Nike Football: World Cup 2010 South Africa

Although it is a literary device, the idea of a tragic hero can be applied to real-life figures in society, in this case Lance Armstrong, a professional cyclist, began as an adopted child that into a common family. Armstrong’s story differs from the common Shakespearean hero, but he later achieved his nobility through cycling. From a young age he competed in triathlons that ranged from swimming to what he took a passion in, cycling. Despite being very new to the professional scene, within one year he and his team had won a championship hosted in Norway. Suspicion rose about his sudden success, but he persevered with the new goal of fighting against his recently discovered testicular cancer.

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, Inc. sought professional athletes to endorse their athletic shoes and in 1985 contracted with Michael Jordan. Michael's success in sports and his endorsement of a personalized Nike brand brought in over $100 million in the first year (Kotler & Keller, 2009). Nike has continued to market successfully with their "Just Do it" campaign and their targeting women athletes.

Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight first started Nike on January 25th, 1964 but the name started out as Blue Ribbon Sports. They worked for a Japanese shoemaker called Onitsuka Tiger as merchandisers. Eventually Bill and Phil changed the name to Nike on May 30th, 1971. The company name Nike came from the ancient Greek goddess of victory (O’Reilly).

Lance Armstrong was a cyclist born on September 18, 1971 in Plano, Texas. At the age of thirteen Lance started to compete in cycling races and triathlons. He was a professional-athlete at the age of sixteen. He left at about the age of 17 to go to Colorado to train with the United States Olympic Development Team. He became the United States and World Cycling Champion in 1933. He won the Clásica de San Sebastián in 1995 and the La Flèche Wallonne in1996. In October of 1996 he was diagnosed with brain lung and testicular cancer. Lance also won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times between 1999 and 2005. Armstrong decided to retire in 2005. In 2012 the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) stripped him of his seven Tour de France

1964 marked the creation of “Nike” which at first was called “Blue Ribbon sports”. Nike was created by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman. At first

If Lance Armstrong did not win the Tour de France, it is almost certain that another roided up dude would have. Essentially, Lance was the best roided up man, and he had survived testicular cancer. Of course it is arguable that his team won it for he couldn’t do it alone, but there is always that superhero of a sport. The forwards in football, the quarterbacks in NFL all take credit as heroes. Make reference to the book “Good advice from bad people featuring Lance Armstrong” Make mention on the

Lance had rounds of chemotherapy. Finally, Lance Armstrong was cancer free in February

Nike invested in their brand by getting sports heroes to advertise for their brand such as Michael Jordon, Tiger Woods and the Brazilian football team. This further fuel the products appeal towards the consumers.

As their products are not so different, Nike differentiated itself by creating and marketing well designed athletics and non-athletic footwear and clothing. The company managed to distinguish and establish its products by using a different marketing approach from its competitors and by improving its brand identity and consumer awareness. However, in 2006, its two rivals merged to get a 22% market share while Nike had 36%. The organisation, then, developed a new strategy to get ahead its rivals. They coupled sport icons such as Michal Jordan to endorse the brand and it was such a success that they decided to use Tiger Woods, the no.1 golf player, to introduce its new golf apparel and equipment. The association of a motivational slogan "Just Do It" with athletes that emphasize competition, fitness and sportsmanship, helped the company to position its product on the market as being of high-quality. The advantage Nike has is the competitors' incapacity of replicating its quality products and benefits. Moreover, the company is always trying to introduce new product in the market which help them staying ahead while giving a positive

Nike started with track shoes and later on running shoes. In the 90s, as the US hosted the World Cup of soccer, advisers suggested Nike tap the huge worldwide soccer shoe and equipment market (The Independent, 2004). Previously, it has successfully controlled 50% of the $35 billion basketball shoe segment, while the golf market has been penetrated with the help of Tiger Woods, a long-time endorser (Katz, 1994).

After 2006, Nike caught up with the Adidas in global market share. It’s all thanks to Nike’s ability to find new alternative ways of brand management such as digital distribution with YouTube or individual partnerships with players that lead to Nike catching up when it did not have the rights to market extensively on the worlds biggest stage.

Nike has attained a leading role in almost every one of the upcoming world wide sporting events, such as the 2012 Olympics, the 2012 Soccer Euro Cup, the NFL Superbowl, the 2014 Soccer World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Therefore the time is now for Nike to embed their customers and the fans of these major sporting events in the experience through their new technology.

Nike's management's bet on celebrities marketing. These athlete celebrities including Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods had introduced and placed Nike and its

In 1963 Phil Knight went to Japan and had a meeting with a running shoe manufacturing company called Tiger. He