Nike jumps on WeChat

Nike will launch its latest “We Own the Night” campaign on WeChat tomorrow on WeChat.Having debut on Facebook and on its official sites before, the campaign – which gathers people in group runs as well as basketball and football games at night – is Nike’s first step on the two-year-old VoIP mobile app.Fans who follow the account can get updates on the programme in Hong Kong; they can also upload their photos of the event, add tailor-made effects and have them printed at three of Nike’s selected stores.The sports label joins the likes of Suning, KFC, PlayStation, SK-II and McDonald’s (to name but a few) as brands who are using what WeChat calls “official pages”, which, despite the growing popularity, remains free.Though official pages have yet to take off to compete with Facebook’s sponsored ads, WeChat assistant general manager of international public relations Katie Lee said that the platform is still on its developmental stage.“We’re trying to become a space that’s fun and attractive to users, which is why we don’t want to be a very commercialised platform,” she said.Currently, WeChat limits merchants to sending only one blast a day; and unlike Facebook, users won’t be able to see these blasts unless they actively follow these official pages and open these tabs.