TL;DR
Nike doesn't win because of better shoes - they win because they sell a feeling. The same goes for you. If your marketing is still focused on features, you’re missing the story. Use AI to turn what you do into what your audience feels.
The Nike Story That Changed Everything
Picture this: It's the mid-1980s, and Nike - the brand that once ruled the track - is suddenly gasping for air.
The aerobics craze hits, Reebok is everywhere, and for the first time, Nike's not the cool kid.
Between 1986 and 1987, Reebok overtakes them in the US market. Nike's ads are still geeking out about air soles and manufacturing precision - basically a love letter to shoe engineers.
Meanwhile, Reebok's out here selling a feeling.
Freedom. Energy. The thrill of moving your body to music in "sizzlin' hot neon" they called it. Ha!
Then came 1988. Nike did something radical: they reframed the story.
With three small words: "Just Do It" - they stopped selling shoes and started selling belief.
The campaign, dreamed up by Dan Wieden of Wieden+Kennedy, didn't show shoes as technology. It showed them as tools for transformation.
Nike wasn't talking about features anymore; they were talking about human potential. The brand transformed from targeting athletes, to targeting anyone brave enough to start.
And it worked. Nike's market share skyrocketed from roughly 18% to more than 40% in less than a decade.
Why Most of Us Make Nike's Old Mistake
When you've poured your heart into building something, it's easy to believe the details will sell it.
The code. The craftsmanship. The clever little thing you spent 200 hours perfecting.
But here's the truth:
Your customers don't care about your proprietary framework, your ten-step process, or your AI-powered anything.
(Yes, even if it's actually powered by AI. Maybe especially then! I needed this lesson myself...)
They care about one thing: "What's in it for me?"
There's a reason that old marketing line still holds up:
"People don't want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole."
But even that's too shallow.
They don't want the hole - they want the shelf hung, the clutter gone, and their spouse to stop giving them that look.
That's the difference between features, benefits, and real-life outcomes.
The Beautiful Part About Benefit-Based Marketing
While your competitors keep shouting about features, integrations, and "next-gen solutions," you can quietly win by talking about what really matters - your customer's Thursday morning.
When you sell the benefit, you're painting the before-and-after picture. A little story where their biggest headache... is gone.
And it portrays understanding.
Try This: The AI "So What?" Test
Let's say you sell cyber insurance policies.
Your headline might sound like this:
"We provide comprehensive cyber insurance coverage for businesses." (I've seen this headline a million times... 🥱)
Let's plug it into AI and tell it to do some work.
Prompt: Rewrite this feature-focused line as a benefit-driven headline that speaks to what the customer feels or achieves. Then, ask ‘So what?’ twice to uncover the emotional outcome.
Here's what happens:
V.1 - Feature: We provide comprehensive cyber insurance coverage for businesses
AI's Benefit Translation: Protect your business from data breaches and costly downtime
After two "so what's" -
So what? So you stay operational even after a cyber attack.
So what? So you can sleep at night knowing one hacker can't undo everything you've built.
See the shift?
You went from policy language to peace of mind.
From coverage terms to confidence.
The goal: Get past the logic to what people actually feel.
Your Turn
Run your headlines through the "So What?" lens. (homepage, pitch deck, social media captions, emails, etc.)
If you can't reach a feeling in two prompts, you're still selling the drill.
We don't buy Nikes to shave seconds off a mile.
We buy the feeling of lacing them up and believing, "I can do this."
_
And that's a wrap, friends. :) Thanks for being here!
Dani