Goodby is out of the picture as Nike consolidates $350 mil account at longtime agency

by Alice Z. Cuneo and Wayne Friedman

Nike is making a major shift in its advertising strategy, in an effort to regain market share while cutting costs. The athletic footwear and apparel maker "will be doing fewer campaigns and putting more weight behind them," said one executive familiar with the strategy.

In general, Nike either has produced numerous individual ads or a group of spots and print executions for basketball, golf or leisure apparel to run in limited, targeted rotations.

The new approach comes as Nike consolidated its account at longtime agency Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, Ore., dropping Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, and ending a two-year, emotionally charged rivalry between two of the nation's most creative agencies.

In an analysts meeting earlier this year, Nike officials said ad spending in fiscal year 2000 would hit $350 million. For the first six months of '99, Nike spent $126 million.

The shifts correspond to Nike's attempt to cut costs for the company overall, according to analysts.

Nike's core athletic footwear business continues to face

"It's tough to grow at 20% to 30% in a market where you have 60% to 70% share," said Michael Shea, VP-senior research director at D.A. Davidson & Co., a stock broker. "You are looking at more of a 5% to 10% revenue grower" in contrast to past results.

"If you catch the ball, pass it and put it into the hoop, you'll win the game," he said. "Nike is the best client on the planet."

For Goodby, the switch allows the agency to pursue other apparel and sports marketers, maybe even TBWA/Chiat/Day's Levi's account. Nike refused to allow Goodby to participate in a 1997 pitch for Levi's won by its Omnicom group sibling.

"If it put the fear of God into Wieden, so much the better," said one executive familiar with the marketer.

The move was also cheered by Chuck McBride, now executive creative director at TBWA/Chiat/Day on Levi Strauss & Co., and formerly the Wieden creative director who headed the agency's most recent Nike successes.

Meanwhile, in Portland, Wieden President Dan Wieden, about to take a nap after a long trip from Bangkok, received Mr. DeFlorio's call. "It was the strangest thing--I'm almost starting to believe in [things like] horoscopes," he said.

a depressed marketplace, as well as challenges stemming from a continuing drop in market share. According to NPD Group, from January through September, Nike's market share dropped to 31.4% from 34.9% a year ago. Through September, the overall athletic footwear market has slipped 1%, or $133 million, to $9.9 billion. Actual unit sales of footwear are down 5%.

At Wieden, Mr. McBride's former creative partner, Hal Curtis, has been joined by Bob

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