The "Big Data" secret behind the Nike + number

"February 13, 2013; Duration: 1 hours, distance: 5 km; calorie consumption: 623 calories; Average Speed: 8 km/h. ”

Jacky is a loyal runner, and this is his latest running record.

For Jacky, running is no longer limited to the concept of physical exercise, uploading your running data and experiences, sharing it with friends as a new extension of the sport, and for Nike, it's not just about selling a digital product, it wants to tell people Today's Nike is no longer a traditional company that sells sportswear and sneakers, and is combining sports with the internet to develop a new blue sea of traditional business.

Nike's digital sports platform, Nike, began in 2006, when Nike has been looking for ways to make running a dull and lonely sport interesting. After a number of explorations, Nike found that music was just enough to meet that demand. So, the first product based on Nike Nike ipod was born, its original intention is to combine sports and music.

But it's not much of a innovation, and other brands are also able to do the same thing as running and listening to music, tying Nike's running shoes to Apple's products, and Nike's eyes on the "data" link.

The Nike ipod component allows users to see their own pace, distance, and other running data in real time by adding sensors to the shoe and then installing the receiver on the ipod, which is popular all over the United States.

Since then, Nike Sportband running wrist strap also turned out. Then, Nike with Apple's iOS system to launch the app.

In 2010, Nike upgraded the app to a Nike GPS app that could be positioned. That year, Nike's running products were earning as much as $2.8 billion trillion, compared with Nike's prestigious basketball products, which were only $2.1 billion, analysts said, Nike.

2011, Nike launched and TomTom cooperation Nike Sportwatch GPS, after running, can upload running data to Nikeplus website via USB, also can obtain a lot of running route information from the website. These routes are uploaded by Nike and other runners and include the streets and lanes around the world.

In the past 2012, Nike a variety of heavyweight products have come out, Nike will Nike from the running category to expand to the whole series of products such as basketball, and the popular application of iOS Nike GPs to the Android platform. The number of registered users on the Nike online community has increased rapidly from 5 million at the beginning of the year to more than 10 million.

Nike reported that in the first quarter of 2013, Nike's revenue in North America reached $2.7 billion trillion, up 23% from a year earlier, a figure well above the average rate of growth over the past few years, and Nike is becoming a new engine to boost the company's performance.

Eat a social cake

Chen, a senior strategic advisor for Huawei, told the first financial daily that the rise of social media such as Facebook and Twitter was becoming an integral part of young people's daily lives, and the new generation that grew up with the internet had become accustomed to digital lifestyles.

Now, no one doubts the future of social networking. The main technology innovation of the world sports giant Nike undoubtedly saw this trend, Nike also let Nike in the Internet era found its own position.

"The value of Nike is greatly underestimated if the Nike is viewed only as an upgrade to the performance of sneakers." "The core value of Nike is the huge online community that is built up, and its biggest function is socializing," says Huang, PR director at Nike Greater China. ”

For example, when your running status is updated to Nike's account, a friend can comment and click on a "Clap" button so that you can hear the applause of your friends in the music while you are running and have a special voice in your final sprint. As runners continue to upload their own running routes, Nike also has a database of the best running routes in major cities.

Nike can also use the "Data + circle" approach to create a climate of competition for the entire community, encouraging people to engage in sports. And then develop some fun games to encourage users to complete a certain amount of exercise every day. Then, many Nike users will also run some interesting patterns on the map to increase the interest of running.

"Nike's strategic choice is right. There are many niche markets for social applications, such as social + recruitment, social + e-commerce, social + interest, and sharing sports data means sharing privacy, Nike is another niche for social applications. Chen told reporters.

Obviously, the most valuable part of Nike is the user data it collects, but Nike has yet to show the business glamour of big data.

Industry insiders speculate that Nike may be in the future on the popular running route ads along the way, the relevant companies can provide for runners in these areas to store clothing and other services, and also the opportunity to sell sports drinks and other peripheral products and so on. Huang said to reporters: "Nike is not commercially considered, just want to give full play to community function, increase sports fun." ”

"At first, Nike is still in the stage of expanding influence and making the digital platform popular, and once the incubation period is over, commercialization will be pursued." Footwear critic Magang told reporters.

Get rid of Apple's addiction

The development of digital platform for Nike has two meanings, magang that, first of all, Nike's core users of the young community almost all netizens, the Internet is dependent on the same as the basic necessities, how can Nike affect this group of people? It is of course to have a direct relationship with consumers, to be in their lives, to master their data, accurately grasp their needs.

Secondly, Nike is in a traditional industry, if only to stay in the development of traditional business, competition pressure will be more and more big. In addition, more than 20 years ago, Nike with a small cushion of the sporting goods industry into a new era of competition technology, so as to establish Nike is a technology innovation enterprise image. Traditional sports brands are also generally lack of internet genes, the first to enter the digital field, and Nike's scientific and technological innovation in the image of the very fit.

Nike recently set up an incubator called Nike Accelerator, according to foreign media reports. The incubator will use TechStars's infrastructure to attract more developers to Nike, making Nike the platform more open, interesting and original.

Marketing expert Li Guangdou to reporter analysis, from a marketing perspective, this is a big data marketing category, Nike does not want consumers to wear a pair of shoes to throw away, it is to build a stronger relationship with consumers, not only to allow the target group to use their products, but also want to get feedback and improve value-added.

But Nike is not perfect. An industry insider told reporters that from Nike based on a variety of products is not difficult to find, Nike to the Apple ecosystem too dependent. That is, the premise that consumers want to use Nike is to have an Apple device. After the death of Steve Jobs, the magic halo on Apple's head is fading, and will Nike's partnership with Apple be as tight as before? No one can say for sure.

Notably, in late June 2012, Nike transplanted its most popular Nike running on the iOS platform to the Android platform, making the Nike market more influential.

In addition, the Nike's two new products Nike basketball and Nike training matching shoes for the special sensor, has not seen the Apple logo.

"From footwear products to digital platforms with GPS positioning, Nike is experiencing a multidimensional development from the ground to the sky, and it hopes that the consumer experience is not limited to the product of the image, but to the stereo, from the body to the mind." "A Nike Chinese person told reporters.

Original title: Nike + number behind the secret: from digital marketing to obtain large data

Source: First Financial daily

(Responsible editor: Lu Guang)