How the tracker measures Nike
Every number on this site comes from the rules on this page. This page is generated from the same settings the rules use, so it cannot drift from them.
Where the answers come from
Every answer in this demo is a hand-written simulation of what an AI assistant might say. Coding, measures and suggestions come from Sablebourne's published rules. No AI model is called.
Each question is asked 5 times per run, because assistants answer differently each time. Runs are about thirty days apart. Every answer is labelled “Simulated answer, hand-written for this demo” and attributed to the “Simulated assistant”, never to a real model.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Nike, Inc. Illustrative demo using simulated answers.
The questions
80 questions across 8 categories. 14 name Nike (18%; the limit is 20%), 18 name only competitors, and 48 name no brand. Which group a question falls in is worked out from its wording, not set by hand. The headline counts only the questions that don’t name Nike, because that is where visibility is earned.
Measures
There is no single score out of 100. The measures answer three questions: does the brand appear, how is it framed, and which sources shape the answer. None is added to another.
- Mention rate
- Share of sampled answers that name the brand, counted over questions that do not name it.
- Share of voice
- Answers naming a brand, as a share of all brand appearances across tracked brands.
- Prominence
- Where the brand first appears among the brands named: first, in the top three, or later. A pick is a mention inside the answer's list of recommendations.
- Expected visibility
- Mention rate weighted by prominence: first counts 1, top three 0.6, later 0.3, absent 0. Weights in use: first 1, top three 0.6, later 0.3.
- Framing balance
- Positive and negative framing phrases in sentences about the brand. Negated phrases ("not overpriced") are ignored.
- Answer sentiment
- Each answer that names the brand gets one verdict from its framing: favourable when positive phrases about the brand outnumber negative ones, unfavourable when negative outnumber positive, mixed when they tie, neutral when there are none. Rates are shares of the answers that name the brand.
- Net sentiment
- Favourable share minus unfavourable share, from -100 to +100.
- Citation profile
- Which kinds of site the answers cite. Owned-site citation is the share of brand appearances that cite one of the brand's own domains.
- Ranges
- Ranges are 95% Wilson intervals. A change counts as movement only when the two ranges do not overlap.
Coding rules
- Naming a brand
- A brand is named when one of its terms appears as a whole word. Nike: Nike, Nikes. Names that are also ordinary words are matched with their capitals only.
- Order and picks
- Rank is the order of first mention among tracked brands. A pick is a first mention inside the answer’s list of recommendations.
- Who a phrase is about
- A framing phrase belongs to the brand named closest before it in the same sentence. A sentence that names no brand but opens with “it”, “its”, “they”, “the brand” or similar belongs to the previous sentence’s subject. Anything else belongs to no one and is not counted.
- Negation
- A phrase is ignored when one of the four words before it is a negator: no, not, never, nor, without, hardly, barely, isn't, aren't, wasn't, weren't, don't, doesn't, didn't, won't, can't, cannot, rarely, neither, or any word ending in n’t.
Framing codebook
| Code | Meaning | Phrases |
|---|---|---|
| Innovative (positive) | Described as leading on technology or design. | innovative, innovation, cutting-edge |
| Performance (positive) | Linked to speed or competitive performance. | race-day, responsive, elite runners |
| Style (positive) | Praised for looks or cultural status. | iconic, stylish, streetwear staple |
| Comfort (positive) | Described as comfortable to wear. | comfortable, cushioned, plush |
| Durable (positive) | Said to last. | durable, long-lasting, hold up well |
| Sustainability effort (positive) | Credited with concrete sustainability steps. | recycled materials, lower-impact materials |
| Expensive (negative) | Framed as costing too much. | expensive, overpriced, pricey |
| Durability doubts (negative) | Said not to last. | wear out quickly, less durable, durability complaints |
| Hype (negative) | Popularity framed as marketing rather than merit. | hype, overhyped |
| Labor concerns (negative) | Linked to criticism of working conditions. | labor practices, supply chain criticism |
| Greenwashing (negative) | Sustainability claims framed as unsubstantiated. | greenwashing, vague sustainability claims |
| Sizing issues (negative) | Fit framed as a problem. | run narrow, run small |
Known for and priorities
For each aim (in a live workspace, set with the client; in this demo, written by Sablebourne for illustration): among answers that name the brand in the relevant categories, the share carrying one of its evidence codes (linked) and the share carrying one of its contradicting codes (contradicted).
