Okay, so today was bananas. I’ve been to dozens upon dozens of Nike media events since 2009 and this one ranks as one of the best ever. See, with Nike, they never, ever let a detail go by unnoticed. I don’t know how they do it. One time, they made me a pair of KD 6s on NIKEiD based off my Instagram profile picture. Who does that? Seriously? That said, being a Nike media event veteran, i’ve seen firsthand all the great lengths the brand goes through to educate us on what’s to come, and what went down today was undoubtedly the BEST EVER. The Nike Innovation For Everybody summit in New York City featured media from all around the world, and despite the huge guest-list, there was a true sense of individuality in that the brand communicated its goal of connecting with athletes* all around the world using the most advanced athletic products out there. I’d like to share some of what I saw today, so enjoy.
The day started with…Kevin Hart? The comedian, movie star, and Nike brand ambassador kicked off the festivities with a rather serious monologue on training and how social media has allowed him to experience some amazing workouts with the Nike+ community. He didn’t crack a single joke and it was all business (but don’t count on him taking on serious acting roles).
Nike CEO Mark Parker was up next, giving us a quick rundown of the innovations that were going to be debuted today. Behind the stage and the projection screen were walls covered in black tarp; they were immediately lifted once the presentation ended, revealing a massive space with several different sections focusing on one particular innovation. All of the production cues were timed with some really energetic borderline-clubbing music.