Willemijn van Dolen | No-brand sportswear or Nike after all?
Perhaps it was a little too hot this week, but competitive running and jogging remain as popular as ever. Willemijn van Dolen wonders whether it matters what kind of sports outfit you wear. “You buy Nike shoes because you think they help you run better. Then you perform better and suddenly it’s not Nike’s achievement, but your own.”
I was at a marathon recently. Not as a runner, but as a spectator. It was a cheerful crowd. I saw all kinds of people passing by: young, old, fit, exhausted, barefoot, or dressed in the latest sportswear. Looking at all these people, I wondered, does it really matter what you wear? I understand that running in a bear suit (yes, really!) is less comfortable than in a sports outfit, but I’m referring to unbranded sportswear versus Nike or Under Armour.
The latter brands are called “performance brands”. These are products that are promoted to improve personal performance. I saw them at the marathon, but you also see them in the gym, for example. They represent a billion-pound industry. The question is: do these brands actually improve performance or is the effect mainly psychological?
Placebo effect
Research sheds light on this phenomenon by introducing the concept of a ‘performance brand placebo’. This means that brands improve performance through consumer expectations, not through actual product differences.
The researchers found that performance brands can improve objective performance, even if the products are functionally identical to alternatives. This improvement is therefore not due to better materials or design, but to psychological mechanisms similar to a placebo effect. Using a performance brand increases self-confidence at that moment and thereby reduces what they call task-related anxiety, which leads to better performance.
It is striking that consumers do not attribute the performance improvement to the brand, but to themselves. They see their success as their own achievement, which presents a paradox for marketers: although brands contribute to better performance, they receive little recognition for this. So you buy Nike shoes because you think they will help you run better. Then you perform better and suddenly it’s not Nike’s merit, but your own. This shows once again how intriguing marketing is.
Retake
Incidentally, the researchers did not look at marathons, but at Nike golf putters, a special “stick” used for golf. Participants who thought they were playing with this Nike putter performed significantly better than those who did not receive any brand information, even though all participants used the same putter. They also mention 3M earplugs. So a cognitive rather than a sporting context. Participants who believed they were wearing 3M earplugs during a test answered more questions correctly than those without brand information. Perhaps this is a useful tip for students who still have to retake an exam. And if you pass the retake, it’s not because of your earplugs, but because of yourself. Wonderful, isn’t it? Have a great summer!
