, today to about 400 representatives of global sport organizations about the importance of adaptation in a changing sports environment. Denson highlighted Nike's experience in adapting to younger athletes who are linked constantly to the Internet.?
FINAL Charlie Denson SportAccord Keynote Speech
Inspiring the Next Generation
Quebec City, Quebec CANADA: May 23, 2012?
Thank you David, Chairman Verbruggen and good morning everyone.
First, thanks for inviting me to join you here today to celebrate more than a decade of SportAccord.
Congratulations to Chairman Verbruggen and his team for your ongoing success.
I?d like to start by showing you a video narrated by Phil Knight, Nike?s co-founder and chairman of the board. I think his message underscores the power of human potential through sports?. A belief I know we all share.
He asks the question: Who will inspire the next generation?
I firmly believe it will be all of us here today... I?m confident Nike can help lead the way...
And that?s what I want to talk to you about today? let?s take a look?.
Who will inspire the next generation is the question before all of us here today. It is a question that demands collaboration? and new approaches to inspire today?s youth.
From where I sit, I couldn?t be more excited to take on this challenge with everyone here in this room.
Who wouldn?t want to take on the job of having our kids??lead healthier lives? Something we?re all so passionate about?
?.As you well know, the mission of SportAccord is to Unite and Support.
This is not unlike Nike?s??which is to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world?. And as Phil Knight said? quoting Bill Bowerman? we believe if you have a body, you?re an athlete.
We share similar goals?to develop the next generation of young athletes. To accompish this, we need to think differently than any time in our past. We need to be willing to innovate and stay relevant to this next generation... we need to adapt, we need to partner TO grow... AND, we need to work together to address the issues of access and opportunity for youth around the world to play sports.?
First, I?d like to start by sharing some of our history with the Olympic Movement and express how important we think the Olympics have been to the world of sports.
Nike was born in an Olympic year ?? 1972 - ?. And was founded by a runner and a legendary Olympic coach.?
Over the past 40 years, Nike?s passion for supporting athletes pursuing their dreams with innovative products has led to some of the most iconic Olympic & world sporting moments in memory.
Who can forget the epic duel between Seb Coe and Steve Ovett in the 800m & 1500m in 1980 in the Moscow Games?
Or Joan Benoit when she won gold in the first ever women?s Olympic marathon in 1984 in Los Angeles?.
And, Nawal El Moutawakel in Los Angeles with her tremendous victory in the 400m hurdles? the first African woman and the first Muslim woman to win gold in Olympic history
An iconic moment that stands out for me is Michael Jordan and the 92 Dream Team in Barcelona. They revolutionized Olympic basketball ??and many say it was this team who inspired many young players around the globe to make the game of basketball what it is today.
And the reality is? international basketball has never been so competitive.
Then at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, Michael Johnson won two gold medals wearing golden shoes which weighed just 112 grams??lighter than the necklace he wore around his neck? setting the 200m World Record.
In Beijing in 2008, we all shared in the pride and excitement of millions of Chinese. We were excited and honored to provide uniforms for 22 of China?s 28 sport federations?. From weightlifting to basketball, from swimming to track and field, Nike supported hundreds of Chinese Olympians who delivered their country?s biggest Olympic success in history.
And we also shared in an entire nation?s disappointment when Liu Xiang was unable to start in the 110m hurdles.
There are many more examples of course... we?ve been proud to be part of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games... as well as the many World Championships.
We?ve also made a deliberate and strategic move into action sports?sports, as you know, that have growing popularity and influence with youth of today.
Throughout the Olympic movement, we have always focused on the athlete ?to help them perform at their best at these historic moments?.to create the best performance products that are lighter, faster ?.and, of course better than ever before.??
Breakthrough innovations like the Flywire technology that we introduced in Beijing ? or some of the lightest uniforms ever created for Olympic competition that you will see in London this summer.
We have also used the power of our voice and our brand to promote women in sport.? We?re particularly proud of our part in advancing women?s participation... by shining a light on the women who inspire us all.? From the earliest pioneers...such as Joan Benoit to current Olympians like Paula Radcliffe, ?we?ll continue to create energy and excitement around women?s sports ?and hopefully along the way? inspire a new generation of young girls to pick up a ball or go for a run.
As we begin our fifth decade as a company ??we look forward to working with all of you ?as leaders of the Olympic Movement.
As a company founded in sport, we create new products and experiences that respect the traditions of the Olympic Movement... while innovating for the future.?? Our work has ?and will continue to be ?to help athletes reach their fullest potential. We also have an ability to create messages that breakthrough... we can inspire achievement?.we can inspire hope?. and, most importantly, we can inspire change.
Over the years, our relationship with the Olympic Movement has evolved from one of... individual athlete support... to one of expanding exponentially? to include direct relationships with Organizing committees, International Federations, National Olympic Committees and National Federations?.. in a wide range of sports?from track and field to football to basketball to ice hockey and even speedskating.
