It all started when Donahoe took over as CEO and made the controversial decision to restructure Nike’s product and marketing divisions, eliminating long-standing categories like running, football, basketball, fitness, and training in favor of simplified, gender-specific labels like “men’s,” “women’s,” and “kids.” This shift not only alienated a core group of designers and marketers, many of whom left en masse, but also muddied Nike’s ability to authentically appeal to specific athletic communities, undermining its competitive edge in innovation and niche marketing.
Under Donahoe’s leadership, Nike has centralized its marketing efforts and pushed for a digital strategy. That has led to the abandonment of bold, emotional campaigns that once defined the brand—such as the iconic “Failure” Advertisement from 1997, in which Michael Jordan reflects on his missed shots and failures and “Find your greatness” in 2012, which celebrated ordinary athletes pushing their limits. These campaigns resonated with audiences because they tapped into universal themes of human struggle and triumph.
Instead, Nike has moved to a more clinical, algorithmic approach, which Giunco called the “infamous editorial strategy.” The goal was to push out micro-targeted content optimized for digital platforms, but that approach has not yielded results.
Instead of creating compelling narratives, Nike flooded its social media channels with content that was both expensive and ineffective. Designed to drive traffic to Nike’s e-commerce platforms, these posts did little to convert visitors into customers. Worse, they eroded Nike’s once-powerful storytelling ability, leaving a void in emotional connection with its audience.
Will Nike regain its cultural dominance?
Despite all this, Nike is still one of the most famous and popular brands in the world. It is still the market leader in its industry and still generates $5 billion in earnings before interest and taxes each year ($5.7 billion in fiscal 2024) without a dollar of debt.
Nicoline Van Enter believes Nike could benefit from focusing on local manufacturing and innovation hubs, much like On Running has leveraged its proximity to cutting-edge manufacturing facilities in Europe.
“This Light spray that what they produced was possible because On Running is in Switzerland and the manufacturer of the LightSpray production equipment is in Germany,” he explains. The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of global supply chains, and Nike’s dependence on Asian manufacturing has proven to be a bottleneck.
Of course, such a change can’t be done quickly, as Nike knows all too well. “It takes time to get back to that scale,” CFO Matthew Friend said on a Nike call with analysts last Thursday. “In the short term, it’s a marketing solution,” Van Enter agrees.
One of Hill’s immediate tasks will be rebuilding relationships — not just with retailers, but also with the athletes, influencers and creatives who have helped shape Nike’s image over the decades.
Already, there is talk of rekindling key collaborations, rekindling partnerships that once brought Nike unprecedented respect, and bringing back some of the design and marketing talent that left during Donahoe’s tenure.
“If Nike can recreate that emotional connection—if they can make their products feel aspirational, limited, and desirable, rather than overproduced and commoditized—they have a real chance of reclaiming their crown,” Ropes says. Whether they have the heart (and stomach) for the endeavor remains to be seen.