Davide Grasso: Notable Nike Marketing Strategies, Including the 2008 "Just Do It" Anniversary Campaign

For the past 20 years, Vice President of Global Brand Marketing Davide Grasso has led Nike, Inc. divisions throughout the world in strategic planning and marketing capacities. In 2008, as Vice President Brand & Category Management with Nike Inc.’s Asia Pacific region, he guided one of Nike’s largest ever campaigns, centered around the Beijing Olympic Games.

The memorable global advertising campaign celebrated the 20th anniversary of the “Just Do It” slogan and featured past and present athletic greats. Originally conceived in 1988 by the Portland, Oregon, ad agency Wieden+Kennedy, “Just Do It” became the focal point of a $20 million campaign that ultimately extended across sports eras. The phrase itself was envisioned as being the process by which an athlete transformed himself or herself into a great competitor. The impact of this catchphrase was such that "Just Do It" was ranked by Advertising Age as second on its list of Top 10 Slogans of the Century. Bringing the "Just Do It" slogan and Nike ethos full circle, the 20th anniversary ad campaign was once again directed by Wieden+Kennedy.

In tandem with the Beijing Olympics, Davide Grasso also worked to increase brand awareness and market penetration in China through a sponsorship agreement with Olympic Gold Medal hurdler Liu Xiang. From 2009 to 2010, Mr. Grasso leveraged past experience in soccer apparel and footwear marketing as Nike’s Vice President of Global Football Marketing. Currently based out of the company’s Portland headquarters, Davide Grasso is focused on developing and coordinating online and traditional media campaigns throughout the world.

The New Technology Behind Nike's Latest Running Shoe

For professional runners and running enthusiasts, the shoes they were play a huge role in their performance. The perfect running shoe would be one that is lightweight and fits like a glove – or in this case, sock – as such a a design would reduce injuries and increase speed. 

In the 1980s, Nike came out with the Sock Racer. And while it was comfortable, it wasn't durable enough. Other footwear manufacturers have tried to step up to the plate, but no one has succeeded – until now. Nike announced its latest running shoe last month, and this time, they got it right.

The Flyknit, which will be available in US stores starting July, boasts of a precise fit and a weight of 160 grams – way lighter than the popular Air Pegasus+ 28's 290 grams. But Nike executives aren't just thrilled about putting out a better running shoe. According to them, the advanced manufacturing technology behind the Flyknit can change the entire sports footwear industry.

Unlike other shoes that are assembled by hand, the Flyknit is woven together by a 15-foot-long machine using synthetic yarn. The result is a single-piece shoe upper that fits snugly like a second skin; the tongue and sole are added later on. With 35 fewer pieces to be sewn than the Air Pegasus+ 28, the Flyknit significantly slashes labor costs, production time, and wasted material.

Nike CEO Mark Parker says, “There is no more cutting and stitching with this. The most labor-intensive part of the footwear manufacturing process is gone from the picture.”

The Flyknit is the result of a four-year collaboration between teams of designers, engineers, and programmers. The engineers and programmers were hired by Nike to modify a sweater and sock knitting machine to weave a sneaker upper instead. 

Runners will have two models of the Flyknit to choose from, the Racer and the Trainer+.