Nike Golf capitalized on social media this summer with a fresh #DontSleepOnSummer Instagram and Twitter campaign that spanned from May to August. This campaign urged golf athletes and enthusiasts to forget the relaxation of summer and get back out on the course.
Summer doesn’t start on the calendar. It starts on the course. pic.twitter.com/NYhRvaCpjA
— Nike Golf (@nikegolf) May 30, 2014
In true Nike fashion, they found another way to capture the spirit of Nike in a short and sweet line that inspired athletes all season. Their witty banter and playful captions motivated golfers throughout the summer to get up before the sun, attack the summer from the first tee, and don’t stop until sundown. This campaign featured Instagrams of golfers in the morning, noon, and night and through all kinds of weather. Nike wanted golfers of any level to play with a sense of desire and urgency, because “birdies come to the ones up before the birds”; and there is no time to waste.
The sun is still out. You should be too. #DontSleepOnSummer pic.twitter.com/Ecwq7ltp3a — Nike Golf (@nikegolf) September 13, 2014
This campaign also featured pro golfers like Rory McIlroy, giving people a behind-the-scenes look at life on and off the course. It showed how golfers kept training in their off-season; because to Nike Golf, it wasn’t about the rest and relaxation, it was about the gains could be made in the summer. It was about the places your game could go in the “three-month promised-land” of summer.
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Reps over rest. Instead of taking down time between tourneys, @rorymcilroy took over New York with us this week. #DontSleepOnSummer
Just because the days are getting shorter doesn’t mean your drives have to. #DontSleepOnSummer
The #DontSleepOnSummer campaign was very successful, especially due to the engagement factor it had. All summer, golfers were adding #DontSleepOnSummer to the end of their tweets and Instagrams as they got out early on the course or took a day off from the office to get on the green. The campaign fit in well with Nike’s trademark slogan #justdoit, because Nike’s mission is to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.
Nike believes “if you have a body, you are an athlete.” The #DontSleepOnSummer campaign was tailored to anyone and sparked a movement throughout the summer. It aimed to motivate and inspire any golfer to give up a day off and play 18-holes, and it’s no question that the campaign did just that.