What is Nike Doing with Caitlin Clark?

A mismanagement of Biblical proportions can only be explained in Biblical terms. “The Sins of the Father” is a phrase used in the Bible to describe how later generations will pay for the mistakes of their predecessors. This is the only explanation I can come up with for how bad Nike is missing their Caitlin Clark window.
Let’s go over some Basics of Marketing, Fight through political race baiting, and Examine the history of how we got here.

Since I left Nike 3 years ago (nearly to the day) there are times when I use what little external influence I have to push Nike from the outside, and this would be one of those.

Let’s jump in.

I. Foundational Marketing Context

The first and most important rule of branding is to be distinct. Attention follows distinction. Marketing is mostly about capturing attention—and it’s far easier to follow attention than it is to create it.

Nike knows this. They’ve proven it repeatedly and it’s what makes them so great at Win ads and reactive marketing to big sport moments. But, the biggest sport & cultural moment to hit basketball since Michael Jordan (maybe Lebron James) just tipped off her second season and it’s … crickets.

Sure, they put Caitlin in the Super Bowl Commercial with 9 other women. But, the last time they did something significant was when she was at Iowa. I’m talking creative billboards, celebrities in the front row, product to support the moments.
Why have we not seen that level of effort or investment together?! It’s the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen in sports marketing.

We got a couple billboards, a tweet & a t-shirt for her Rookie Year.

They’re currently putting herculean effort into manufacturing attention around A’ja Wilson’s shoe while all but ignoring a tidal wave of organic demand around Caitlin Clark.

This isn’t a debate between who deserves a shoe. A’ja absolutely deserves hers. By every metric—performance, leadership, story—she’s earned it. But great marketing or business isn’t about either/or. We never chose between LeBron or Kobe or KD or Devin Booker or Ja Morant. Although, we should. Devin Booker is NOT a signature athlete, but that’s another convo.

Athletes definitely have their swim lanes. You don’t launch lines at the same time. But, exceptions should be made.

So, why is Nike treating this like a zero-sum game?

II. Corporate Paralysis & Missed Moments

Let’s zoom out.

Nike is a massive corporation. In corporations, accountability is scarce, bureaucracy is abundant. And while there’s plenty of amazing talent inside Beaverton, the left hand often doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. The people who sign athletes & determined who get a signature shoe weren’t racist, I assure you. But somehow, they wound up with a roster lacking the color representation they wanted. More on that below.

In 2020, the company (like many others—especially those headquartered in Portland) doubled down on internal and external commitments to the Black community & many others. They are sticking to their word while many other corporations pull the plug. That is the right thing to do!
But it seems to have created a hypersensitivity that now paralyzes the company’s ability to move on instinct or demand, especially given the charged & politically poisoned conversations around the WNBA.

It can also be a rigid calendaring exercise. Sometimes Nike has to choose the single story they’re going to tell to be most effective. Right now, that’s A’ja to capitalize on the W tip off timing. There’s only so much time & attention to go around. But the mold should be broken occasionally and it’s been done before.

Sports should be the place where the game is settled on the court. Caitlin’s game has spoke enough. Nike’s job is to come alongside & support the athlete.

More on that in a moment.

III. Distinction: What Actually Drives Marketing Impact
Let’s get back to the distinction principle. Why were Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, and Lewis Hamilton such marketing juggernauts? Sure—they were the best at what they did. But also: they were distinct. Champions of color in historically white sports.

In the WNBA, where 81% of the league is Black, the inverse becomes true: a white woman who dominates is distinct. That’s not racism. That’s human psychology.

America is 60% white. And while racism is extremely real, it gets coopted by both sides of the political aisle & media punditry.
For example—do people dislike Angel Reese because she’s Black? A few, maybe. But if Sedona Prince (or any male for that matter) behaved exactly like Angel—taunting Caitlin & others, making snide remarks—she’d catch heat too. (See: Draymond Green.) Heat is fine. But, it’s tried to draw athletes into beef they may or may not actually have. The men have dealt with that for years.

The phrase “you can’t be what you can’t see” is repeated VERY often in the halls of companies like Nike and others to support showcasing women & especially women of color or different body types and sizes. I agree with & support this statement. I worked on many projects during my time at Nike Women’s to support those efforts.
But, it can also be applied to a white audience who consumes basketball too. There are a lot of young white girls & boys who grow up wanting to play basketball.
As a young aspiring hooper, I remember at every turn being told that the chances of me achieving my dreams were slim because I wasn’t big enough and I was white. Shocker: skill had something to do with it, but that was never the first remark.

Is Nike being racist by [mostly] ignoring Clark? I think they’re trying to do the opposite, but it’s backfiring because in today’s day & age, you can only make 49-51% of the political aisle happy. And that’s part of the problem. They seem to be cowering to the political whims and not their consumer or the athletes who want to be a part of the Caitlin lore.

Distinction moves attention, conversation AND product. Caitlin Clark brings all of that. She’s the first cultural moment the W has had in a long time that crosses over into casual fan territory.

