What Do Nike and Apple Have in Common?

With the excitement of Meb Keflezighi winning the Boston Marathon and becoming the first American to do it in my lifetime, I thought it would be a good idea to throw on my own running shoes for a run. It had been a while, but I thought it would be like riding a bike. Fast forward ten minutes and 1.2 miles later, and I was gasping for air as if I had run a marathon in Greenland. Still, I couldn't help but get excited by the prospect of running once again and getting all of that fancy running hardware, and I remembered that both Nike and Apple had rumored wearable hardware that would be perfect for the novice or professional runner: the Fuelband and iWatch respectively.

After doing a quick Google search, I found an article on Bite Interactive's blog on this very topic. Bite Interactive is responsible for some of the most innovative android and iPad app development. They have worked with a wide variety of clients, from HR Block to NASA, and they posted a link to an article by Ben Thompson on the interesting relationship Apple is developing with Nike. We all know that Apple is a vertically integrated hardware and software company obsessed with the delivery of a premium user experience with each and every product.

What I didn't consider was that Nike kind of does the same thing. Nike is not in the shoe business; it's in the experience business in a way. Between the Nike+ running app, the shoes and other gear to accompany you on your runs, and the running races it sponsors that you can compete in if you log enough miles on the app, it really does look like that Nike is trying to create something that transcends a brand; it's creating a lifestyle. This obsession with creating a multi-faceted user experience has created a certain sense of loyalty out of its customers, just like Apple customers. 

The main point of Thompson's blog post was to speculate about another partnership that might eventually turn into a Nike+iWatch collaboration, similar to the Nike+iPod a few years ago, now that the Fuelband is pretty much an extinct idea.  Only time will tell, but if anyone is ready to transform how we interact with our mobile devices, these two companies are in the driver's seat.