Air Activism
4 lessons from the movie “air”
Take risks.
Focus on the outcome.
Disrupt the status quo.
Form mutually beneficial partnerships
The new movie ,“Air”, explores how Nike and Michael Jordan became partners. Long-term, insanely lucrative, changed-the-sports-industry partners. As a result of that partnership, Nike and Michael Jordan are global legends, but they were only the vehicles for change. They weren’t the engine.
Sonny Vaccaro and Deloris Jordan were the engines for change.
We focus on the visible winners. We should focus on how they became winners.
Sonny Vaccaro was tasked with turning around Nike’s dying basketball shoe division. Adidas and Converse were the dominant brands, attracting the top players and their fans. Sonny staked his career on disrupting the status quo. Nike’s deal with Michael Jordan was the first time a brand represented a player, rather than players representing a brand. He took the risk of defining sponsorship differently - making it all about the player, not the shoe. “It’s only a shoe until someone steps into it.” Because of his vision, the new Air Jordan brand made a staggering $162 million in the first year, steadily growing to over $5 billion a year in 2022, a partnership which has continued for almost 40 years
Sonny took the risks. He focused on the outcome. He disrupted the status quo for the entire industry. And he actively pursued a partnership - directly.
Deloris Jordan is Michael Jordan’s mother. The hot draft pick was only 21 when he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls. Mom as gatekeeper is absolutely linked to Michael Jordan’s current net worth of $2 billion. She managed the risks, and took risks. She told Michael to take the meeting with Nike, even though his preference was the already popular Adidas. Deloris focused on the outcome, getting the best deal for her son, a sustainable, influential deal. She disrupted the status quo significantly by listening to the deal, the shoe designed around one player, and took it to another level by demanding royalties. Her negotiating opened the door for unprecedented transferring power, wealth, and control over their images to professional athletes.
Deloris looked at the risks and pushed for more. She significantly disrupted the status quo of the industry. Most importantly, she demanded that the partnership be mutually beneficial, beyond payment to include royalties.
Nike and Michael Jordan are stronger together than if they had stayed separate, but they are both significantly stronger because the engines for change who supported them:
Took risks.
Focused on the outcome.
Disrupted the status quo.
Formed mutually beneficial partnerships.
Note: In the movie, Sonny Vaccaro is the engine for change. In real life, there is debate. Was it Sonny or George Raveling? Despite not knowing exactly which person, or people, was the engine for change, the arguments in the blog still stand. https://stylecaster.com/sonny-vaccaro-now/#slide-1