In fact, Nike currently supports dozens of agreements with governing bodies on a national and international level?. and this translates to support for tens of thousands of athletes around the world.?
Some might over-analyze this decision as a cultural shift in our company? when the truth is, it is simply this: a recognition of our changing place in the sporting and Olympic landscape?. we want to work more closely with the institutions that lead international sport... while continuing to create innovative performance product for the world?s best athletes.
We?re excited that in less than 70 days in London?65 to be exact??. we?ll see some amazing stories from athletes representing many countries and many sports.?
Through our relationship with many of you? Nike will be there in force, as we continue to provide some of our lightest and most sustainable products at the London Games.
Appropriately, this year?s Sport Accord theme is a Decade of Change, a Future of Promise.
I would like to commend SportAccord and its leadership and vision, in the development of this convention and your commitment to adapt to change.?
We believe our industry must innovate dramatically in order to stay relevant to the young athletes of today.
We don?t pretend to have all the answers, but I?d like to share some insights into the challenges we see... and share a little of what we?re doing at Nike to connect and inspire this new generation.?
We believe the future is now and to reach today?s young athletes, first we need to all recognize we are not in charge.
They're in charge...
NOT US.
They have more choices than EVER before.
Our ability to adapt and evolve our approach will be critical for future success?
It?s no secret there are dramatic changes going on across the landscape of politics, economies, technology and communications.?
To engage youth today, we must speak to them in their language--- through digital??we need to support the sports they love??and the dreams they have.
To thrive and connect, we all need to evolve quickly to this world... and go to where our consumers are??
Our consumer is the 17-year-old athlete... they are online?. ALL THE TIME.
Digital is THE way of life for our consumers and for generations to come.? There is no going back to the way it used to be.
Today?s youth won't accept to be ?spoken at?. They will only engage... when listened TO... It has to be a two-way conversation...We have to create relationships that are authentic and personal?and deliver experiences young athletes want to have with our brands.
Consider some of the numbers?
There are about 3 Billion people under the age of 25 today
More than 2,600 web pages are viewed per person per month around the globe?
There are more than 5 billion mobile phones?.
And 5 billion texts... are sent daily
The mobile phone is the new computer... social is the new operating system
Texting is the new talking and Tweeting is the new channel.
An average of 340 million tweets are sent A DAY
Take a look at these Facebook stats that highlight the power of social networking
Over 900 million monthly active users
Over 10 billion minutes per day are spent on the site
300 million photos are uploaded every single day
There are 125 billion friend connections
And these data points are just for Facebook!
Kids everywhere now have access to the same info instantly?. and they?re connecting online in real time constantly...
So what does all this mean?
It means we must keep challenging the status quo and accelerate our relationships.
If products and experiences are inauthentic, we lose.
The opportunity to connect with these young athletes is huge.
We?ve spent years working in Nike?s Sport Research Lab with the world?s best athletes, listening to their feedback to create innovations that help improve their performance.
Now athletes everywhere want?this same?coaching and feedback? and they want it instantly.
And they all want to share what they?re up to with their friends?.immediately.
Our ultimate goal? Create experiences that are engaging and fun to help young athletes improve their performance at every level of play.
We?re looking at the science behind sport?. and making information that was previously invisible??visible.
We see a future where technology is infinitely faster and more affordable?.where the physical world merges with the digital world.
So we believe those who harness it to deliver young athletes information more intuitively and seamlessly will leap frog where we are today.??
We believe if you can harness the power of data, you can help athletes? improve performance.
For all of us here today?. we need to think about how we can adapt in this changing environment.?
We all need to challenge ourselves? to think about the prospect of connecting top athletes, like LeBron James, to a broader community of fans.
In the case of LeBron?.?we?ve developed new technology which allows data from his fast breaks, jump shots & dunks to be transmitted instantly, digitally, which engages his community of fans in real time.
We need to think about the global communities we collectively represent??and move to connect? and inspire everyone who shares a common passion for sports?..
Think about the potential we have today? if we can inspire new participants to play sport AND motivate those who already love sport to achieve more.
Sport is competing with lots of other interests in kids??lives. We all need to work together to continue to promote sport as a compelling, healthy, and fun choice for future generations.?
Finally? I want to talk about a subject that is especially important to me personally: giving all kids a chance to experience the power of sport.
I believe we all need to think differently and work together to help reverse the disturbing trends that continue to prevent young people around the world from having access to sport.??
In a relatively short period of time, physical activity has been designed and engineered out of our lives?? with dramatically underestimated human, social and economic costs., Frighteningly? for the first time in generations? the average 10-year-old today is expected to live a shorter and lower quality life than his parents or grandparents.
