The role of branding use to be a point of differentiation, how we want to be seen. Things are changing and expression of attitude for Gen X & Y now comes down to customization, or, the ability to be an individual. Shoes are the forefront of this mass move, Adidas, Puma and now Nike allow their customers to design their own pattern and have their diggs custom made. What I question, have Nike offered a real customization mechanism?
Nike fans simply take a photo of something they like the look of, send it via MMS to the NikeID website who send back an image of what they shoes will look like. That image can be used as a mobile wallpaper, sent to a friend or purchase the sneakers and have them sent to you.
The program grabs the two most prominent colours and adds them to the diggs (as seen in the picture)
Adidas run an in-store customization software located in on Paris' tony Champs-Elysées. An exclusive location aimed at positioning it's product as exclusive and top end. From all reports they run a good product, but you can only use it in-store, so people are limited in their access.
Puma run a web based design program called Mongolian BBQ, it is very very cool and I love the concept behind it, but is riddled with inadequacies. I found a report by jungle-life and I couldn't think of a better way to express it, so here it is:
"The complete selection of fabrics and colors is not available to view at once and the shoe is broken down into components - the only way to see what component you're customizing is to activate a seperate overlay outlining all the components then click back. The only way to see the color or fabric you've chosen applied to the shoe is to click "preview". Clicking preview launches a smaller overlay showing the fabric applied. First you have to choose a component, then you have to choose a fabric, then you have to apply the fabric to the component and you cant change components during the process."
Josh's Opinion
I really like the customization that Puma allows, if you love your sneakers like Julian Cole of ad-space pioneers, then you will love their tools. Adidas as well if you happen to find yourself in France. But have Nike hit the nail on the head?
I would have to say NO. there is very little customization, so what are they offering and why would you bother for only two colours. I think Nike need to go back, invest some more time, effort and capital into creating a better systom that really shows 'attitude' and independence.
Sam Berringer's opinion
Customization is definately the way of the future for pinikity Gen Y and this is a good first attempt. The interest levels from all my sneaker freak friends was very high, but they demand more. If Nike wants to go down this path, they have to do it right!
Cheers to Hill & Knowlton for their article on this topic
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