Comments on: Nike, Just Do It: When a Local Story Runs Away on the Web and Leads to Change

By: Zappos is Powered by More Than Service | PR2.0

Zappos is Powered by More Than Service | PR2.0 — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:37:43 +0000

[...] Learning from Bono’s Facebook Dilemma – Reinventing Crisis Communications for the Social Web – Nike, Just Do It: When a Local Story Runs Away on the Web – Apple and the iPhone Price Bomb – The Skype is Falling – Microsoft PR Sparks a Blogstorm [...]

By: Alex Meyer

Alex Meyer — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 05:23:00 +0000

I would like to point out the biggest issue in this whole mess. It has to do with the USATF rules. According to these rules “chip times” (the net time given between the time a person crosses the start line to the time they cross the finish line) is not an official time. Instead, the “clock time” (time from the start of the race until the person crosses the finish line) is the official time. Thus, in this case Arien’s official time was 20 minutes slower than her chip time. So, by the official rules she did not win the race. That being said, I think Nike has done the right thing by recognizing her excellent run and also by eliminating the separate elite race. This way any amateur will have a chance to win as all times can be considered official.

By: Amelia

Amelia — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 08:58:00 +0000

I actually the email that Nike sent at the end of this really sounded kind of grudging. Having done marathons before the elite start is something that I think that most have and I have never heard of them having any issues like this.
So I am not convinced that the solution is to get rid of the elite start.
The solution is of course to award the fastest runner regardless of what category they choose to run in.

By: PRmedia_pro

PRmedia_pro — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:12:00 +0000

Good grief. Tanya you managed to turn a great PR opportunity into a major disaster. Nike should fire this woman immediately and hire someone who actually can think.
My guess is that she is symptomatic of the typical mid-20 to late twenty Jennifers who “do” PR. They are basically event planners who have no media experience and don’t really have a clue about PR. If this woman did, she would not have screwed this up so bad. And Nike, you need to get a clue as a company.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:36:00 +0000

This kind of knee jerk reaction reflects the armpit of America today. Seemingly forgetting all of the benefit this event brings to so many thousands of people and turning that into "lets get 'em!" "Yea Nike sucks!"

She deserves the recognition but if you are going to burn energy like this use it for cancer or something more productive.

If it wasn't for Nike you would have been running by yourself last weekend.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:36:00 +0000

Part of this is stemmed from a misunderstanding as to how marathon's are raced. The goal of a marathon runner is not so much to run the fastest time but simply to run faster than her peers. So, you will often have world class marathon runners completing races much slower than their personal bests, but that is all that was needed to win.

With this being said, Nike was correct in not initially recognizing her as a winner, as there was a possibility that the original winner might have raced faster with Adrien's presence. However, due to individuals unfamiliar with the event, as is often the case with many other matters, people have raised a commotion over it.

I think this is an important example of how people should understand the context in which an event occurs, before passing judgment on it. Not everything occurs at face value.

From a PR perspective, that is a different story, as it's their job to manage the ignorance of the people.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:35:00 +0000

Nike has made her “a winner”. She is not “a winner”, she is “THE winner”!

I guess “Just Do It” refers to the “Elite”.

No more Nikes or Converse for me!

By: Jeff Donald

Jeff Donald — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:23:00 +0000

My first thought was the same as Martin’s. How embarrassing is it to Nike if their elite runners were decked out in Nike gear and the amateur beat them with a competitor’s equipment? It is hard to cut a “Just Do It” ad with someone wearing Asics.

While their response was nice, I bet that’s all we hear from them.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:44:00 +0000

Brian, I had caught wind of a few of the tweets, but your post made it all make sense. Thanks for a great overview, analysis and follow-up. In the end I am glad to see Nike make the right choice, acting fairly to both sides by not taking away from the “Elite” winner, explain the logic behind the rules and their initial decision, and making adjustments to their thinking so a similar result is avoided in the future. I’d like to think the quick and wide social media response helped push them toward doing the right thing. While I am pleased with Nike, I’m still not giving up my Chuck Taylors!

By: Daria Steigman

Daria Steigman — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:27:00 +0000

Hi Brian,

It's too bad Nike had to get reamed out before the company figured out it needed to do right by Arien O'Connel and do the right thing. This is a classic example of a company that defined and followed a strategy without first taking the time to listen and engage its customers.

Best,
Daria

By: John Dunham

John Dunham — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:26:00 +0000

Hey Brian: Glad you chose to run with this; and that your advocacy apparently nudged along a positive outcome. (jackdawsonsf)

By: Barbara Rozgonyi

Barbara Rozgonyi — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:13:00 +0000

Brian – brilliant analysis and recommendations. Good to see that Nike did the right thing.

Congratulations to your wife and mother for taking the challenge and running the race. Great pictures, as always.

By: Heather M

Heather M — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:56:00 +0000

Excellent and thorough overview of the situation and response Brian. Thanks so much for sharing. I agree that the recognition HAS to be there especially with an achievement this monumental and I’m glad Nike stepped up to the plate. Great coverage.

Thanks-

By: Martin Edic (techrigy)

Martin Edic (techrigy) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:54:00 +0000

Brian,
You left out an operative question:
Were the elite group required to wear Nike products and was Arien wearing Nike products?
The answer to this would go a long way towards explaining their motivation in sticking with this extraordinarily tone deaf PR mess.

By: Lacy Kemp

Lacy Kemp — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:51:00 +0000

I’m just wondering how the “elite” runners will feel. I know they have this division for a number of reasons. Regardless, Nike’s response was appropriate and necessary.

By: gaeyia

gaeyia — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:41:00 +0000

I’m impressed with Nike’s response – it was honest, diplomatic and humble. I appreciate the way they acknowledged Arien’s achievement without discounting the value of structured competition. Here’s to an elite-free run next year!

By: Nick Schmidt

Nick Schmidt — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:37:00 +0000

So what did this woman do wrong?