NIKE x Tom Sachs Mars Yard Wear Tester Program in Marketing

At the end of December, Nike and Tom Sachs announced their NIKECRAFT wear tester program for the, hopefully, upcoming Nike x Tom Sachs Mars Yard 2.5 shoe. First released in 2012 it has grown in popularity to become one of the most expensive sneakers on the market. I first saw the announcement on Sach’s Instagram page introducing us to the wear tester program. This is the first time I’ve seen a major brand like Nike in collaboration with a well-known artist look to the public first to test the durability and longevity of a highly anticipated shoe before its release.

From a marketing perspective, I think that this wear tester program is a phenomenal idea. Of course, upon the shoe’s drop it will sell out within seconds, but I think that Nike’s plan to have the average person create a video about themselves explaining why they want to join this program will give the company not only insight into what consumers are looking for in their shoes in 2021, but will also give them the opportunity to penetrate social media even further and generate awareness and more chatter surrounding the brand itself. The application to the wear tester program itself is relatively simple, you make a video first displaying your Instagram handle, your location, and your shoe size, and then you explain why you want to join. After, you post the video to your Instagram feed tagging Tom Sachs and including the hashtag #nikecraftweartester. The plan sounds simple, like anyone could do it and be chosen to receive a free pair of ultra-rare shoes to wear every day until the project comes to a close. If chosen, you are to record your daily wear and tear providing weekly updates on your Instagram, which also makes it fun for those not selected into the program to see what cool adventures those wearing the shoes are embarking on.

The project brings a lot diversity into a single pair of sneakers and is designed for those chosen to wear the shoe to death, which any regular Mars Yard owner would be horrified to do. Most sneaker-heads spend hours cleaning their shoes, trying to keep them in the best condition possible, but this project goes completely against that norm encouraging wearers to hold nothing back and put these shoes through all conditions. What I find to be incredibly interesting is that upon completion of the project members of the program are to send the worn shoes back to Nike and Sachs to be studied, repaired, and reissued. It’s interesting because Nike’s focus on sustainability recently has been at the forefront of the company, but with the return and reissue of these shoes it raises the questions of who will get the reissued shoes, the wear testers or the general public, and how will the quality compare to the original released shoes?