Situation
Nike - the untouchable leader of the sportswear category - was starting to see tears at its very foundation. Sports participation amongst youth was on the decline. This was especially the case amongst underrepresented youth – U.S. ethnic, cultural and racial minorities who comprised tomorrow’s majority (by 2025 minorities will make up the majority of the U.S. population).
Priced out, pushed out, and left out of sports, they were moving into our competitors’ wheelhouses - wellness and recreation activities were on the rise while the traditional sports that Nike was built on were bottoming out.
The Nike Purpose team approached us to build a program that would tackle this decline and help Nike future-proof its crown as the category leader.
The digging
We spoke with dozens of youth across America, seeking to understand their experiences
We dove into dissecting the institution of sports in the U.S.
We audited 50+ sports engagement programs to glean best-practices, and picked the brains of previous Nike program participants to see what worked and what didn’t
Finally, we workshopped opportunities with the Nike Purpose team to identify the spaces where we can play
What we learned
For underrepresented youth, sports comes with baggage, bringing them more of what they want to avoid. On and off the field, they were made to feel to feel unwelcome, unsupported, and worst still, unsafe. From micro-aggression by coaches to confrontations with fans, their love of the game was eroded by the experience surrounding it.
Idea
Rebuild the culture of sports from the ground up
We created an internal program at Nike that sought to redefine youths’ experience of sports at its worst pain points. From coaching the coaches to lobbying for policy to redefining the fan experience, we created a blueprint to redesign the culture of American sports from the ground up.
(Details are confidential)