Nike launches digital community .SWOOSH

Sportswear giant Nike has introduced new platform .SWOOSH as an inclusive digital space to champion athletes and sports.

Community members will be able to unlock access to physical Nike products or attend online events such as intimate conversations with athletes or designers. Registration for members to join will commence this month.

The domain allows for participants to help co-create interactive digital objects such as virtual shoes or jerseys. The company will expand its audience by inviting local communities that they support across its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, starting with the US and select European countries.

Taking inspiration from Nike’s co-founder Phil Knight, who commented, "From Day One, everything we did — and still do — is to unleash the potential of every athlete around the world….To help you do things you didn’t even know you could,” the brand looks to expand the definition of sport with this new online platform. By democratising the web3 experience, this digital world is accessible to everyone."

Nike are set to launch an accompanying digital collection, shaped by members, in 2023. To spark engagement, members will be able to enter a challenge to win the opportunity to co-create a virtual product with .Swoosh, resulting in the winner earning a royalty on the virtual product.

Ron Faris, GM of Nike Virtual Studios, added: "This approach meets consumers wherever they play and shop sport and offers a gateway into a new digital arena. We are shaping a marketplace of the future with an accessible platform for the web3-curious… In this new space, the .SWOOSH community and Nike can create, share, and benefit together."