The Center for Disease Control in the United States says many communities are built in ways that make it difficult or unsafe to be physically active?.
For some families, getting to parks and recreation centers may be difficult??if not impossible?. and public transportation may not be available.
The CDC reports most teens fall short of the daily recommendation of at least 60 minutes of aerobic physical activity a day.
We believe that enabling access to sport and physical play ??especially for kids ??is one of the greatest investments society can make.?It can provide the next generation with skills such as teamwork, fair play, determination, self-confidence, creativity, resilience and of course? physical and emotional health.
Like you, we believe that sport transcends? and has the power to educate, overcome barriers and empower people.?? We believe, as you do, in human potential.
Sport is a powerful unifier?. and we should not take for granted how uniquely positioned we are to inspire change with sport.??
We also understand that many sport organizations are eagerly searching for ways to have a greater impact on social change in today?s world.????
So?.It?s become increasingly clear that physically inactive lifestyles are the norm today in most major markets. Sport will not thrive with this as the backdrop.
So we are focused on creating a?new norm?for the future.
We all need to work together to break cycles of physical inactivity where they are deeply entrenched?to prevent the cycle in countries that are well on their way to adopting physically inactive lifestyles.
In collaboration with?a variety of partners, we?re working to develop a number of global initiatives to support this goal.
We will focus our efforts on youth, so that they enjoy positive experiences in sport earlier in life.
We will work to illuminate the true costs of not investing in sport? and what that means for the health of future generations.
We need to look carefully at various sport and physical education programs?. and make sure they deliver the quality and impact our kids deserve.
And we need to create an urgent call to action to demand that sport be a priority in young peoples?? lives.
We look forward to partnering on new ideas and approaches to innovate and get movement back into our kids?? lives and get our youth more active.
We need to work at every level?as the problem is systemic.
Collaboration is key. All sports organizations would benefit from working together in one common direction.
Providing access to sport to those populations where it is out of reach or inaccessible, will be beneficial to everyone globally? and I believe will help us all support the next generation of athletes and future Olympians.?
Thank you again for having me today.
Let me leave you with these closing thoughts as you consider ?A Decade of Change, A Future of Promise??
The future is bright.
There has never been a better time to be in sports ??for athletes, for businesses or for social impact.
To inspire the next generation, we all need to think differently and embrace the changes around us to stay relevant in the sea of choices available to today?s youth.
Collectively you in the audience represent the governance of international sport and millions of athletes around the world.
The Olympic Movement as a whole... has one of the most valuable and recognizable brands in the world with the Olympic Games.
So now is the time we should all be asking ourselves, how are we going to grow?
How will we stay relevant? How will we connect? How will we balance the need for control of content and data, and the undeniable shift toward sharing of information in today?s digital world?
How will we inspire future generations... to create interest for them and increase participation in sports?
These are all fundamental questions?
Today?s challenges are tremendous?. but like any organization, a shared vision and strategic focus at every level are important for success.
It?s essential to respect the past and its traditions? but it's critical to innovate for the future.
I encourage you to be willing to take some risks? and change old models and approaches. It?s something to think about broadly-- Partnering, funding models, communications? they all need to evolve.
Change and evolution have always been an essential part of sport and the Olympic movement.
When Tennis introduced the ?Hawk-eye?? technology into the game to make the field of play more transparent, it was an innovation for the better of the game, for the players and for the fans.
When Volleyball changed its rules to allow points to be scored any time during a match and not just on serve, it was an innovation that dramatically increased the speed of the matches and actually put greater demands on the performance of the athletes.?
And when the IOC decided to introduce the Youth Olympic Games, it was a historic innovation which changed the future of the Olympic Movement ?.?
So, I ask you to think about your partners and leverage them for what they do best.
Some may bring funding??some may bring access to new global markets?others may bring creativity, energy and new ways of approaching and embracing new consumers.?
At Nike, our mission is to serve the athlete??and our expertise has always been bringing our performance innovations to the field of play and communicating in a powerful and emotional manner that connects with, and inspires the youth of the world.
We look forward to the exciting years ahead as we work together to innovate for the next generation of athletes who will inspire us all.
I?d like to close by leaving you with a video that shows a new and unique event we created last summer in China... we called it the Festival of Sports. Capitalizing on the extraordinary success of the Beijing Olympic Games, we worked alongside the Chinese government to encourage more participation in sport in the world?s most populous nation.?
It brought together thousands of young people around many different sports and gave them a chance to interact with elite athletes to help inspire and motivate them.
I think it?s a good example of how we use creativity and innovation in strategic partnerships to provide greater access to sport?. which helps to inspire and cultivate new generations of athletes?.
It was a pleasure being with you here today. We have an opportunity? and a responsibility to inspire new generations? to participate in sports? and achieve their dreams.
Thank you.
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