Priority questions are flagged by the client in a live workspace; in this demo they are illustrative, chosen by Sablebourne. They set order and focus only and never weight a measure.
| Aim | Linked by | Contradicted by | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| The innovator in running | Innovative, Performance | Hype | Running, Gym & training |
| A style icon | Style | Hype | Everyday sneakers, Basketball, Kids |
| Comfortable all day | Comfort | Sizing issues, Durability doubts | Walking & all-day comfort, Everyday sneakers, Running |
| A sustainable choice | Sustainability effort | Greenwashing, Labor concerns | Sustainability & ethics |
| Worth the price | Durable | Expensive, Durability doubts | Price & value, Running, Kids |
12 questions are flagged as priorities in this workspace. The aims and priorities here are illustrative, written for this demo; they were not set by Nike.
Checked against people
Sablebourne hand-labelled 57 sentences for this workspace with the codes a careful reader would give Nike, including sentences about competitors that use the same words and sentences with negations. The rules agree with those labels on 57 of 57 (100%). This is a demo calibration set written for this workspace; a live deployment would label a sample of real answers each run.
Suggestion rules
Each rule fires at most once per category and names the questions behind it. People decide what happens next.
- Rarely named in a category
- Unprompted mention rate below 35% in a category while a competitor is named at least twice as often. Usually for: Content.
- A competitor is named more often
- A competitor's mention rate in a category is above the brand's and the ranges do not overlap, while the brand still appears in at least 35% of answers. Usually for: Content.
- Mentioned, not recommended
- The brand appears in at least 10 answers in a category but is in the list of picks in fewer than 40% of them. Usually for: Product & proof.
- Visibility fell beyond the range
- A category's unprompted mention rate fell between the last two runs and the ranges do not overlap. Usually for: Content.
- Answers lean unfavourable
- In a category, at least 8 answers name the brand and at least 30% of them are unfavourable, more than are favourable. Usually for: PR & earned media.
- A negative framing repeats
- One negative framing code is found at least 8 times across at least 4 questions in the latest run. At most the three most frequent are raised. Usually for: PR & earned media.
- Own site rarely cited
- Fewer than 25% of the brand's appearances cite one of its own domains. Usually for: Own site & search.
- Sites that shape answers without you
- Third-party sites cited at least 3 times in answers where competitors appear and the brand does not. Usually for: PR & earned media.
- Everyday phrasing gap
- Unprompted mention rate on conversational questions is below the rate on formal questions, and the ranges do not overlap. Usually for: Content.
Facts and sources
Answers may only state figures and named facts from this table, each checked against its source. The test suite fails if any number appears in an answer that is not from here.
| Fact | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Nike was founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports and became Nike, Inc. in 1971. | Wikipedia: Nike, Inc. | 2026-09-30 |
| Nike's headquarters are near Beaverton, Oregon. | Wikipedia: Nike, Inc. | 2026-09-30 |
| Air Max is a Nike shoe line. | Wikipedia: Nike, Inc. | 2026-09-30 |
| Air Force 1 is a Nike shoe line. | Wikipedia: Nike, Inc. | 2026-09-30 |
| Adidas traces its origins to 1924 in Herzogenaurach, as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik. | Wikipedia: Adidas | 2026-09-30 |
| Adidas is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany. | Wikipedia: Adidas | 2026-09-30 |
Rule changes
- v2.0 · 2026-09-30
- Separate measures replace the 100-point score. Framing is scoped to sentences about the brand and ignores negated phrases. Five samples per run, reported with ranges.
Scores describe what answers say about brands. The tracker does not score, rank or count the people who use it.