Nike+, Nike-

Nike +
It's been a little over a week since I was given a Nike + iPod kit, Nike+ shoes and a compatible armband. The entire running experience has become easier, I've learned a great deal from the data I've collected and I'm more motivated than I've ever been outside of the days when I ran competitively.

I've also enjoyed sharing the experience with a blog and I love the ability to compete with people from all over the world. To me, the partnership with Apple and the product experience is a strong brand experience for Nike. From the incorporation of the power song to the congratulations professional athletes give you after a personal best, Nike has tapped into a running experience that's unparallelled. Nike is about challenge, competition and winning. The Nike+iPod is a strong expression of those ideas and allows users to experience them.

Nike -
Now if only Nike could create a strong brand experience inside its Atlanta retail store. While the physical aspects of the store are in line with the brand, the staff seems to go out of its way to destroy the atmosphere. To echo Ernie Schenck's post about buying a BMW, Nike seems to have forgotten that branding also takes place at the ground level and not just in advertising and product development.

The sales staff inside the store, in my experience, have little knowledge or experience with the products. Some didn't even know the basics about what types of shoes fit what types of feet. How can a Nike representative not know the most basic thing about sport while representing a brand that's all about sport? Rarely have I come across a salesman at the Nike store who even half-way represents challenge, competition, encouragement and victory. Decking somebody out in Nike gear doesn't make them an ambassador for the brand.

I love Nike and the Nike+iPod is enough to switch from running-centric brands like Saucony, Brooks or Asics. But what a missed opportunity inside the Nike store.