It’s back to school season which means shopping. Kids need school supplies, backpacks, and after a summer of beating them to hell, sneakers.

My kids have never really had opinions on sneakers before because we’re what I like to call “an Adidas family.” The only sneakers they ever really wore were Adidas. The only sneakers they wanted were Adidas. And it’s because of me. For the last 20 years every pair of sneakers, trainers, gym shoes, tennis shoes, or slides I've purchased was made by Adidas.

So when the eight-year old out of nowhere said “I want a pair of Nikes,” I almost threw up. Literally.

This was his first pair of shell toes (and probably my 100th)

Now for the record, I have nothing against Nike. They’ve always made cool stuff—I used to have a pair of Warriors Air Max 90s that I wore into the ground! Some of my favorite athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo are Nike athletes. I have a lot of friends that are either still there or are alumni. It’s a great brand. It’s just not my brand.

And I think that distinction is important. I identify as an Adidas guy. My closet is filled with clothes and shoes (some of which I’ve never even worn). I intentionally visit Adidas stores when I travel to new countries. My favorite shoe ever is the Superstar. I have a LEGO set of it behind my desk. Make your Eastern European jokes but Adidas is a core part of my identity.

This set was so fun to build

Anyway… we go to the Nike store and he picks out a pair of shoes. He’s really excited. The girls are with us too and they see shoes they like. They’re really excited. I’m trying to be happy for my kids and I literally feel sick to my stomach.

It came out of nowhere and wasn’t something I could control. Even as I type this it sounds so overly dramatic but it just happened. The thought of swiping my credit card at a store that wasn’t Adidas did something to my body that I can’t explain.

…but that’s brand loyalty for you.

You see it in musical instruments, phone, cameras, and, yes, sneakers. Brands that just capture who someone is so well that they somehow become inextricably linked. It’s a hard thing to do and it takes a lot of time to build that connection but ultimately it’s the brand and not the product that does this.

Brand vs. Product

Nike vs. Adidas
Fender vs. Gibson
Playstation vs. Xbox
Nikon vs. Sony (or Fujifilm vs. Kodak for the old heads)
McDonalds vs. Burger King
iOS vs. Android

It’s hard to objectively argue that one of these products is superior to the other. There are little quirks, some subjective elements, maybe a partnership (Adidas x Manchester United!) that tips the scales but at the end of the day they’re all basically the same.

The B2C space has known this for a looooong time. B2B is finally starting to catch up. Team size and budgets used to dictate how good your product was. With AI, the smaller teams have caught up so the stories you’re telling are what will set you apart.

So why did I get sick?

For the past few days I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I’m sure we all want to build brands that would make our customers sick thinking of someone else but what actually did it? A few things come to mind:

Values

This isn’t a political statement but brands need to believe and stand for something. This is what will attract your audience. This is what will make them feel connected. This is what makes stick around beyond your product.

I’m sure growing up a New York Knicks fan in the 90s when Nike was almost exclusively promoting Michael Jordan (our main rival) had something to do with it but it felt like Adidas stood for more than just athletes which I always loved. They were always a major player in soccer but I associate Adidas just as much with Run DMC and Beastie Boys as I do with the dopest ball in World Cup history.

I used to have a replica Telstar as a kid and it was my absolute favorite

Focus

You’ve probably heard sayings like “the riches are in the niches” before and there’s a reason they exist. The most successful brands don’t try to appeal to everyone. They understand who their audience is and focus on them. This is key to building loyalty in the first place.

Consistency

Where and when you show up matters. What you say matters. If you don’t stay top of mind another brand will take your place (think about how quickly Vuori disrupted Lululemon). Your position is ultimately never safe so you have to be consistent in showing up.

One of my favorite memories was walking around Lollapalooza in 2010 only to stumble upon a giant Adidas shoebox. It was a silly experience but it was also a statement that aligned with it’s values.

A giant Adidas box in the middle of Lollapalooza 2010

Back then choosing between Lollapalooza or Bonnaroo or Coachella made a difference—it was a personal statement. Adidas showing up at Lolla made me feel like they got who I was.

Am I a Nike guy now?

Absolutely not. They’d have to mess up pretty hard to lose me at this point (they came close in 2022). The values that won me over all those years ago are the ones that caused me to almost make a mess of a Nike store earlier this week so I’m not going anywhere.

But AI, CRM, enrichment software, design tools, and the rest of what most of us work on day-to-day don’t have 30+ years of brand loyalty to overcome. Your customers are still looking for something that works and that understands who they are. They want to be found. Create a connection with them the way Adidas has with me.

…and if any of you know anyone at Adidas, send them my way. One of my life goals is to be sponsored by them as a Creative (putting it out into the universe). Could you imagine me and David Beckham at the same photoshoot?…

Brand loyalty starts with your brand strategy. Full stop. If you don’t know what you stand for or how to say it, how do you expect your customers to know? Not only that but how do you expect to enable your team to put those messages out into the world? You can’t.

We’ve done the math and we’ve worked on over 200 brands between Jenn and me (OhSnap!, right?), some of which you absolutely love and some of which maybe you haven’t heard of, but for every one of them it started with strategy. You’ll never build loyalty without one.