Kustomized Kicks

Sportswear giants Nike and Puma have both gone about capturing their internet-savvy markets in a similar way through their online shoe-customization programs. Both companies provide users the chance to become designers – choosing not only the size and style of their shoes, but the color of the mid-sole, laces, logo, and yes, even the metal holes the laces go through.

“Mongolian Shoe BBQ,” launched by Puma, and Nike’s version, “NIKEiD,” puts customization at your fingertips for about the same price and only a few weeks wait. Learning that both companies offer similar options for shoe customization, I decided to check out the features each company offers and customize my own sneakers – a creative project I was excited to begin.

Logging onto Puma’s site it took me little time to find the link to “Mongolian Shoe BBQ,” a theme Puma uses as the backdrop for their shoe customization. I like their idea – likening the shoe design process to a chef preparing his menu. This theme carries on throughout the shoes’ development as you choose your style from a menu off of a table, “gather ingredients,” and begin to create your “customer recipe”. After creating my new kicks I simply added them to my “doggie bag” and went to work creating a new recipe.
I like Puma’s idea of giving the design process a theme – making the consumer his own design chef – but without knowing what to look for, I doubt I would immediately know what “Mongolian Shoe BBQ” meant at all. Perhaps they have branded this idea to the process through other mediums (like TV commercials), but that is something I’m not aware of.

Puma offers fun patterns, fabrics, colors and designs – extending the customization process to three different shoe styles. The color palette they offer is broad with colors appealing to a wide range of users. You have the ability to make your shoes as tame or as crazy as you want. Personally, I prefer to get as crazy with color as I can, finally deciding on purple cheetah print shoes with red laces and a yellow Puma logo. Check ‘em out:

After closing my tab on Puma, I hopped over to Nike.com to see how NIKEiD compared. After narrowing down my region to the United States and finally reaching the actual Nike site I immediately spotted the NIKEiD link. Unfortunately, this is where the ease ended as I spent over 5 minutes trying to reach the blank shoe and begin work on my design. Nike offers too many styles and already-designed options in an unorganized way that I had a hard time figuring out where to start. Once I found the right link to a blank shoe, however, I had no problem figuring out how to make my creation. Dissimilar to Puma, Nike allows the user to literally click on the part of the shoe they want to change making the process easier for someone who might not know what a “vamp,” or “eyestay” means.

The NIKEiD program is not themed around anything as creative as Puma’s is, but being a company like Nike, I almost feel like that’s unnecessary in the first place. The Nike brand is so strong on its own and when it comes to casual yet funky shoes — I would be willing to bet Nike is the industry leader. I’ve heard of NIKEiD before and have even considered going on the site in the past. Obviously, as number one, the company has to do a lot less branding to get customers on the site. Therefore, I think the concept of NIKEiD is themed perfectly – actually turning the platform into a design studio. I enjoyed my time in this studio, even learning that you can actually go to the studio in New York City to physically design a pair. After much time exhausting all of my options I settled on a less flashy custom shoe by Nike:

As you can see – Nike offers something additional after your shoe is complete: Your very own wallpaper – placing your design in its own advertisement to make the shoe seem even more professional

Both sites offer a vast amount of options allowing you to literally pick any color combination your want, leading some shoes to look like a mixed-up rainbow of patterns and textures. The idea behind customized shoes is a pretty good one in my opinion. Sneakers are a big industry and with casual shoes like these in style now, everyone wants a unique pair. Both Nike and Puma have gone about the process in a similar way – bringing consumers onto their site and making them want to stay logged on as they play around with styles and color combinations until the perfect pair is created.

We live in a time where everyone wants to stand out for being unique and creative. These programs support this desire by literally handing the paintbrush to the buyer. This concept does a lot to make both company and customer happy. Nike and Puma first don’t have to do as much work by way of developing their product line and second (and maybe more importantly) they get a good amount of free research done – the ability to understand what color combinations are popular and what their consumers want in style, fabric, and texture. Just as ingenious, the customer is magically transformed into a VIP, now taking pride in the design of shoes no one else owns. Both sites also offer customers the ability to save and load their work into a gallery – giving them a medium to show off their creation. This concept is very important in our cluttered world of youtube videos and open-sharing networks.

Being into funky sneakers, I enjoyed going through the customization process these companies offer – creating my own combination of cool, unique kicks. My personal preference for Nike’s aside, I found Puma’s customization process much easier to access. Once in on the design process, though, I found both endeavors to be a fun way to play around with color to create something uniquely my own. The concept puts the consumer behind the driver’s seat for a product they would probably buy anyway – with very little additional cost. Giving the customer this kind of power is exactly what companies like Nike and Puma need to do to stay competitive in a digital world that is increasingly centered around the buyer. Even if a purchase doesn’t occur immediately – the consumer still spent at least 10 minutes on the site customizing a product they can now envision themselves wearing. A genius way to further involve the customer in the buying process, both brands are strengthened. Whether your prefer Nike or Puma, the age of going to the mall to pick out your shoes is over. From the comfort of your home you can be your own designer.

Check out your new shoes!

NIKEiD

Mongolian Shoe BBQ