Nike Marketing Essay

IntroductionFormer University of surgery chase coach and co-founder of Nike Bill Bowerman once verbalize If you have a body, you ar an athlete (Nike Inc., n.d.) It is this modality of thinking that describes the root of Nikes approach to merchandiseing. every person is a potential athlete or consumer. This is a mutual thinking in the realm of athletics but when Bill Bowerman said this, it was in direct reference to the garb indus separate out. From their grocery storeing strategies to their selling philosophies, Nike has civilise cardinal of the near recognizable and demanded names and logo ever. Nike, which is the name of the Greek Goddess of Victory, was born in 1972 when Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS) launched its initiative dented garment at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials. A former University of Oregon track team member Phil Knight constituted Blue Ribbon Sports.At Oregon, Knight was coached by the legendary Bill Bowerman and then went on to turn alumnus o f the Stanford School of Business. BRS was crafted in 1962 when Knight made a switch with Onitsuka Tiger Company, a Japanese shoe club, to import their billet to the fall in States. Knight had the idea to sell a low equal shoe with a very high quality, with high aspirations of taking Adidas out of the give spot in the athletic shoe market. In 1964, Bill Bowerman stubborn to join Knight as a partner at BRS to create a joint quest to be number one. Bowerman redesigned the Tiger fit out while Knight acted as the accountant/personal seller and the cardinal went on the road to sell their newly crafted sneakers at track meets and local shoe repositings. By 1966, Blue Ribbon Sports undefended its first store in Oregon, which is where Nike is lifelessness currently headquartered.Knight and Bowerman managed the store with the provided one employee, Jeff Johnson. By 1972 BRS was able to subcontract its own shoe line and began selling Nike Brand shoes. Over the next decade Nike e xpanded almost mental image its size each year from the previous year. BRS officially became Nike in 1978 and opened manufacturing plants all over the U.S. Nike was a household name for most athletes by early 1980s. Today, Nike is the worlds leading designer, maker and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a series activities, as well as sports-inspired civic shoes.The lodges target market is in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, with its headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Nike employs around 38,000 stack to produce footwear for running, training, basketball andsoccer use. The play along also sells tennis, golf, baseball, football, bicycling, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, aquatic activities, hiking, outdoor activities and other athletic shoes. The company provides these products for men, women and children. As the leading global footwear stigmatize, Nike reported revenues of $7.0 billion for first quarter, 2014. credit of Target Market(s)In its beginning Nikes focus was primarily on track and field, and for the most part track athletes were their target market. One of the first individuals to endorse a Nike product was a man who exemplified their style and way of conducting business, Steve Prefontaine. Prefontaine was a household name in the late seventies and has kaput(p) down in history as one of the exceed Ameri place track and field athletes ever. Prefontaine was a friend of Knight and had been coached by Bowerman at the University of Oregon. Prefontaine embodied what Nike wanted as its differential advantage of other companies, collectable to his brash attitude, high endowment level, and cavalier mentality. This is why Steve Prefontaine and Nike were a ugly tandem in the early days of Nikes existence. Athletes are still currently the majority consumers of Nikes products.This is because of the usefulness that goes along with the items. Nike focuses on these consumers by means of agreements with sports team, college sponsorships, and endorsement with individual athletes. Through this, Nike is able to reach an huge number of consumers and clients who are likely to purchase their products. Nike pays particular focus on the athlete more(prenominal) than other individual consumers. However, a secondary market came to lively in the 1980s. During the period from 1985-1987, Nike dropped back down to number ii in the running of the shoe market. Sales had dropped off because the running elaborate of the late 70s and 80s had begun to diminish, the NBA was becoming increasingly marketable, and consumers tended to wear their court shoes on the street. (Katz, 1993) Nike began to nonice an entire market that the company had been avoiding, everyday athletic activities. These activities were things done by everyday masses and not righteous the serious athlete.Fortunately for Nike, in 1985 their star was brought to light by a rookie basketball player with amazing tal ent and a nice smile, his name is Michael Jordan. Jordan came to Nike at a time when the marketability of the NBA was increasing. NBA gameswere being nationally televised during prime time television hours and weekends. This gave Nike the perfect platform to develop and market their new star and the products that he endorsed. During the first few years Nike introduced Jordan to the public and Jordan familiarized himself with the American public. Nike ran a series of ads with Jordan and film theater director Spike Lee. These ads were aired during prime time television hours and were solely targeted for pre-teen naturalise students.These ads displayed an expressed message to Stay in School. The ads presented kids with a national forecast that was selling both school and Nikes products, how could parents deny their children the shoes of lots(prenominal) a virtuous spokesman? Jordan was a figure that children adored, looked up to and tried to the best of their ability to copy. Nike