Integrated

Jordan is basketball’s most iconic brand. With each new release and retro reissue Jordan takes over the category in consumer interest and demand, establishing ever higher benchmarks in design, innovation and performance for the entire athletic footwear industry.

At the heart of the franchise is the perfect example of everything it stands for – Michael Jordan, the greatest player in the history of basketball and the exemplar of relentless dedication to performance, innovation and achievement. Like Mike, Brand Jordan believes that true champions never stop challenging the status quo in all sports, pushing the boundaries with swagger, style and originality.

#RE2PECT was organically Tweeted over 894,000 times during baseball season, trended #1 in the US and worldwide multiple times. We saw 1.25MM engagements on Instagram, including use as a tattoo design, license plate, and wedding photo background. The :90 film has been viewed >8.8MM times on YouTube alone and continues to be the calling card for the most famous Yankee of the last 50 years.

"The RE2PECT campaign was an incredible success and a great example of what can happen when brand and agency rally around a moment and operate in a truly integrated way. The brief was simple but challenging and the W+K team executed perfectly through the line. The fact that our #RE2PECT hashtag is still being used by our audience and across our company at large shows the lasting impact we made." Tom Kelley, Sr Brand Management Director, Jordan Brand.

We knew that Jeter’s final year would see a lot of brands creating campaigns around him. Our main question - How can Jordan Brand make a definitive statement as Jeter’s long time partner?

Additionally, at 6 months and 162 games, baseball season is long. How could we own a conversation across such an extended period, especially with a media budget of less than $3.5MM?

Our answer was to show up with authority and authenticity that no other brand could, focusing strictly on the iconography the athlete: his number 2 jersey and his familiar routine in the batter’s box – NY Yankees announcer, Bob Shepard’s inimitable introduction over the PA; the raised right hand; the subtle tip of his batting helmet as he faces the pitcher.

Everything built towards his first plate appearance, with a flood of digital, social and PR driven activations drawing power from the emotion of the moment.

Derek Jeter is an icon to the New York Yankees, to baseball and to NYC. His skills, work ethic and sportsmanship transcended the game and made him impossible to root against. Even for rival fans, Jeter is the Yankee that it’s ok to like.

To honor Jeter’s retirement in the summer of 2014, Jordan Brand asked our NYC team to capture and celebrate this unique cultural moment, giving fans near and far a simple way to pay their respects to a legend who never let his sport - or his city - down.