Product: Nike SB Zoom Stefan Janoski Slip-On

Premise: Marketing research done on myself to explain how 'marketing' caused me to buy. 

(Side-note:) I wish that every purchase could be as highly emotionally driven as my first HMW post, but I know that well-planned marketing can just as easily take over my brain. 

Background: I’m older, so Nike in skateboarding wasn’t always a thing for me. Full transparency, I used to wear a ‘Don’t Do It’ t-shirt in college, but nowadays see the whole core vs. corporate argument as a dead horse beaten long ago.

I’m a walking target for skateboard market research. I’ve been skating most of my life and am ridiculously impressionable. I tried to dress like Muska in middle school, became Misled Youth in high school, wore tight pants when that was a thing, and am now too old to keep up with what’s hot, but would be lying if I said that I didn’t have the urge to set up some Ventures and wear Carhartt gear right about now. 

Skateboarding brainwashed me. The marketing works, but I’m also hyper-aware when being marketed to. 

Timeline: 

Is that a Boat Shoe? - May 2009 - Nike SB's Janoski was a conversation piece when it first released ten years ago, some loved, some hated, some were still flying their anti-Nike flag high. I was on the fence, but the shoe was the first Nike SB model that got my attention. I wouldn’t admit it at the time, but I was interested. 

All up in my feed - March-April 2019 - A lot of Janoskis started showing up in my Instagram feed. Even more than usual. Something was different about these posts, some discrete, some more focused, but somehow they paused my scroll way more than the quick strike Dunks that I’ve always rolled right by. 

Words, words, words - May 2019 - Skate ads in Thrasher have very few words if any at all, the first Jansoki Remastered Ad had a whole paragraph full of them. The ad concept was different than anything I’d see from Nike SB, but it was the use of words that stuck with me. It still pisses me off that I don’t know who Gascap Shelstein is.

What’s a Gizmo? - May 2019 - An all women’s full-length skate video based around Elissa Steamer, yes, please. Granted, Welcome to Hell was my first skate video, so I’m biased towards anything with Elissa, but none of the other major skate brands are going to this level to support women’s skateboarding. There were some Janoskis in the video, and it might not be directly related, but the video project as a brand statement made me want to support Nike SB more. 

You had me at stubborn skater - June 2019 -  The Jansoki tells a story about a stubborn skater that refuses to compromise his vision, sticks to what he wants, and goes on to design one of the top 100 selling Nike shoe models ever. By the time the video was finished, I was reaching for my wallet. 

Trust falling for you - July 2019 -  A full-length skate video featuring amazing skaters that I respect who all happen to be skating in Janoskis. Slightly subliminal, sure. Highly effective, yes. Take my money. 

Takeaways: 

Repeated Exposure: Don’t be afraid to show your product, then show it again, and again, and again through every channel and voice you have available. One, two, three photos and a video won’t do it; It’s noisy out there. 

In the course of the five months it took me to buy a pair of Janoskis I saw the shoes hundreds of times. 

What about quick strikes dunks, I probably saw those thousands of times. Why didn’t I buy any of those? 

I don’t fit the Dunk segment, and never had the initial interest that made those thousands of product photos appealing. 

Segment your customers and market to each of them aggressively. 

The customers with no interest will ignore what doesn’t fit them, but the ones even slightly intrigued will want your product a little bit more every time they see it. 

There are levels to this: The timeline above only represents the marketing I noticed. I can’t imagine how much more goes into a product roll out this big.  

If you’re going to launch a product, make sure it hits on multiple levels. 

The Instagram assault made me aware, the print ads intrigued me more, Gizmo brought on positive feelings for the brand, Janoski’s story played to my underdog emotions, and Trust Fall brought it all home with what a skateboarder loves most, skateboarding. 

Consider the boxes checked. 

 

We could be heroes: Never underestimate the power of our heroes. 

Supporting the best in the world is engrained in Nike’s DNA, and it wasn’t until they started sponsoring the best/most respected skaters in the world did they begin establishing their reign in skateboarding back in 2005 after their first few failed attempts.

Don’t overthink it. The heroes endorsement system is tried and true. We all want to be like our heroes, or at least dress like them and feel like we belong. 

The Janoski story got me in the mood, the level and style of skating in Trust Fall sealed the deal.

Story Time: Every marketing goon sounds like a broken record these days, story, story, story. There is a reason. It works. I used to think it was just me it worked on, but then I read this book full of examples of how the human brain is wired to relate to stories and take action from them. 

It wasn’t until I watched the story behind the Janoski that I thought seriously about buying. 

If you want your customers to take action, give them a story to relate to. 

Technical specs and features all have their place, but which of these makes you feel something? 

Stefan Janoski wanted a drop-in sock liner with Nike Zoom Air in the heel that provides cushioning on impact, with a low-profile vulcanized rubber sole that gives the board feel needed for any style of skating.

Or

Stefan Janoski refused to give in to the corporate big-wigs at Nike SB and put his name on a puffy, technical pro shoe. He fought endlessly for a shoe he believed in, one he knew skaters wanted, and proved the mega-corporation wrong by designing one of the most iconic and successful skate shoes ever. The skater always wins. 

The biggest sports company in the world just sold me with a story of an underdog, and I loved every minute of it. 

With the right story, anything is possible.