Nike – swoosh or no swoosh

Here’s a thought. If Nike decided to remove the swoosh from the outside and engrave it on the inside, would you still buy a pair?

I owe this thought to a friend of mine, who called two days ago. He wanted my take on consumer insights about shoes in the Indian market. Lets take Nike for an example. Quality is, of course the most important criterion. The swoosh, in Nike, is extremely important and has a lot of emotions attached to it. But, here’s something more! A pair of Nike with the swoosh on the outside is 10 times more likely to be purchased than a similar pair, offering equal levels of comfort with the swoosh engraved on the inside. With more than 50 responses, I have listed below a couple of points that became full fledged discussions (Thank you guys!)

Q: If Nike decided to remove the swoosh from the outside and engrave it on the inside, would you still buy a pair?

Respondent 8: Hey! They charge me a lot and Im paying premium for the swoosh. It better be on the outside.
Analysis – During the entire conversation, there was no mention of the product attribute at all. Has the visual identity taken over core characteristics? Also, is the premium paid for the swoosh or for brand promise (which is definitely beyond a coolness quotient). The brand Nike can be associated with world class quality. Now, this seems to be taken for granted. Vanity sure is important. But, at the cost of what?

Respondent 15: This is similar to you paying your one year salary on a Louis Vuitton bag. Would you buy the bag without LV logo?
Analysis – Good point. But I still think Nike and LV are poles apart. I wear my Nike shoes to the gym every morning because they are so comfortable. My size 3 feet dont hurt when I run with them. The main purpose is not for other people to notice. Au contraire, I carry my Louis Vuitton for people to notice and talk about. Vanity is the main purpose here. If I was to use it as a bag, I would carry it everywhere. My LV is reserved only for parties where I want to show off.

Respondent 18: Comfort reduces my dissonance, but the swoosh is for people to see and relate.
Analysis – For all the non-MBA-jargon-folks (respect!) the dissonance referred to here, is called post purchase cognitive dissonance. This is the “have I spent too much?”, “Is it worth it?” syndrome that remains in the head after purchase. Product attributes like comfort (“Of course they are worth it. They are so comfortable, it was a great buy”) help reduce the dissonance. Personally, this response is my favorite. We have now come to the level of looking at the core product attribute as a reason to feel good and not a reason to buy!

Respondent 34: I am buying Nike for the product, not for the swoosh.
Analysis – Very very few people are on this side. One of them replied, “As long as the shoe meets my exacting standards, I dont care. I still know it is a pair of Nike.” This set hunt for brand experience and attributes. They go beyond the face value and brand loyalists can be carved out of this lot.

What about you? If Nike decided to remove the swoosh from the outside and engrave it on the inside, would you still buy a pair?

The Brand Experience

Client:

A world class five star luxury hotel with everything working in their favour. They have an extremely strong brand presence built worldwide. A good clientèle and great business.

The problem:

Food & Beverages. A hotel of this repute was not attracting numbers as much as its counterparts. The pub and restaurant were doing bad. The room revenue was at par with its competitors but low profits in F&B can hit hard. With no way out, it was assumed to be a lack-of-advertising problem.

The real problem:

Lack of advertising as a problem seemed unreal. Louis Vuitton does not require mass advertising regularly. Unnecessary spend will dilute the brand image. So, I put this hotel through the litmus test.

Litmus test 1: The product

The food was cooked to perfection. The spread was huge and served well. It was absolutely clean. Ingredients can be customised. Cuisine was never boring as it ran on daily themes. The price was at par with the competitors and in fact priced a little lower too. Put together, it was a great deal.

Litmus test 2: Serviscape

You enter the restaurant, take your seat and are handed a menu that is filled with delicacies. They have taken care of all your needs. The time taken to cook your meal after you order can be spent by reading books, listening to the live band or just enjoy the beautiful ambience of the lake.

This is one place you would want to bring your VIP clients for any important business opportunities and your family for a special meal. It just cant go wrong.

Litmus test 3: Brand experience

The difference between serviscape and brand experience is very similar to the smile that is evident on the lips and never reaches the eye. This client had a problem with the brand experience. The guidelines followed are in line with the International standards and yet there seems to be a problem. We have all the requirements, but there is something missing that can be felt.

• The books to read while the meal is being cooked were there. But the topics listed do not match the up-scale taste. I would love to read a P.G. Wodehouse in a 5 star hotel, definitely not an Archie comic.
• The live band plays exquisite music, but not according to the theme. Listening to country on an Arabian night feels wrong.
• Menu is good. Menu cards are not. Design appeal was missing.

The Brand Experience

There is a brand vision. The brand experience needs to be consistent with the vision. If you are upscale and believe in “world-class service”, every little thing including curtain cloth will matter. The customer comes in contact with many moments-of-truth during his experience. Even a slight variation from the vision will result in low overall experience value. This can hamper the image.

The Starbucks Experience brings this out very well. They offer not just coffee. They offer an experience. Today, the product can be duplicated, experiences cannot. In fact, aligning it to the brand core is mandatory and probably the most important task.