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Nike Style Guide
An essential guide to keep every message clear and consistent.
How to Use This Document
This document outlines the rules for brand voice, spelling, grammar, and formatting across all content channels. Anyone writing and publishing content for Nike should follow these guidelines.
General Guidelines
Short content
social, ads, web snippets
- Write like a human: use everyday language and avoid jargon.
- Be an authority: write with a positive outlook to inspire readers.
- Be brief: use short sentences, short paragraphs and use familiar words.
Long content
blogs, newsletters, articles
- Use bullet lists: turn three or more points into a list to break up text.
- Humanise the story: start with why it matters, then show the solution.
- Use line breaks: break up long text for better readability.
- Add subheadings: draft content first, then add subheadings that engage.
- Use numbers: lead with key figures that jump out at the reader.
Brand Voice
Nike's voice is confident, inspiring, and energetic.
1. Confidence
Nike speaks with authority and self-assurance, motivating athletes to push their limits.
2. Inspiration
Nike's language uplifts and encourages, always aiming to spark action.
3. Energy
Nike's tone is dynamic and lively, reflecting the spirit of sport and movement.
25 Core Rules
- Abbreviations
Use recognized abbreviations.
✓ e.g. "USA", "NBA"
✗ Wrong: "U.S.A.", "N.B.A." - Acronyms
Spell out acronyms on first use, then use acronym only for the rest of document.
✓ e.g. "National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)"
✗ Wrong: "NCAA" - Apostrophes
Use apostrophes where possession or letters are gone.
✓ e.g. "the athlete's gear"
✗ Wrong: "the athletes gear" - Capitalization
Capitalize major announcements, brand names, special event programs.
✓ e.g. "Nike", "Air Max", "Just Do It"
✗ Wrong: "the nike event" - Compound Adjectives
Use hyphens to join words together for clarity.
✓ e.g. "high-performance shirt"
✗ Wrong: "high performance shirt" - Contractions
Use contractions in casual writing, not in formal content.
✓ e.g. "Nike's new summer shoes"
✗ Wrong: "Nike is new summer shoes" - Dates & Time
Use Month Date, Year format. Write time as 3:00pm, not 15:00.
✓ e.g. "May 28, 2024, 3:00pm"
✗ Wrong: "28/05/2024, 15:00" - Dashes
Use em dashes (—) for emphasis or to indicate interruption.
✓ e.g. "The event starts at 3:00pm — Go!"
✗ Wrong: "The event starts at 3:00pm - Go!" - Emoji
Use sparingly and only in social posts or emails if it matches communication.
✓ e.g. "Good luck! 🏆"
✗ Wrong: "Every line has an emoji!" - Hyphens
Use hyphens for words that would be awkward without.
✓ e.g. "well-known athlete"
✗ Wrong: "well known athlete" - 1000 These
Capitalize These when used as product line but not when used generally.
✓ e.g. "These Shoes", "These Shorts"
✗ Wrong: "these shoes", "these shorts" - Measurements
Use numbers and abbreviations (cm, kg) for all units of measure.
✓ e.g. "The shoe is 28cm long"
✗ Wrong: "The shoe is twenty-eight centimeters long" - Money
Use the correct symbol and no extra space between them.
✓ e.g. "$50"
✗ Wrong: "$ 50" - Numbers
Use numerals for anything over ten, write numbers for 1-9.
✓ e.g. "Nike has 12 stores"
✗ Wrong: "Nike has twelve stores" - Pronouns
Use inclusive pronouns and respect personal identity and inclusion.
✓ e.g. "Nike's athletes choose their gear"
✗ Wrong: "Nike's athletes choose his gear" - Proper Nouns
Capitalize all brand names and clearly distinguish them from common nouns.
✓ e.g. "Nike", "Air Max"
✗ Wrong: "nike", "air max" - Punctuation
Use specific and direct punctuation to maintain short and clean descriptions.
✓ e.g. "The race is over. You won!"
✗ Wrong: "The race is over, you won." - Quotation Marks
Use double quotes for direct quotes and single quotes for quotes within quotes.
✓ e.g. "The coach said, 'Practice makes perfect.'"
✗ Wrong: 'The coach said, "Practice makes perfect."' - Serial Commas
Use the Oxford comma in lists of three or more items to avoid ambiguity.
✓ e.g. "Shoes, shorts, and water bottle"
✗ Wrong: "Shoes, shorts and water bottle" - Slang & Jargon
Use popular terms if widely understood, otherwise avoid for clarity.
✓ e.g. "The athlete crushed it!"
✗ Wrong: "The athlete pwned it!" - Special Characters
Avoid using special characters in regular readable text.
✓ e.g. "Nike's mission: inspire athletes"
✗ Wrong: "Nike's mission: inspire athletes @#!$%" - Titles & Headings
Capitalize the first word and all major words in headings.
✓ e.g. "The Ultimate Guide to Running Shoes"
✗ Wrong: "The ultimate guide to running shoes" - Trademark
Use the trademark or registered symbol for names in commercial brand things.
✓ e.g. "Nike®"
✗ Wrong: "Nike" - 1st Person vs 3rd Person
Use first person in casual social, third person in official communication and written articles.
✓ e.g. "We believe in every athlete"
✗ Wrong: "Nike believes in every athlete" - Addresses
Use correct address format for all locations.
✓ e.g. "Nike HQ, One Bowerman Drive, Beaverton, OR 97005"
✗ Wrong: "Nike HQ, 1 Bowerman Dr, Beaverton, OR"
Contact
Questions? Contact the Nike content team.
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