My Ever-Changing Perception of NIKE's Brand

Judging by the apparel worn by today's 8-14 year old boys in my area, brand loyalty is spread much wider than it was when I was in that age range. While the core of the traditional typical outfit (t-shirt, shorts, sneakers) remains the same, it's very common to see different brands for each piece. For example, I see a lot of kids wearing Under Armor socks with their NIKE shoes. Seeing how mixing brands has become perfectly acceptable makes me wonder if my perception of brands has become extremely outdated.

Growing up in the late 80's and early 90's, I would only consider wearing NIKE shoes. I was a NIKE billboard then, head to toe. This was purely based on the fact that Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson wore NIKEs. Performance, durability, pricing and other factors wouldn't impact my purchases until I grew older, but NIKE continues to earn my loyalty. Back then, I viewed Reebok as an inferior competitor and Adidas was a non-factor. Under Armor didn't exist yet so my choice truly came down to NIKE. I don't pay as much attention to the athletic shoe industry now because I don't wear sneakers as often as I once did but I'm really impressed to see the emergence of Under Armor. Kids seem to really like these shoes.  

I think Under Armor is a long way from overtaking NIKE but they're definitely making a dent, which is something I thought would never be possible. The following video from Fast Company fittingly details the history of NIKE's brand.

Quick point I'd like to make about this video: Tiger Woods was not unknown when he signed with NIKE. Many people outside of the golfing world were aware of him and knew that he was destined for big things. Signing Tiger was huge though - it allowed NIKE to enter a sport much like Michael Jordan did for basketball.  When I try to define "branding", I always point to NIKE as an example. My attraction to their products has changed on many different levels over the years and my perception of NIKE's brand is what I use when I try to identify other brands today. {Top photo: Courtesy}