In case you’ve been on a desert island somewhere for the last week, you’ve undoubtedly heard about Nike’s “Dream Crazy” campaign featuring new front-man Colin Kaepernick.

Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt pic.twitter.com/SRWkMIDdaO

— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) September 3, 2018

Since the launch of that campaign, there’s been a non-stop stream of coverage of the campaign. Was it a success? Was is a mistake? Is Nike doing the right thing? Are they getting cocky? And, of course, will they make more money as a result of this campaign?

There’s been a lot of discussion about the, shall we say, societal impacts and consequences of this campaign. And, as well there should given Nike’s place in the retail, apparel and sports markets, and how it positions itself across the world.

But, what I want to talk about today is the PR/marketing results–so far. Because, if you look at this campaign objectively so far, I don’t know how on earth you can say it’s not a smashing success.

Consider the following numbers:

• 2.7 million. That’s the number of mentions of Nike (and counting) since last Monday–that’s a 1,400 percent increase from the previous day. Nike brand mentions increased by 135% compared to the previous week. (source: Talkwalker)
• $43 million. That’s the cash value of media exposure the campaign generated in less than 24 hours since it first revealed the spot on Twitter. And, most of that coverage was neutral to positive, according to Apex Marketing Group.
• 1,300 percent. That’s the jump Nike saw in mentions on Twitter between Sept. 2 and the day of the announcement (source: Brandwatch).
• 21,135,487. That’s the number of views the “Dream Crazy” ad has on YouTube (as of Sunday, Sept. 9). After releasing its campaign last week, Nike had the most single-day video views for its social media channels over the last 90 days. It’s also the most views for any Nike video on YouTube in many months–and it’s not close.
• 31 percent. After a quick dip in the stock price last Wed., Edison Trends is reporting online sales actually grew by almost a third from the Sunday of Labor Day weekend through last Tuesday (compared with a 17 percent gain for the same period in 2017).

If you think Nike isn’t THRILLED with these numbers, you are not living on the planet earth. From a business standpoint, Nike crushed this campaign launch.

Let’s recap the recap:

• $43 MILLION worth in media exposure. Keep in mind, a Super Bowl ad spot in 2018 ran $5.2 million. Nike just achieved the value of EIGHT Super Bowl ad spots.
• 1,300 percent increase in mentions on Twitter. The reason this one matters isn’t so much this number (although it is great), it’s more about WHO was tweeting and what they were saying. Of course, many NFL players stayed away for obvious reasons. But, sports icons like LeBron James and Serena Williams tweeted support for Kaep and the ad. People who have millions of followers on Twitter (it was also talked about on Instagram, Facebook and other social networks as well, obviously). It was a brilliant influencer marketing campaign baked in a fantastic ad campaign.
• 31 percent increase in online sales. This isn’t everything, of course. And, the biggest question is what does this mean for Nike in the long-term for sales and growth. But, when you’re analyzing campaigns, you’re also allowed to look at the short-term and see how sales were impacted. And 14 percent YOY growth ain’t too bad.

Obviously, politics played a big part in this campaign. But, politics aside, I don’t know how you can look at this campaign, so far, and say it was anything but a tremendous success for Nike.

Agree/disagree?