nike mamba week
Remembering an icon with five days of celebrating and growing his proudest legacy, a philosophy of continual, incremental improvement.
Film / Digital / Activation / Social
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Kobe Bryant’s passing in late January of 2020 shook the world. Not only did we lose a legend like no other on the court, we also lost a mentor, a leader, and a true inspiration to millions of athletes in every sport.
Kobe said the work he was most proud of was passing on his Mamba Mentality, a mindset of trying to be a little better each and every day, to young athletes, particularly girls just like his daughter, Gianna.
Our challenge was to continue his work by inspiring and encouraging Gen Z to become the best versions of themselves through sport.
THE SOLUTION
Mamba Week began on Kobe’s first birthday after his sudden passing. The world was living through the ongoing trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic. We needed more of Kobe in our lives.
My solution was to attempt to do what Kobe was so good at: help teach young athletes and fans the value of passion, focus, honesty, fearlessness and optimism and how to live them every day.
THE EXPERIENCE
We paired up elite athletes and rising stars. Friends of Kobe’s and strangers. In candid conversations, they spoke about the profound effect the man had on their lives, how they were practicing what he preached, and shared how they were striving to be better every day.
Those conversations became the basis for an ecosystem of content and activity. Instagram stories came to life on @NikeBasketball driving followers to the Mamba Mentality Hub. Every day that week, nike.com updated with new stories, video content, and ways to get active. Nike Run Club and Nike Training Club featured Mamba Mentality challenges to get people active. Paid ads encourage the audience to become Nike members.
THE PROCESS and results
We’re all experts at creating remotely now, but in the Summer of 2020 we were still figuring out how to work from home when we believed success required long hours in war rooms and edit suites. And with every NBA team within their Florida bubble, putting a very real barrier between us and some of Kobe’s most dynamic protégés, we were forced to innovate on the fly to make the work happen.
But it did happen, and the emotion and honesty of our athlete stars broke through the video call awkwardness, creating content that resonated, educated and inspired young fans when then needed it most.
The Mamba Week program helped bring aboard more than 160,000 new members with basketball affinity, exemplifying the values of the Mamba Mentality. Along with a fearless generation of basketball players, Nike also had its share of earning results: