Nike builds digital community and experience with new Web3-enabled platform

Nike is launching a Web3-enabled platform .SWOOSH that champions athletes and serves the future of sport by creating a new, inclusive digital community and experience and a home for Nike virtual creations.

The platform allows athletes, creators, collectors and consumers to design their virtual sportswear, hence co-creating the future of sport with the company. With its own domain "welcome.swoosh.nike", .SWOOSH aims to allow its members to learn about and collect virtual creations including virtual shoes or jerseys in a trusted and safe place. In some instances, community members will be able to unlock access to physical product or events like intimate conversations with athletes or designers.  

This comes as Nike is taking a step further to expand the definition of sport and serve its future, by democratising the Web3 experience so that everyone can collect, create and own a piece of this new digital world.

For now, .SWOOSH is in beta, with registration to join opening later this month. For the rest of this year, Nike will grow the platform by inviting in a community that is as diverse and equitable as possible. That means prioritising local communities that Nike supports across its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, starting with the United States and select countries in Europe, and skill-building with them so that they’re ready to participate.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Nike for additional information. 

This approach meets consumers wherever they play and shop sport and offers a gateway into a new digital arena, said Ron Faris, GM of Nike Virtual Studios. “We are shaping a marketplace of the future with an accessible platform for the Web3-curious," Faris said. "In this new space, the .SWOOSH community and Nike can create, share, and benefit together," he added. 

Helping to dream up new digital worlds like this is part of what makes working at Nike so unique, said Masooma Ali, director of core and partner relations at Nike Virtual Studios. "Everything in the digital and Web3 spaces changes so quickly, so you automatically learn and re-learn every single day. I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of a team that's so supportive and hands-on."

Ali said the team has created a space that redefines what it means to own a piece of the web3 world, “We want everyone to be a part of this,” Ali says. “I think that’s what sets us apart from other web3 projects. It’s really about community and co-creation and letting consumers help us build the future of Nike.” 

Furthermore, Nike will debut its first digital collection, shaped by the platform's community in 2023. Shortly after the first digital collection drops, members will be able to enter a community challenge to win the opportunity to co-create virtual product with Nike. 

Last year, the sports apparel company gained momentum in its metaverse bet by acquiring virtual sneaker startup RTFKT that creates NFT collectibles. The sportswear brand and RTFTK posted about the acquisition on their social media channels on 14 December 2021.

While the terms of the deal will not be disclosed, Nike president and CEO John Donahoe said in a statement that the acquisition will accelerate the brand's digital transformation and allow it to serve athletes and creators at the intersection of sport, creativity, gaming and culture.

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