Nike Communications, Inc.

I'm about to address the Nike Communications, Inc. class of 2024 celebrating its 40th Anniversary! Nike (nothing to do with the sneakers as I've often had to explain) is an agency I credit for boosting my career at a critical moment in my life. I'd moved from London in 2000 having worked predominantly in haircare and cosmetics marketing. President & Founder Nina Kaminer interviewed thanks to a referral from a friend who had worked at the Agency. If you're lucky you have a mentor; I'm blessed to have landed the best. Nina is a communications icon and genius! She founded the Agency at age 24 in 1984 with the singular ambition of representing the best brands in the world, often European luxury brands looking to make a foothold in the U.S. market, (strategically also the year American Express launched the Platinum Card). Her client list included Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Baccarat, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Krug, Montblanc, Tag Heuer, Christofle and many other iconic brands. Nina taught me about quality results and reaching for the sky. She is a master at creating white space for growth: she sees talent & potential in people and pushes them to achieve it, me included! As a new arrival on American shores, Nina gave me a shot handling luxury lifestyle brands - I launched "Baby Piper" splits of champagne during fashion week, Jean-Paul Gaultier corset-wearing bottles, the release of the 2000 Vintage Chateau Mouton for Baroness Philippine, press for glamorous Rosewood resorts in the Caribbean and feature coverage for Vacheron Constantin watches. I was launched into a glamorous "Sex & the City" luxe lifestyle fueled by fashion, celebrity, & champagne! One of the notable learnings was how to craft a powerful narrative. Campaigns were about creating brand news when there was no newness. We mined brand DNA for cultural relevance, created trends based on current events & entertainment in order to secure major features and product placement in A-List media for clients. We were ambitious, effective pitch machines who moved the needle for our clients in terms of awareness and sales. It was a boot camp -extremely demanding and competitive but was the foundation for the career success I've enjoyed. I have a thousand stories from my TWO stints at the Agency, but what I will never forget is the pride and satisfaction winning a monthly Nike award! Nina's incredibly humble (even shy) and always gave credit where it was due. On a monthly basis best press results (usually multi-page or major brand features in print & TV as digital coverage was not yet highly-rated) were given the "Nike" of the month award. The prize was kudos of presenting your winning coverage at the all-Agency meeting. You told the story of the challenge and triumph of the pitch process. It was an opportunity to gain experience in public speaking and to inspire, & share. A toast to Nina on her incredible legacy on behalf of the multitude of talent she's nurtured and championed over four decades!

I recently partnered with Bacardi to launch a customized sneaker that pairs with a digital asset twin (otherwise known as an NFT) and this was all launched in conjunction with NYC’s premier music festival - GovBall 🥂 This project perfectly aligns 3 deep passions I have: Music Culture. Sneaker Culture. And Web3. This is not a paid post. 🙅🏻♂️ I want to thank the Bacardi team for the trust. Read that again. This is bigger than it sounds. TRUST. Often times, companies and brands think they deserve to have the final say in all decisions because they are providing the check💰 This is false and damaging to all parties: The Brand. The Collaborator. And ultimately the Community / Customer / End User. Brands should take the time to vet their partnerships even before the first call is ever made. 51% of the effort should go into THAT. I often see brands put in 10% effort into partnership identification which then makes the rest of the project a living hell for everyone. Bacardi - alongside BBDO Worldwide and Nike Communications, Inc. decided there was no better fit for this project than me and my team at Reed Art Department (And I firmly agree! 🤣) So what are THE LESSONS here? 💭 If you’re a Creator 🎭🎨🖌️🖼️🎤 and a brand comes a calling with a bag of cash and a seemingly dream opportunity … ask yourself if this is truly authentic for WHO YOU ARE. For example, I am not a drinker. I haven’t had a drink in 25+ years. But Bacardi came to the table with an idea that vibed with my whole being. (Music. Sneakers. NFTs.) Bacardi in this case positioned themselves as a platform and humbly, IN SERVICE TO THE CULTURE — not the other way around. And when I said I cannot and will not be photographed with a drink in hand, they happily obliged. (Actions speak louder than dollars.) So Creators: Be aware when it feels like it’s the other way around. When it feels like the one writing the check is being subtractive to you and the culture vs additive! And for Brands? Take as much time, energy and resource as possible to determine who the right partner is for you. And then … LET. IT. GO. Let them do their jobs. Of course monitor progress to ensure everything stays on the tracks, but if you did a good job in the upfront vetting process, trust that decision and allow the Creator to create! Because if you don’t, you just wasted all that time, effort and money and you’ll probably say to yourself at the end, “We should’ve just done this whole damn thing ourselves from the start.” ✌🏽🧠🫱🏻🫲🏽 #community #energy #culture #brand #money #art #project #opportunity #team #communications #partnerships