Avoiding Nike's $14 Billion Presentation Blunder

American sport. Really. There’s an obvious reason why no-one else plays them.

I have though enjoyed basketball. Playing and spectating.

My last exposure was crazy. Working in New York, 2012. Linsanity. Fabulous.

So I thought the recent play by Steph Curry worth a Sales mention.

He’s that rare breed in such a loaded game. An Everyman achiever.

So it came to renegotiate his long-standing endorsement deal with Nike.

Yet he ended up switching to new rising rival Under Armour.

The value Nike missed out on calculated by Morgan Stanley at an unimaginable $14bn.

For Steph is set to be the next superstar. A player any kid can identify with.

How did Nike miss out?

Well. Arrogance? Laziness? Complacency?

ESPN reveals how the contract renewal slideshow began.

Despite partnership stretching back several years, three mistakes seem to have combined to fell the relationship.

Firstly, a key element of desired community engagement (youth training camps) were ignored.

Then two of presentation. In the opening remarks the Exec speaking mispronounced the player’s name. Not unusual but not corrected either. This was swiftly compounded by a slide duly projected which featured a different athlete’s name on it, right where Steph’s should have been;

‘A PowerPoint slide featured [someone else’s] name, presumably left on by accident, presumably residue from repurposed materials.’

An incredible error. As the father sighed;

“I stopped paying attention after that”.

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. ESPN’s take;

‘Nike’s pitch to Curry evoked something hastily thrown together by a hungover college student.’

Fourteen Billion down the pan.

Because of the wrong name twice and not considering what was dear to the heart.