For the past 10 years, I have run in Brooks Adrenaline GTS running shoes. I'd say I've owned four pairs. And though it may sound like I'm quite the jogger, the truth is I had never run more than three miles at a clip. But on August 31, I ran 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) in the Nike+ Human Race. And I ran in a new pair of Nike Air Structure Triax shoes complete with the Nike + training chip.
How did Nike get me to break a decade of brand loyalty and go for a new personal best - all in one impulsive decision? It invited me to save the world.
The Human Race is just the latest swoosh of genius from the marketing gods on Mount Nike, and it's one from which today's beleaguered real estate companies can learn a thing or two.
About a million runners around the globe participated in the Human Race, which took place throughout the day in more than 25 cities and raised millions of dollars for charity. Nike says it sponsored the race "to create the world's largest running event with the goal of helping humanity in the process."
No doubt, that's true. But let's not forget that Nike also makes running shoes, running shorts, running shirts, running socks, running watches, running hats and that little Nike+ running chip - all of which contribute to about $18 billion in annual revenue. Why did Nike really sponsor the Human Race? As Mars Blackmon famously told Michael Jordan, the greatest Nike pitchman of all time, "Money, it's gotta be the shoes!"
The Human Race was brilliant marketing because you barely knew you were being marketed to. It was marketing disguised as self-improvement. Marketing disguised as charity. Marketing disguised as international relations. In fact, I was moved through the sales chain so efficiently, I didn't even realize I'd been swooshed until days after my purchase.
So what does all of this have to do with marketing real estate? Nike is built on a platform of improving athletic performance through constant innovation. But lots of companies - real estate companies included - are innovative. Where Nike leaves its competition in the dust is in its ability to inspire and empower its client base like no other. How many real estate companies are doing that today? How many are even trying?
Steep discounting may be a fact of life for today's homebuilders, as are concessions for today's commercial property owners and managers. But they're nothing more than table stakes. If that's all you're selling, you're running a losing race.
To move the needle today, you have to sell something bigger. You have to sell inspiration and empowerment. You have to sell the notion that your customers, by purchasing your product or service, can transcend that purchase and become a part of something greater - a community, whether physical or virtual - that they can participate in, influence, change and improve. And you have to do it creatively, honestly and in ways that are consistent with your brand.
You might even have to save the world.
On August 31, a million runners did their part. And Nike reaped the rewards big-time - not only in sales of running shoes, apparel and accessories, but also in brand loyalty that goes far beyond anything most of us could ever wish for. Is there a real estate company out there willing to try too?
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