And Nike is fumbling it.

IV. Signature Strategy Chaos

Let’s look at Nike’s recent Women’s Signature Shoe history. It’s short for all brands, but Nike has the most:

• Elena Delle Donne had a signature. It was a compelling & heartwarming story & short lived.

• Breanna Stewart got one. Dominant out of UConn. Now with Puma.

• Sabrina Ionescu got one. She’s a Duck—Phil Knight’s alma mater—and had a close relationship with Kobe.

Now we hit 2021. Nike’s top female basketball signees with signature shoes? All white.

Enter the racial reckoning.

Nike wants to rectify that imbalance—which again, is understandable. But it sets the table awkwardly for Caitlin Clark, who is the biggest women’s basketball prospect of all time.

I wondered aloud: would Nike even bid for her, given they already have Sabrina- another short brunette white woman with a pony tail that shoots threes?

They did.

They won the bidding war.

And then? Crickets.

V. The Malpractice

Caitlin Clark is burning down rookie records and pulling NBA-level viewership. It’s estimated that she created nearly a BILLION dollars in economic value last year.

She is the entire reason that teams need to move stadiums. She is the most searched thing in basketball. She was trending during week 1 on social after her “rivalry” game with Angel Reese for Game 1 of the season.

She’s in national ads for:

• Gatorade

• Gainbridge

• State Farm

Meanwhile, Nike gave her…a Kobe PE that fans can’t even buy for Tip Off?

This is marketing malpractice. If Caitlin Clark is the MJ or LeBron of WNBA hype, Nike’s treating her like DeMar DeRozan.

VI. Final Thoughts

This isn’t a race issue. It’s a business issue.

• Nike’s paralysis isn’t malicious. It’s malpractice.

• Their sensitivity post-2020 is understandable—but it’s now blocking smart business moves.

• Caitlin Clark is a moment. And Nike’s job is to move with moments.

Instead, they’re letting a generational marketing gift pass them by. In a brand built on capturing energy, they’re choosing silence all while their stock is down 60% from 2021.

Nike, you have the biggest marketing unicorn since Lebron. Block out the noise. Block out the political media and give your people what they want. YOU are the brand who sits in those pitch meetings and can claim to build the biggest athlete brands in sports: Serena, Tiger, Jordan. In an era where athletes are going at it alone to build their own brands, don’t let this be the one that leaves you on the sidelines. Get in the game.

Just Do It. Or better yet, let’s use your Super Bowl tagline. It’s more fitting for today’s political climate & the discourse around the W.

You Can’t Win…

So Win. 

Appendix: here are some common questions that I have gotten…
What if it’s Caitlin turning down Nike’s Marketing Opportunities & Ideas?
I’ve heard murmurs from ppl in and around this business that her team can be difficult. This is understandable. Being a mega star is … difficult. Guess who else is difficult? Cristiano, Neymar, Lebron…the list goes on. You bend over backwards for stars and Nike has bent over backwards for way less relevant stars than Caitlin.

Is it because Nike is too woke?

Perhaps. But, I think it’s a paralysis by analysis. I also think that inside the bubble, you can’t see clearly. When you’re too close to the business, sometimes you don’t appreciate what’s going on in the wider circle of the industry. This was evident by how much they underestimated threats like Hoka & On. It’s evident now that they’re not activating this star.

Is it because Caitlin is quiet or uninteresting?

Guess what Nike specializes in? Marketing uninteresting players. Why do you think they paired up Spike Lee with MJ, Vince Staples with Jayson Tatum, or made campaigns about KD IS NOT NICE. Next excuse. For once, people are captivated with the athlete alone and we don’t need to manufacture interest or intrigue.

Are they just giving her time to prove herself?

Did they give Lebron, Zion, or any other rookie star time to prove themselves? No. They hyped the hell out of them. Next.

This strategy is also dangerous with injuries of athletes. Careers are short. Demand wanes.

Don’t Signature Shoes take time?
YES. 18 months - 2 years. BUT EXCEPTIONS are made and if this one isn’t an exception, I don’t know who is.

There are plenty of ways to serve customers before a signature shoe. Player Edition Shoes on Generic Models like the GT Cut or Kobe available for sale. Aja got this on the Cosmic Unity. Paige Bueckers got this on the GT Run. Merch Lines.

Fin.

Education:
The BrandFathers new episode is out NOW: This week we asked our followers to submit their brands/companies for live critique. This was fun & people loved it. Grab your coffee & dive in with us.

Or, you can always visit HowToGetAJobAtNike.com for some of my career resources & advice as well.

Blessings:

There’ s lot of talk about how young men are struggling in America. I believe I lived the early part of this trend nearly dying a death of despair. But after getting into recovery, I benefited greatly from good preaching on how a man can serve his family, children and community in my formative years just before marriage. It has given me a foundation to build a marriage, career and a family.
Last month, Matt Chandler started a series on Manhood. I’d highly recommend it for any men reading this far.
I hope it blesses you like it has me.