apply this to display a positive image for their company and to sell their products.Consumer decision Making ProcessConsumers believe that the pixilated makes violate shoes. Whether or not that is true, Nike has been a magician as a marketer. (McIntyre, 2011) When a consumer purchases a product, usually there is a five step routine in reservation a decision. The move are need recognition, cultivation search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, and post purchase behavior. (Perreau, 2013) Nike tries to make this decision process easier with their advertisements. For mannequin, the Nike open fire band is one of Nikes newest products and people didnt know much about it when it came out so Nike used an ad that caught ones attention, but thats not all. Nikes commercial explained what this product is in great detail. except by watching the commercial, Nike completed the first three steps for you, making your life a bit easier.In many cases consumers skip steps one through thr ee and buy products on impulse, as Nike would put, they just do it, but in this case Nike does the leg work for you. This is an example of the magic in Nike marketing. However, its obvious that Nike hasnt actually used a wand on its customers and there is no proof which can measure that a Nike pair of shoes is better than an Adidas pair of shoes or another disfigurement, so it must be magic, right? The arrange is No, its the set image and product position that is the driving force force being Nike sales. The two concepts are why we buy Nike instead than another bulls eye. Brand image refers to the schematic memory of a brand. (Hawkins, 2012, p. 335) Simply, it is what people think of and feel whenthey hear or see a brand name and is the set of associations consumers have learned about a brand. (Hawkins, 2012, p. 335) production positioning is a decision by a marketer to try to achieve a defined brand image relative to controversy within a market segment. (Hawkins, 2012, p. 3 35) Lastly, the ability to benefit from a brand image is called brand equity. (Hawkins, 2012, p. 335) According to Aaker (2013) brand equity has four dimensions brand loyalty, brand awareness, brand associations, and perceived quality, each providing value to a firm in numerous ways. The core of building the equity for Nike is brand association. Nike associates its brand with famous athletic celebrities that exemplify the personality of the brand they are achievers, winners, determined, work oriented, and nontraditional. The most famous example for brand association ever was the coaction between Nike and Jordan.This association personified Nike as a superior bakshis do brand. The depth of this personification became permanent, even after Jordan was no longer there. Also, Nike associates with top sport events by sponsoring many major league sports, including the National basketball game Association. Through its brand association, Nike increased its brand awareness. Nike communi cated its celebrity associations through TV ads, which increased their sales dramatically. In addition, one of the most important sources of Nike brand equity is the high perceived quality. Although, in todays market, most of Nikes consumers are the public that use their shoes just for walking, Nike is move to design their shoes according to the high standards of professional competition. Seeing a winning athlete wearing a Nike shoe in a professional competition authenticated the quality perception in the minds of the customers. Lastly, Nike has a good relationship with its customer, which creates some sort of brand loyalty.RecommendationsNikes ideals and goals pillow the same as those of the days of Steve Prefontaine and Bill Bowerman. Nikes Phil Knight is not slowing down as he continually signs new colleges on as Nike endorsed schools, even purchasing a portion of the NFLs Dallas Cowboys. Nike has reached a point where they can count on the Nike name promoting itself, and yet t hey spread over to produce innovative ideas. These ideas have been productive and entertaining promotional tools. In the case of Nike, it should continue to market itselftowards people of all ages who wish to be active and still comfortable. This marketing strategy has been particularly made as its capability to reach many athletes, and according to Nike that is anyone with a body.Nike focuses on the consumers who compensate product understanding and closeness, which allows the company to set a higher cost than its competitors. This is a marketing strategy of Nike which calls for superior pricing points in gild to push the supposed value of the product. This strategy has also proven successful for the company. Lastly, the more reliable the distribution of the product is improves the sales and results in more profits. Product delivery at the required time to the consumer not only affects usefulness it also results in a high level of customers satisfaction as well as loyalty. It g oes without saying that Nikes customers are satisfied and loyal.ReferencesAaker, D. (2013, September 13). What Is Brand Equity and Why is it semiprecious? Aaker on Brands Prophet. Retrieved from http//www.prophet.com/blog/aakeronbrands/156-what-is-brand-equity-and-why-is-it-valuable Hawkins, D. (2012). Mp Consumer Behavior With Ddb Data Disk (12th ed.). Irwin master key Pub. Katz, D. (1993, August 16). Triumph of the Swoosh. Sports Illustrated, 53-73. McIntyre, D. A. (2011, March 18). Nikes Brand Strength A Round Of Prices Increases MarketWatch. Retrieved from http//www.marketwatch.com/story/nikes-brand-strength-a-round-of-prices-increases-2011-03-18 Nike Inc. (n.d.). NIKE, Inc. About NIKE, Inc. Retrieved from http//nikeinc.com/pages/about-nike-inc Nike Inc. (n.d.). NIKE, Inc. History & Heritage. Retrieved from http//nikeinc.com/pages/history-heritage Perreau, F. (2013, October 25). The 5 stages of Consumer Buying Decision Process. Retrieved from http//theconsumerfactor.com/e n/5-stages-consumer-buying-decision-process/