• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, June 20, 2012

Stefan Olander, Vice President of Digital Sport at Nike, hasn’t used the phrase “Vertical integration” once during his presentation. Instead, he’s talking about something that presumably grew out of the new age marketing management that R/GA chief Bob Greenberg was alluding to. That thing is Nike’s digital sports products. Specifically, Nike+, and it’ latest iteration, Nike Fuel.

Nike introduced Nike+ a few years ago in partnership with Apple, and basically created an athletic show that could track how well you run. Nike Fuel takes that concept and accelerates it, enabling users to measure how hard they work out in a variety of sports, not just running. In terms of playing basketball, for example, it can measure how high you jump, how fast you jump, etc., and measures your physical performance while doing it.

The new Nike Fuel basketball application will be launched publicly just before the Olympics.

“The human foot hitting the ground is the foundation of almost any athletic activity,” Olander noted, adding that the goal of the product is “not just how to make a better shoe,” but “how to make a better you.”