Tag: Nike

In Her Own Brand

Allyson Felix celebrates after her second place finish in the women’s 400-meter run with her daughter Camryn at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials Sunday, June 20, 2021, in Eugene, Ore.(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

On Sunday, Allyson Felix, the most decorated female track and field star in the US, qualified for her fifth Olympics in the 400. Yesterday, she announced she will be donning track spikes made by her new footwear company, Saysh. She will be the first track and field athlete to compete in her own brand. A remarkable, pandemic fueled story.

Phil Knight Out of Step with Women

The story begins in 2018, when Felix was pregnant and negotiating a renewal of her Nike contract, a tricky balance familiar to women in many industries. In early 2019, after baby Camryn was born, Nike offered her 70% less with a huge push to return to peak racing form asap despite a difficult delivery with serious complications.

Telling Her Truth

In a powerful New York Times Op-Ed, she repudiated the deal and castigated Nike for their complicity in an all-too-familiar sports apparel practice of diminished support and compensation for pregnant female athletes. Thanks to her advocacy, and that of fellow former Nike athletes, Alysia Montaño and Kara Goucher, Nike and other brands eventually reversed course and put contractual guarantees in place for 18 months around pregnancy. However, when she initiated conversations with other footwear brands, she could not reach a deal. Then the pandemic hit.

Shrink It and Pink It, NOT

With the Olympics on pause, Felix and her brother, Wes decided to launch their own female footwear brand, Saysh. Initially cautioned by their business advisor not to jump into the saturated market, a deeper dive revealed an underserved female lifestyle market. In an interview with Time, she described the women’s footwear market as “shrink it and pink it.” They raised $3M in seed funding from a broad range of investors. Saysh designed track spikes for Felix’s Olympic quest in Tokyo, giving her ownership of the ultimate brand stage.

I Know My Place

Saysh’s debut generated buzz across a wide swath of pubs including Time, USA Today, Vogue, and Sporting News, among others. She also announced she will donate her winnings from the Olympic Trials, and the Tokyo Games to Right to Play, which increases access to sports in disadvantaged areas around the world.  And she is raising awareness about healthcare inequities facing Black mothers. Athleta, which signed her as their first sponsored athlete, (followed by Simone Biles) will carry Saysh One shoes in the fall.  

Take Up Space

The Saysh marketing campaign, “I Know My Place” sums up her journey in her own words.” Like so many of us, I was told to know my place, that runners have to run. This is a similar experience for many women, who are often shrinking themselves to fit into roles or spaces. This campaign reminds us to take up space. To live our greatness and fight for what we believe in.”

Amen.

Brand Activism Meet Moral Humility

In a recent Hartford Courant op-ed by Joanne Berger-Sweeney, the first Black and female president of Trinity College and professor of neuroscience, and Sonia Cardenas, acting dean of the faculty, vice president for academic affairs and professor of political science, they write “It’s time to go further. In a deeply divided society, we all have a responsibility to practice moral humility. None of us is innocent in the continuum of racism.” https://www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-berger-sweeney-cardenas-trinity-0610-20200610-3dxv3stgrffonh3bt4isire6oq-story.html   They offer a thoughtful perspective leaders of corporate America would be wise to consider. Brand Activism meet Moral Humility.

Definition

Moral Humility is a virtue composed of having (a) a recognition of one’s own moral fallibility, (b) an appreciation for the moral strengths and moral views of others, and (c) a moral perspective that transcends the self.

Minneapolis

Collision Course

COVID-19 laid bare the issues in our underserved Black and brown communities. Problems that could not be ignored: higher infection rates due to dense housing, and essential workers without PPE; higher death rates because of a preponderance of underlying conditions; the neediest kids marooned in a distanced-learning world without internet and devices; service employee layoffs; and massive food insecurity. These fault lines compounded with the raw horror of George Floyd’s murder convulsed the Black Lives Matter movement in this country and around the world.

Berlin

Corporate Backlash

Brand activism went on full display in corporate America, as the C-suite was pressure-tested by consumers who wanted to know where they stood. Many posted to their social accounts. ViacomCBS tweeted “Black Lives Matter. Black Culture Matters. Black Communities Matter” while its cable properties went dark for 8:46 on #BlackoutTuesday. Twitter changed its iconic image to black with the Black Lives Matter hashtag. Nike tweeted, “For once, don’t do it.”   L’Oréal tweeted, “Speaking out is worth it.” Each endured backlash for brand hypocrisy and they were not alone.

Throw Money

Others backed up their rhetoric with donations.  Intel committed $1M to address social justice and racism. You Tube pledged $1M to support efforts to address social justice. Peloton and Twitter pledged to donate $500,000 to the NAACP’s legal defense fund.  Facebook pledged to donate $10M to groups fighting racial inequality – but as CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post “I know, $10M can’t fix this.” The sincerity of these decisions was questioned, considering the dismal track record of diversity hiring – especially in the tech sector. In fact, only one Black person was in the room when senior Facebook management chose not to delete or slap a warming on Trump’s post “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” causing employee walk-outs, resignations and advertiser flight.

Compton, California

Bring Change

Brand activism informed by moral humility would be a much more powerful, authentic, and genuine investment of time, talent, and resources. To admit failings and address root causes head on has always been a prescription for forgiveness, loyalty, and sometimes admiration. To thoughtfully create true partnerships which address systemic issues like access to internet, education equality, pay equity, affordable housing, and food insecurities would place brands and their consumers squarely in the position of being profound change agents. Brand activism at this depth would be good for the country and good for business.

Washington, DC