If someone buys a product because they believe it represents their values, a rival company can’t woo them away simply by creating a better product—they need to change who that person is, which is much harder to do, he said. And those kinds of long-term benefits often outweigh the risks of taking on a divisive issue. I discuss in this article in Forbes. Nike has, for instance, built its reputation in recent years on its willingness to take stands. When the sports apparel brand put Colin Kaepernick in an ad campaign in 2018, some observers were surprised, given how the football player’s protest had divided some Americans. What Nike knew, however, was who it is AND its core customer base.
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