Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
Nike is the leading sportswear manufacturing company globally (Merikanto 36). The company’s success owes to its high-quality products and marketing strategies that have helped the company to build a strong brand image. One of Nike’s most famous slogan, “Just do it,” seeks to empower and challenge people to take challenges and opportunities head-on (Merikanto 36). The slogan has grown to become one of the most famous brand identifiers worldwide. Nike’s marketing techniques are often designed to both inform and persuade customers and sports personalities to get empowered through the purchase of Nike products, which resonates with the brand’s slogan. Nike sells sportswear products for almost all kinds of sport from football to NFL, basketball, tennis, and athletics. Some of their products include running shoes, football jerseys in collaboration with football clubs, and soccer shoes alongside non-sport footwear. Nike products are common in almost all countries of the world and are a common sight in almost all sporting events globally.
Nike’s men running shoes are a delight for most runners and are common wear during sports events such as marathons and the Olympics. For Nike to stay atop of the competition with other market players such as Adidas, the company has adopted an innovative culture that is also beginning to take advantage of technology in the manufacture of customized running shoes. Therefore, Nike constantly unveils new products that are continually tailor-made to meet specific customer needs. For instance, Nike tailor-makes running shoes for athletes sponsored by the company. As a result, while some of Nike’s running shoes are at the introductory stage of the product lifecycle, others are at the growth, maturity, and decline stages. For instance, Nike’s Zoom shoes are the latest addition to its racing product line, while some of its footwear such as Nike Air Max is at the maturity and decline stages, and the company is paving the way for newer product lines. Therefore, Nike’s running shoes can fall under any stage of the product lifecycle depending on the specific type of shoes and when they were introduced to the market.
As of 2019, Nike operated over a thousand retail stores worldwide (O’Connell). In these stores, Nike uses personal selling through trained personnel who are well versed with all Nike products and can persuade and help customers to choose the best Nike shoes and products (Gregory). Personal selling improves customer satisfaction and provides an environment in which customers can ask questions regarding different products and get correct information. Therefore, customers not only buy original shoes from Nike’s retail stores, but they also get a chance to see other products and get information about them as well as aftersales support.
Nike also substantially utilizes advertising as part of its marketing mix. The company does its advertisement across media, including television, newspapers (print), interactive/social media, outdoor, and product placement. For instance, Nike places ads on television stations such as NBC, NBC Sports, and CBS, among other international media stations. Often, these ads feature global superstars such as athletes who are sponsored by Nike. These superstars are revered by most people and help to express Nike’s commitment to the welfare of its customers while also motivating society to do more. Nike’s ads are also common in newspapers and magazines where the company advertises some of its products.
Nike also uses outdoor advertising for marketing its products through the use of billboards and though rarely, transit advertising. Billboards are placed alongside busy roads with Nike’s products. Sometimes, large buses branded with Nike’s Just Do It logo also form part of the company’s outdoor advertising strategy.
Fig.1. Badaraco, Adrian. “Nike Air Max Bus.” Flickr, 2020, https://www.flickr.com/photos/apta_2050/33380255676
Fig.2 Colton, Jade. “Nike Billboard Analysis by Jade Colton.” Thinglink.Com, 2020, https://www.thinglink.com/scene/851041133218758657.
Also, Nike advertises its products on interactive platforms such as social media. The company maintains a significant online presence via its official Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram accounts, where it not only advertises products but also expresses its commitment and support to athletes and sport in general. For instance, via its Twitter account, the company interacts with some of its customers and partners, particularly athletes from all sporting fields. This online presence also allows the company to contribute to events in the world of sport and to take a stand on issues such as racism in sport and society.
Perhaps one of the areas in which Nike has outperformed most companies is in product placement – the incorporation of a brand’s products on a different work such as a film or television program. There are numerous examples of movies that have incorporated Nike products as a way of paid advertisement. An example is the incorporation of Nike’s shoes in the movie Back to the future (Ayers). Given that movies are watched by millions of people worldwide, they provide an opportunity for Nike to advertise their exemplary products.
Sales promotions involve short term activities aimed at persuading potential customers to buy a product (Kumar and Sidheswar Patra 80). Usually, sales promotions are targeted at customers and are designed to induce a desire to buy and are thus not aimed at securing long term customer loyalty (Kumar and Sidheswar Patra 80). Some of Nike’s sales promotion activities include offering coupons and discounts when customers make a purchase (Gregory). Discounts are meant to show the customer the savings they will get from buying a Nike product, thus persuading the customer to make a purchase. Also, through sport sponsorship events, Nike can demonstrate the superiority of its products and the benefits the customer will gain from the product.
Publicity, positive or negative, refers to the public’s view of an organization and can have benefits (positive publicity) or negative consequences (negative publicity) for a brand. A company can create positive publicity through public relations stunts and other activities such as corporate social responsibility and event sponsorships. In Nike’s case, the company holds public relations stunts through press releases and sponsorship of some of the world’s most famous athletes (Gregory). For instance, Nike sponsors athletes such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Kipchoge Keino, and Ronaldinho. All of these celebrities and other events sponsored by the company provide publicity for its products to millions of people worldwide (Gregory).
Works Cited
Ayers, Mike. “‘Back to The Future’ Brands: How Pepsi and Nike Hit Product Placement Gold.” WSJ, 2020, https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/10/20/back-to-the-future-pepsi-perfect-nike/.
Badaraco, Adrian. “Nike Air Max Bus.” Flickr, 2020, https://www.flickr.com/photos/apta_2050/33380255676.
Colton, Jade. “Nike Billboard Analysis by Jade Colton.” Thinglink.Com, 2020, https://www.thinglink.com/scene/851041133218758657.
Gregory, Lawrence. “Nike’s Promotional Mix (Marketing Communications Mix) – Panmore Institute.” Panmore Institute, 2020, http://panmore.com/nike-marketing-communications-mix.
Kumar, Sandeep, and Sidheswar Patra. “Does promotion mix really help to enhance brand equity: A literature review.” Asian Journal of Management 8.4 (2017): 1387-1392.
Merikanto, Saara. “Controversial Marketing-A successful strategy to grow a brand or risky approach? Case study: Nike Inc.” (2019).
O’Connell, Liam. “Nike: Number of Stores Worldwide 2019 | Statista”. Statista, 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/250287/total-number-of-nike-retail-stores-worldwide.