Starting my marketing career as young assistant Product Manager at Nike Australia ( John D. Trading) in 1990 it was very clear that Reebok was the dominant brand in Australia due to the strength of the aerobics market at the time.
I was quickly became aware that Michael Jordan was growing in stature and prominence and the Air Jordan brand was growing daily. The brand Michael Jordan was not only the Air Jordan basketball shoe but was growing beyond that category and in a sense was transending basketball.
After spending a year or so in the Marketing Department I ventured out on to the road as a Nike rep. Before my eyes the Michael Jordan brand continued to accelerate. I remember attending a weekend buying conference for a national sports retail chain where we had a really large booth displaying the latest Nike footwear, apparel and accessories. Strategically we had set up a corner area with a Michael Jordan theme. As the buying conference began it was becoming apparent that retailers were very interested in buying anything with the Michael Jordan logo on it. That included footwear, sweat tops, singlets etc. Even smaller regional stores were coming to the Nike stand asking to buy anything related to Michael Jordan.
From then on the rest is history with the partnership of Nike and Michael Jordan.
Although I no longer work at Nike my love for the Nike brand and Michael Jordan will live on forever.
I have loved watching The Last Dance on Netflix ( I have already watched it twice) and those fond memories of my years working at Nike started flooding back!
Have a great day in Marketing,
Cheers
Pete