A brand that delivers

“Social media can prove to be a real landmine for marketers who cling to old ways of thinking. They’ve failed to grasp the crucial fact that while traditional advertising is all about delivering product news in an engaging manner, social media is all about delivering customer utility in an unobtrusive manner."

Alan Wolk

This article ," Why Nike Embraces Brand Utility is a great example of Alan Wolk's thoughts about social media. Though Nike runs its fair share of banner ads
Nike global director of digital media Stefan Olander thinks the best way to evolve the Nike brand is by providing services that are relevant to the consumer. He sees the interwebs as," less of a marketing channel than a place for services"

One of the Nike projects that convey this philosophy is a Facebook application called ,"Ballers Network". It lets players connect with other players in their area and around the world to organize pickup games and leagues.