Vick, Nike & PR

With the re-signing of Michael Vick, Nike has certainly made a bit of news.  This is not an endorsement deal, but just a supply deal as they have with several athletes.   Let's answer a few quick questions.

Will this hurt Nike?  No.  Nike has dealt with controversial athletes in the past: John McEnroe and Dennis Rodman are examples.  I am sure some parents did not buy their kids Rodman's shoes, but Nike is still here stronger than before.  Keep in mind, this is not an endorsement deal as with the two aforementioned examples.

What about the possible negative PR? Given the timing of this announcement, I don't think there will be any.  Vick as reinstated some time ago, so if there was going to be any large backlash against Vick, it would have already happened.  And since it has not, there will probably won't be now.  Sure there will be some people who now won't buy Nike because of this, but they are few and far in between and probably won't have a large affect on Nike's bottom line.

What's in it for Nike? Besides the obvious opportunity to sell more Nike branded football goods and apparel, it's positive PR for their Corporate Responsibility Division and Nike in general.  Because Vick has committed to doing these community service events, Nike will now there be there by extension and add to their portfolio of activities for this unit.  In this day, with all the negative lights shining on corporations and their activities, can you argue with more corporate responsibility?

What this illustrates for all brands is a need to manage your reputation.  With all the online access to chat rooms, Facebook groups, etc. brands need to make a conscious effort to manage this on a daily basis.  If I am wrong and the Vick situation does get out of hand, it will start online: in the blogosphere and other social media type groups.  If you see it coming you can react, if you don't you could be spending untold amounts of time and money trying to slow down a snowball rolling downhill.  Do you know what consumers are saying about your brand?  Who have you appointed at your firm to manage these outlets and monitor what is being said about you?