Nike : A Brand For Sports

Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight started Nike Inc. in 1971, formally known as Blue Ribbon Sports. Bill Bowerman was a former track and field coach at the University of Oregon, and Phil Knight was a student-athlete at the University of Oregon. After numerous years of supplying under Blue Ribbon Sports, the two decided to enter the athletic shoe manufacturing business. The first employee of the company was Jeff Johnson, who helped them with branding what is known today as NIKE Inc.

Nike is one of the biggest footwear and apparel manufacturing companies in the word. The company came into existence in 1964 by Bill Boweman and Phil Knight and named it as the Blue Ribbon Sports. The company changed the name to Nike, which is Greek word meaning victory, in 1972 after producing a good brand of shoes that became popular among the athletes (NIKE, Inc., 2001). Since then, the company has been successful, dominating the world market of athletic shoes. The company’s products are sold in more than 170 countries across the world. The company also sponsors various sports events at national and international levels. The company slogan “just do it” is catchy and attract many people tom

Nike is one of the most well established companies who sponsor famous athletes that impact their buyers in a more inspirational and positive way. Although Nike has been keeping their illegal sweatshops in hiding and not revealing the truth to its consumers. Nike could solve these problems of their illegal sweatshops and fix their business image and still be one of the biggest companies.

The factors that drive Nike’s decision to stick with its current organizational structure include its well-established brand name in the industry. The company positioned itself as a brand

Nike tells a story because they inspire and motivate all kinds of athletes to get up, get moving, and accomplish their goals. Nike tells their story through advertising, which is based off of an old age tale where a hero is pitted against a great foe, and after a great struggle, emerges triumphant. The hero represents an athlete struggling to accomplish their goal, and when they do, they become victorious. Nike stands out because of their logo, products, catch phrase, and their sustainable business practices. Nike’s customizable shoe feature, Nike ID, and their sustainable business practice where they transform old shoes into materials is what makes Nike stand out. Not to mention, their iconic swoosh logo and their famous “Just do it” catchphrase

Nike uses emotional context to appeal to a sports player mind. “Just do it”, Nike’s slogan, is encouraging athletics across the world to go on the field or gym and give it their all. Without seeing or directly experiencing the product, they convey a feeling to the audience to experience what it would be like to use their products. The main purpose of the Nike website is to adapt their audience to this ultra world of sports. Nike gives you the ability to do anything. Nike is a creditable source for quality sport clothing. They have contracts with Professional teams. When addressing counter arguments Nike has made it known to the world that they product the best athletic wear. Since being around from the 1960s Nike have been beating other competitive companies, such as Reebok, Adidas, and Under Armor. Stated by Hoover’s, Nike has 8 billion more total revenue then Adidas. They have been number one in their market for years. They challenge they best competitors, on Nike home page website they have the Jordan Jumpman label. Jordan is he greatest basketball player. With Jordan being with Nike there is no way none for the basketball audience to use a different brand then Nike.

6). This strategy is a major component of Nike’s business strategic level plan. In applying this strategy, Nike has attained a great deal of consumer insight, which it uses to offer uniquely designed premium products to the athletes. Still on product differentiation, Nike focuses more on research and development at a greater level. These unique features to Nike, have transformed the competition levels in this competitive industry, leading to a trend of a paradigm shift in the market. Most consumers opt for Nike branded sports products and apparels, at the expense of the other brand names.

Phil Knight and his track-and-field coach Bill Bowerman found one of the world’s well-known sports brand, Nike in 1964. With the beginning of Nike first “office” being the laundry room of Knight’s family home it has now become the biggest sports and fitness company in the world with international recognition. The vision statement of Nike as an organization was to think ahead in the long term and not to simply focus and be content with the present as described by Tom Clarke, chief executive of Nike.

Understanding customer needs will help Nike to define new market opportunities and drive innovation and revenue growth in every aspect of its organisation. The most basic concept underlying marketing is that of human needs. Human needs are states of felt deprivation (Kotler and Armstrong, 2006). Customer logic is derived from evaluation of a company and its product based upon customer needs, customer benefits, and product features. For branded athletic shoes, Nike has to understand customer needs on a global level as the products are sold

Nike is a marketing trailblazer. Its commercials are so unique and iconic that every new advertising campaign is analysed by industry watchers and experts, and

Nike must cater to a large portion of the new generation that demands the latest trends and styles. Nike should take into account the changing US demographics due to the rising proportion of Hispanics, Asians, and African Americans. These groups have different preferences that Nike should be able to satisfy. Nike should identify the next generation of loyal customers and provide for their needs.

Nike has an umbrella of brands under its name like Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Air Force 1, etc. Nike is a highly recognizable brand across the globe as because of it’s swoosh logo and the trademark “Just Do It.”. Nike is endorsed by many famous sports personality which makes the brand more desirable.

Nike, Inc. has been the world’s leading innovator and provider in athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for 50 years. Their mission has been to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world; if you have a body, you are an athlete. Arguably one of the most innovative companies in the world, Nike has built its brand into an iconic world-class powerhouse that continues to dominate the market with no signs of slowing up. Nike’s marketing and advertising have been breakthrough, aspirational, and legendary over the years, featuring high-profile athletes and heroes.

Nike began as Phil Knight’s semester-long project to develop a small business, which included a marketing plan. This project was part of Phil Knight’s MBA course at Stanford University in the early 1960s. Phil Knight had been a runner at the University of Oregon in the late 1950s. His idea for his project was to develop high quality running shoes. He thought that high quality/low cost products could be produced in Japan and then shipped to the United States to be sold at a profit. His professor thought that Knight’s idea was interesting, but not much more than a project.

Routine Problem Solving Nike's prominent and continuous advertising campaigns ensure that consumers in the youth market are aware of the brand, as greater awareness inevitably leads to greater sales. Once these sales are secures by consumers in the youth market their interest is maintained by further advertising, which leads to repeat purchase. 4.5 Variety