You're Never Too Big

The other day at the gym, I received a good lesson in brand awareness and advertising. I was in the lockeroom when a woman came over close to me, bent over and pointed to my shoes and said "Those sneakers are exactly what I am looking for! I need more of a square toe! What brand are those?"

For your reference, here is a picture of the shoes I was wearing:

Needless to say, I was pretty shocked and uncertain of how to respond to such a question asking me what brand these sneakers were. Was this a joke?

"Uhhh, these? They're just Nike?" I said, as if I was not sure myself. Did someone seriously just ask me what the swoosh on my shoe represented?

I consider Nike to be one of the largest global brands in the world (So does Interbrand, they rank Nike at #24 in the world). Not only are their products popular, but their swoosh logo is easily recognizable, and they are always doing tons of advertising. They have definitely kept up to speed with the digital media revolution, but they still appear in print, on billboards, etc.

You could say that maybe the woman wasn't a big athlete or sports fanatic. That could be a fair statement, except that she was working out, so she had clearly purchased athletic clothing and shoes before. Also, she belonged to a gym in New York City, so she must either live or work in the city, and must have seen some Nike outdoor media at some point in her life:

Nike Billboard, Times Square NYC. Click here to read more

But, it is a scattered media world and people generally focus on themselves and their interests. It's still crucial to keep on building awareness and targeting new consumers. And despite how big you might think your brand is, just remember that some people do not even know what Nike is. It is possible to not reach a consumer throughout their whole life, or perhaps you can reach them but not make any impact.

For that reason, always keep inventing and promoting yourself. Are you relevant to certain niche markets you have yet to consider? Then promote yourself, or as Nike says "Just Do It."