What's Your iD?

It’s my “little” brother’s birthday. I say “little” in quotes because although three years younger than me; he has sprouted into an amazing young man as a freshmen at Syracuse University. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have such an ongoing, close relationship with him and even though the distance is far; we talk at least two-three times a week. Yes, Facebook has made this remarkably easier, but I do credit him to constantly reaching out. Overall, he’s an amazing brother and his 19th birthday only comes once right? My philosophy in life is to spoil just about anyone that played a significant role or has a strong relationship with me. His role as the best brother alive absolutely takes the medal here. What exactly do you get someone who has just about everything? That’s a great question. For days I pondered what would be the “right” gift. What would be something that is both practical and wonderfully exciting? Of course shoes were the last thing that crossed my mind, but after looking through the options that Nike had available, I knew there was potential.

This Weird Invention Called NikeiD and Orangeman Shoes

So the whole idea is pretty simple. You build your own shoes from the bottom up. You pick

everything from the shoelace color to the writing that can be stitched on the back of them. Combing my brother’s ridiculous and obsessive love for Syracuse University, I found the perfect combination of inspiration and practicality. Every year Nike makes shows that are specifically designed for Syracuse. The limited editions Dunk Lows in Syracuse colors even have the words “Orangemen” on the back heels. These special promo shoes are only given to select friends and family of the Orangemen. Both of which I both not belong to. Getting a little creative and using some help from the NikeiD system, I was able to design my very own pair that had close to the same color format and design (imitation is the finest form of flattery right?) The hefty price was another hurdle, but overall; well worth the expenditure. My real question is to the success of Nike and how they’ve been able to emerge after endless scandals with such amazing products like the one I purchased.

I'm Gonna Take a Stab at it for Nike: Customization is King

The consumer is the new boss of the market. They reign the overall decision process and have taken the control out of the manufacturers’’ hands. They are the final say and with such a viral, social market; Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, you name it are the new key indicators of a company’s success. Controlling these arenas will leave you at the top of your industry and will secure you a much stable market than the generations before us could ever imagine.

Nike has been incredibly successful at this in my mind. They have come out with sassy slogan t-shirts and have started to push the image of their company in a new direction. They had me at "hello". They have given the customer a voice and allowed them to direct their sales in the direction they want it to go. As a customer, they were incredibly helpful and highly efficient. The shoes got to my brother in two weeks less than the anticipated time frame and his friends raved about how amazing they were. They not only helped seal the greatest sister award for the month, but made me think differently about how they do business. They’ve changed the way I think about them and inevitably how I will spend my dollar towards their items. I now find myself frequenting their online offers and taking a pit-stop in their store by the Tanger Outlets (both of which I probably would have been less inclined to do prior). This expensive purchase no longer seems relevant in terms of the amount of extra work I had to do to afford it; but, rather an influential decision shifter for me and my relationship with Nike.