 15 Aug 2016,

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2016/08/15/the-hashtag-blacklivesmatter-emerges-social-activism-on-twitter/.

Appendix D

Parker, Kim; Horowitz, Juliana Menasce; and Anderson, Monica. “Amid Protests, Majorities Across Racial and Ethnic Groups Express Support for the Black Lives

Matter Movement.” Pew Research Center, 12 Jun 2020,

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/06/12/amid-protests-majorities-across-racial-and-ethnic-groups-express-support-for-the-black-lives-matter-

movement/#fn-28672-1.

Appendix E

“Stock Information.” Investors, Nike, 7 Dec. 2020,

investors.nike.com/investors/stock-information/default.aspx.

Appendix F

Trackalytics. “Nike Instagram Followers Statistics,” Trackalytics, 15 Jan. 2021,

www.trackalytics.com/instagram/followers/widget/nike/.

Appendix G

Trackalytics. “Nike: Facebook Statistics/Analytics,” Trackalytics, 2 June 2020,

www.trackalytics.com/facebook/fanpage/nike/.

Appendix H

Trackalytics. “Nike: Twitter Statistics / Analytics,” Trackalytics, 15 Jan. 2021,

www.trackalytics.com/twitter/profile/nike/.

Thank You