Nike knows athletics. And they have a long history of innovation. But when the company developed a high-tech line of shoes that launched footwear into the space age, Nike knew it needed some help. POP jumped into the game.

Ready, Set, Go!

Nike’s latest innovation brings new technology and a growing digital community to its core business: footwear. The Nike Hyperdunk+ and Nike LunarTR1+ shoes contain sensors that measure how high you jump, how fast you move and how hard you play—the kind of data the pros use to sharpen their skills. Believing the cutting-edge technology had to be experienced to be truly appreciated, Nike asked POP to collaborate on a memorable launch experience that showcased the shoes and generated buzz about the new product.

Game On, World

Working with Nike and its partners, POP helped shape an event experience—Nike+ TrialZone—that challenged participants in U.S. shopping malls to put the high-tech shoes and their own skills to the test.

The Nike+ TrialZone experience had to be highly engaging to attract a large audience, highly efficient to quickly register participants and highly accurate to show the power of the shoes. It also had to be transportable to reach Nike’s global market, starting in the U.S. and working its way around the world before, during and after the 2012 Olympics.

POP created an iPad app to manage registration and queuing, integrating it with a digital leaderboard that displays top-scoring participants’ jump height, jump speed and hustle. And a squad of POP employees at each event helped set up the experience, called plays and played a role in keeping the show running smoothly.

A Slam Dunk

Wielding a powerful product and baseline statistics from the likes of LeBron James, Manny Pacquiáo and Allyson Felix on the community leaderboard, the Nike+ TrialZone combines an in-person experience with online and mobile strategies to sustain the buzz about the shoes. After completing the product demo, participants can easily see how they measured up and, of course, find the nearest retailer to get the new kicks. Squaring off against LeBron in front of your buddies? Now that’s how you try on a pair of shoes.