The New Nike + iPod Sports Kit

Have you heard about the new Nike + iPod sports kit? According to an article I read today titled, "Will the New Nike+iPod Sport Kit Hit the Ground Running, or Hit the Wall?," it reported, "The Nike+iPod Sport Kit allows runners and walkers to listen to songs and to record, store and share information (such as speed, distance covered and calories burned) with others about their exercise sessions. The system also "talks" to runners in real time, providing information as they jog along. The $29 kit consists of two gadgets -- receiver that plugs into an iPod Nano and a sensor that sits inside the inner sole of specially made Nike shoes and transmits data to the receiver wirelessly. Buyers also get software to download the running data to a special website where the information can be stored and tracked over time and shared with other runners."

As I read this article, I started to think about ESPN and its "amazing" mobile sports phone. I was concerned that this new sports kit idea might fail miserably, but then I got to thinking:

There is such a wide and diverse audience who run and listen to music while exercising. The target audience is two to three times as large as the audience for ESPN's mobile phone.

* Like the story stated, "Members of Wharton's marketing department say it's a winning combination that will bolster each company's image and open the door to other co-branding opportunities." Nike and Apple are two companies that consider themselves cutting-edge, forward thinking and companies that understand their customers.

* Last, Nike does not believe in traditional advertising (this is an extremely smart company): "One Nike marketing official has said that Nike will not spend money on traditional advertising to create interest in the sport kit and will, in fact, rely on buzz marketing and word-of-mouth referrals."

If Nike and Apple start to gain some traction and sales with this new sports kit, I would not be surprised if Nike created a social networking site like the one for its soccer fans.