The LIVESTRONG Foundation, formerly the Lance Armstrong Foundation, was founded in 1997 by the storied cyclist and foundation's initial namesake (Milestones, para. 1). After he was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer in 1996, which spread to his abdomen, lungs and brain, he declared himself a survivor instead of a victim, and took action to learn more about the disease (Our Founder, para. 1). Throughout his own personal battle, he realized the distinct lack of resources available to those facing the disease, and created the foundation for the purpose of helping others through and beyond a cancer diagnosis (Our Founder, para. 1).
Those yellow bracelets
In 2004, LIVESTRONG launched the now-iconic yellow LIVESTRONG wristbands as a symbol of support for survivors (Our Founder, para. 4). The bracelet was met with overwhelming popularity, spawned a countless number of copycats and helped skyrocket the foundation's presence, making it a globally recognized brand. Through a partnership with Nike, LIVESTRONG sold and distributed more than 87 million wristbands across the world (Our Founder, para. 4).
Nike and Livestrong
Nike and LIVESTRONG had a happy nine-year corporate partnership. Nike licensed the LIVESTRONG brand and placed it on footwear, clothing and, of course, the LIVESTRONG bracelets (Banjo, para. 2). True to the benefits of a cause-related marketing partnership, both the charity and corporation saw distinct gains as part of the partnership. LIVESTRONG benefitted from the increased exposure, due to the partnership with Nike, alongside the seemingly incredible story behind it's founder. It's no surprise the partnership helped to increase the charity's presence, as Forbes appointed Nike as number one on their list of The World's Most Valuable Sports Brands, valuing the brand at $15,000,000,000.
And while it's uncharacteristic of Nike to support a charity to the same extent it supported LIVESTRONG, it's unsurprising that Nike would turn down such a good opportunity to elevate its own brand. The partnership was a perfect alignment between the two organizations, due to the foundation’s and corporation’s affiliations with then-legendary cyclist Lance Armstrong.
Why it worked
The Nike/LIVESTRONG partnership increased Nike's reach, just by the simple fact that just about every person on earth, either directly or indirectly, has been affected by cancer. The tie to cancer motivated consumers who may not have previously purchased Nike products to purchase, at the very least, a LIVESTRONG bracelet, if not other LIVESTRONG-branded merchandise.
Similarly, LIVESTRONG benefitted from Nike’s reach as the leader among the world’s most valuable sports brands. The foundation’s affiliation to the sports giant helped create global awareness of the foundation, the LIVESTRONG brand and cancer in general. Outside of generating awareness, the partnership with Nike helped the foundation generate $100 million of the roughly $500 million raised by LIVESTRONG since 1997 (The Associated Press, para. 5).
Trouble in paradise
As it turns out, affiliations with cyclist Lance Armstrong turned out to be quite detrimental to the partnership. For years, Armstrong had been accused of using illegal performance-enhancing drugs, however, he denied the accusations and continued being a Nike-backed athlete. In fact, Nike even went as far as to use him as the focus in a Nike commercial against doping in 2001.
Following the publication of a 1,000-page report exposing Armstrong as a serial drug cheat in 2012, however, Nike had no choice but to drop him as an athlete. Nike released the statement: “Due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade, it is with great sadness that we have terminated our contract with him. Nike does not condone the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs in any manner,” (Hart, para. 3).
And LIVESTRONG went with Lance into exile. Nike stopped making its LIVESTRONG line of apparel after the 2013 holiday season, but will continue the financial terms of its contract until the deal expires in 2014 (The Associated Press, para. 4).
LIVESTRONG #liveWRONG
After Nike’s significant contributions to LIVESTRONG’s success, it’s difficult not to question the foundation’s future without the backing of the sports giant. Further, considering Armstrong and LIVESTRONG are synonymous with one another, despite Armstrong stepping down as chair of the foundation after the scandal broke, people with a previously strong allegiance to the foundation ditched their yellow wristbands.
Tweets following the cyclist’s resignation reflected the public’s disgust, bearing the hashtag #liveWRONG and displaying photos of torn LIVESTRONG bracelets. So, Armstrong's actions became a detriment to the foundation, even though their focus is completely removed from Armstrong's career as a professional athlete.
Our take
The Nike/LIVESTRONG partnership suffered from more than just the typical drawbacks to be expected with cause-related marketing. The foundation is now facing a new and independent future, all because of its founder’s poor choices. But, where would LIVESTRONG be without him in the first place?
While, within the sports community, Lance’s actions are and were unforgivable, it’s difficult to understand the public backlash toward LIVESTRONG. Outside of his professional deceit, Armstrong started a foundation that has raised $500 million dollars for cancer research. He used his ties to Nike to create a partnership, which raised $100 million of that $500 million. LIVESTRONG leveraged the partnership to create top-of-mind cancer awareness, by putting 87 million wristbands in the public domain. So, while as a professional athlete, he totally blew it, the strides he made toward supporting those with cancer are undeniable.
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