The Campaign

Nike found that young teens stop playing sports as it is no longer part of their school schedule and there are a lot of other priorities that take precedence. So we wanted to target the 17 to 24 year old for whom sports goes missing. We were also up against a strong contender: The Smartphone. It’s where every waking moment is spent, glued to the screen. Mumbai would be our focus city, along with the other top metros where Nike sees most of its revenue from. To connect with this young audience, Nike would do away with professional athletes and instead introduce popular Mumbaikars who have a strong online following. These faces would be Yuvraj Thakur (an upcoming actor and boyfriend to MTV VJ Bani), Shaleena Nathani (an accomplished stylist to Deepika and Shah Rukh) and Raghva Meattle (a former marketer turned musician).

Creative Execution

As a first time ever in India, Tinder would swipe right for Nike where 15 Million Swipes happen on a daily basis. Yuvraj, Shaleena and Raghav would have individual profiles on Tinder which is synonymous today among teens who ‘swipe right’ or ‘swipe left’ on profiles. When 2 profiles ‘swipe right’ for each other, Tinder connects them to take the conversation forward. With this mechanism, those swiping right for any of Nike’s influencers would get to know more about them (bio & pictures) and receive a personal message inviting them to start their fitness journey (including the Nike+ Run app). Among Tinder profiles, Nike’s influencers would appear like a regular profile, using user’s genuine interest to start a conversation around running.

0.6 Million Unique Users were reached on Tinder with more than 180,000 Right Swipes. Nike India saw a 20% Engagement rate versus a 5-10% average seen globally And what about the brand objective ? Between May to June ’17: • 2x Sign-Up @ Nike Mumbai Run Club • 30% Increase Time Spent on Nike+ Running App • Social Mentions for ‘Nike’ & ‘Running’ went up by 3x

While all of them come from different walks of life, each had a story that went against the conventional norms expected of them. Similarly, they all found their true expression, not just in their professional pursuit, but also through running. In their stories, the youth would find role models in defining what personal success looks like and parallels in how running had helped them unlock that. As the real world & on screen are increasingly blurred, were there opportunities where these stories could naturally fit ? With smartphones being the most personal device, we identified where our audience spent most of their time. Between chatting, listening to music and social, dating apps is another category that’s gotten hugely popular on app stores. It’s how young adults today increasingly plan their next date. Here, we too found a perfect match to tell Yuvraj, Shaleena and Raghavs’ stories.