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Americans buy on social values: Learn how to market without pandering.

Nike’s brand playbook: Former CMO shares $170 billion strategy.

Clip show: Slice up your podcasts for maximum listens.

(Source: Pepsi)

A large crowd of young people, carrying generic protest signs, march for an unspecified cause. Kendall Jenner abandons a photo shoot to join them, then hands a can of Pepsi to a police officer. Everybody cheers together.

The 2017 advertisement, “Live for Now,” received immediate backlash. The Washington Post accused Pepsi of “cashing in on Black Lives Matter,” and NPR called the video “one textbook example of what not to do.” Twitter erupted in outrage. Progressives and conservatives finally agreed on something: This ad was cringe. Pepsi soon apologized for missing the mark and “for putting Kendall Jenner in this position.”

With 64% of consumers worldwide – and 59% in the U.S. – now basing their purchases on social or political values, according to Edelman, companies feel pressure to tie themselves to newsworthy causes. But why did Pepsi’s protest-adjacent campaign fail? And why did Nike’s increase sales by a third?

We asked Greg Hoffman, Nike’s former chief marketing officer.

$35.00

How much Nike spent on its swoosh logo

(Source: Mental Floss)

Greg Hoffman didn’t create the Nike slogan “Just Do It,” but he’s lived those words. Rising from an internship at the iconic sportswear company in 1992 to its chief marketing officer and VP of global brand innovation, Hoffman oversaw an era of technological and social change, as well as partnerships with LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Colin Kaepernick.

Hoffman’s new book, Emotion By Design: Creative Leadership Lessons From a Life at Nike, is an autobiography and instruction manual. Any small business would be wise to heed his billion-dollar advice on authenticity.

Make a Brand Identity Document Right Now

Customers will never buy your values (literally or figuratively) if you don’t. “You first absolutely [need] a one-page document that articulates what your belief is, why you exist, what your mission is,” Hoffman said. “If everyone in your company isn’t clear on that, it could become an issue.”

Failure to craft and adhere to this document causes trouble and even potential hypocrisy. “A lot of companies take that for granted or say, ‘We’ll get to that later,’” Hoffman explained. “It’s everybody’s job to respect that.”

Don’t Chase Random Popular Causes

Before you embark on a socially conscious marketing plan, make sure it’s right for your company in particular. “[W]hether it’s the war in Ukraine or racial justice or climate change – whatever it is – you have to ask: Can you connect what you sell with what the world needs on that issue?” said Hoffman, who warned that “it can get confusing or tone-deaf” otherwise.

For Nike, it made credible brand sense to examine social issues as they relate to sports. “[I]t was quite powerful because the whole premise was, through our athletes, asking the question of: Why are we equal on the field, but when you walk outside the white lines, the rules change?” Hoffman said. “Those [ads] still have staying power today and are timeless messages.”

If you’re just latching onto a movement to sound relevant or spark controversy, however, not even Kendall Jenner can save you.

Notes ? “I used to live by yellow stickies – that is how I gave a lot of creative direction. I’d write it down and leave it on people’s computer or desk. That has migrated to the yellow Notes app on my phone nonstop. Even today, I’m always thinking and trying to write it down.”

Photos ?  “I have 76,000 photos in my iPhoto library. I’m always capturing things I find inspiring, and sometimes that’s just a screenshot on my phone, or something when I’m out and about. I’m always documenting.”

“A whole suite of editing apps” ?

“Living a lifestyle of curiosity, those apps are hugely important and help me stay organized. That’s my creativity engine.”

Hourslong podcasts can have devoted listeners, but your company’s podcast might get more mileage out of short-form, instant-gratification clips.

For example, take Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast by Marques Brownlee, who has interviewed Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg.

Waveform’s YouTube channel currently has 173,000 subscribers. Its sister channel, Waveform Clips – which shows shortened segments taken from the hourslong episode – sits strong with 215,000 subscribers.

The most popular Waveform Clips video has nearly 1 million views, which is double the views of the most popular full Waveform episode.

That doesn’t mean your podcast should only last a few minutes; deep conversations build incredible audience loyalty. But cutting up your podcast episodes into bite-size pieces and hosting them on their own channel, while it’s an extra step in the content creation pipeline, might attract more active listeners than the podcast itself.

(Source: Twitter)

“At Nike, there’s tremendous respect with each brand identity for the next innovation or a rising athlete. The stronger and earlier you commit to your brand identity, the more you’re going to shine. At some of the best companies, everybody up to the CEO is obsessed with it.”

— Greg Hoffman

Written by Marty Beckerman and Carlos Rosario Gonzalez