Nike Marketing Strategy

Nike, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development and worldwide marketing and selling of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area. It is the world 's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of US$24.1 billion in its fiscal year 2012 (ending May 31, 2012). As of 2012, it employed more than 44,000 people worldwide. The brand alone is valued at $10.7 Billion making it the most valuable brand among sports businesses. Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune

Nike is the leading and yet renowned supplier of athletic apparel and shoes. The company controls close to 33% of the global athletic shoe market (Dogiamis & Vijayashanker,2009).Nike was founded by Bill Power and Phil Knight in 1962 as a Blue Ribbon Support and then was later on renamed to Nike in the year 1968 (Patrow,2003).The company supplies very high quality product in close to 100 countries with major markets being located in the U.S,U,K, Asia Pacific as well as in the Americas. The company has managed to attain its lead and legendary position via the application of innovative and yet attractive product design which is backed by quality production as well as well crafted marketing strategies.

The aim of this paper is to use the “Nike - The art of selling air.” case study and concepts from strategic marketing theory to identify marketing challenges and how those challenges could be best addressed using marketing principles. The paper will:

Business level strategies are plans that a firm forms to describe and project how it intends to build a sustainable competitive advantage, over its competitors in a discrete market (Furrer, 2010, p. 1). These strategies have changed the nature of competition in industries, and paved way for further developments in product quality and cost. Business level strategies employed by Nike work mainly in two forms, that is, competitive strategies and corporative strategies (Furner, 2010, p. 1). By looking at the different business level strategies Nike has employed, this essay will explain how it has had such a massive impact in the Sports and Apparel industry it now leads.

Nike is one of the most well-known companies in the world that offers different products like clothing, equipment, footwear and accessories. Internationally, Nike not only has the lead in athletic products such as running shoes, sandals, casual shoes and basketball shoes among others, but also it is ahead of its competitors with their line of athletic clothing like pants, shirts and shorts for everyday wear. Apart from this, Nike is also tries its best to make clothing with special fabric that contributes to the welfare of the athlete when using it, the highly specialized technology put in these clothes have helped Nike to be the number one sponsor of important sports around the world.

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.

The company I am presenting is Nike which was founded in 1965 by the athlete Phil Knight. Nike is a well known brand which is selling its products worldwide and has 36% of the market share.

Brands use different strategies to create competitive advantages to beat with their rivals. Some companies use “Overall Cost Leadership” to increase profit by reducing costs and increase market share by lowering price. Some companies use “Focus Strategies” to select a group of market and tailor its strategy to serve that group. The others use “Product Differentiation” as a strategy to obtain a premium price by making unique products. Nike, with its differentiation strategy, the company is continuing to separate its self from the competitors by using its superior technology and innovation. This paper mainly discusses on the company’s product differentiation and analysis how the company using this strategy to build its brand image and become a market leader in sportswear industry. A brief discuss about Nike competitive advantage which related to its broad differentiation aspect and the company product life cycle are also presented on this paper.

One of the largest and international company sportswear and equipment of sports is Nike Company. It has more than eight hundred branches all over the world in different countries. From its beginning it has been number one brand in the world. Now, it became an organization of world wide. Its products spread into other areas additional to the shoes and the all areas of sport and almost every sport. Over hundreds of changes in Nike are given for the present shoes industry and organized lots of sports event

Nike is one the leading shoe and athletic clothing company in the United States and probably one of the largest in the world. In 1993, Nike's yearly revenue became as large as the NBA, NFL,

Competition is very fierce due to the number of companies competing for sales. Lots of money goes to marketing and promotions using various channels to reach the young demographic group of consumers who spend the most money on Nike’s products. Growth is slowing down in the athletic footwear industry. But new markets are emerging with high growth rates. These markets include extreme sports market and the corporate merchandise market.

One of Nike’s main opportunities is product development. Developing their product range makes them more competitive and because products tend to go out of fashion quickly, Nike must introduce new products relatively fast because consumer demand the newest and latest products. Increase in internet shopping will no doubt reduce the cost and improve prices making them even more competitive.

Our approach to developing a market-entry strategy follows a structured process, based on in-depth understanding of all aspects that feed into a commercial launch.

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.

This strategy of Nike has made this company to gain maximum number of customers and profit. Nike is a very competitive brand and its policy “The consumer decides” is one of critical policy that defines how to compete as a company. Nike's athletic footwear products are designed for specific athletic use, though some of its products are worn for casual or leisure purposes also. The company creates designs for men, women and children. Company's top-selling product categories are running, basketball, children's, cross-training and women's shoes, due to which Nike has a healthy dislike of its competitors. The athletic footwear industry is a very mature and competitive market. The leaders of this industry are very well established. Leaders like Nike, Adidas and Reebok have made the industry what it is today which forms an entry barrier to new entrants. Nike’s brand images, including the Nike name and its trademark "Swoosh", are considered to represent one of the most recognizable brands in the world. This brand power translates into bottom-line revenues. Due to increased emphasis by consumers on fashion in relation to sportswear, Nike has made strides to appeal to a fashion savvy