KobeSystem

The Context

For the launch of the Kobe VII during the winter of 2011/2012, Nike was introducing a shoe built on a low top. A low top in basketball? You crazy? To market that system we had to show how it fit into Kobe's larger mindset.

The Moment

Kobe Bryant was at the peak of his celebrity when he worked with the Nike Basketball design team to create a shoe that shocked the sport. The low top system shoe was different than what everyone else was playing in. But Kobe didn't just have a system for his shoe or even just basketball. No, Kobe had a system for life itself.

What I Did

When I came to the project, the creative team had an incredible spot fully developed. Nike wanted that spot to be the centerpiece of a social campaign. It was the early days of Twitter and YouTube brand pages. Nobody had quite figured out what they could do.

I formed a three-headed monster with the creative team and developed an entire world of content that included a weeklong takeover of Nike Basketball's social handle and an influencer outreach and recruitment. Each day had a theme, an engagement plan and its own suite of content.

What Became Possible

In January 2013 we launched a fully social campaign that looks a lot more like something that could launch in 2026. Daily content, engagement, memes, real time. It started as a campaign and turned into a curriculum. KobeSystem became a model for Nike social that we built upon for years.