INTRODUCTION

Nikeis an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development,

manufacturing and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment,
accessories and services. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in
the Portland metropolitan area. It is one of the world's largest suppliers 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. In 2015 the brand alone was valued at $26 billion
(Forbes, 2015), making it the most valuable brand among sports businesses.

The company was founded on January 25, 1964, as Blue Ribbon Sports, by Bill
Bowerman and Phil Knight, and officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1971. The
company takes its name from Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its
products under its own brand, as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike
Blazers, Air Force 1, Nike Dunk, Air Max, Foamposite, Nike Skateboarding, and
subsidiaries including Brand Jordan, Hurley International and Converse. Nike also owned
Bauer Hockey (later renamed Nike Bauer) between 1995 and 2008, and previously
owned Cole Haan and Umbro. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment,
the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high-
profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized trademarks
of "Just Do It" and the Swoosh logo.

Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), was founded by University of
Oregon track athlete Phil Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. The
company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka
Tiger (now ASICS), making most sales at track meets out of Knight's automobile. By
1971, the relationship between BRS and Onitsuka Tiger was nearing an end. BRS
prepared to launch its own line of footwear, which would bear the Swoosh newly
designed by Carolyn Davidson. The Swoosh was first used by Nike on June 18, 1971,
and was registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 22, 1974.
In 1976, the company hired John Brown and Partners, based in Seattle, as its first
advertising agency. The following year, the agency created the first "brand ad" for Nike,
called There is no finish line", in which no Nike product was shown. By 1980, Nike had
attained a 50% market share in the U.S. athletic shoe market, and the company went
public in December of that year.

Together, Nike and Wieden+Kennedy have created many print and television
advertisements, and Wieden+Kennedy remains Nike's primary ad agency. It was agency
co-founder Dan Wieden who coined the now-famous slogan "Just Do It" for a 1988 Nike
ad campaign, which was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of
the 20th century and enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike,_Inc. - cite_note-nikebiz.com-15Walt Stack was
featured in Nike's first "Just Do It" advertisement, which debuted on July 1,
1988. Wieden credits the inspiration for the slogan to "Let's do it", the last words spoken
by Gary Gilmore before he was executed.

Throughout the 1980s, Nike expanded its product line to encompass many sports and
regions throughout the world. In 1990, Nike moved into its eight-building World
Headquarters campus in Beaverton, Oregon. The first Nike retail store, dubbed Niketown,
opened in downtown Portland in November of that year. Phil Knight announced in mid-
2015 that he is planning to step down as chairman of Nike in 2016.
NIKES LOGO EVOLUTION:

Shape of the Nike Logo:

The Nike logo is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most popular logos in
history. One of the reasons that allow the simple and fluid Swoosh logo to embody
success is its extraordinary ability to make us see movement in particular ways. It was
conceptualized by a graphic design student named Carolyn Davidson in 1971. She was
paid only $35 for the rights to use it.

The Nike Swoosh logo symbolizes the wing in the far-famed statue of the Greek
Goddess of victory, Nike, who largely influenced countless brave warriors. Other folklore
suggests that, a Greek would say, When we go to battle and win, we say it is Nike.

The original mark was termed as the strip, but it was later referred to as Swoosh, as a
reference to the fibers used in Nike shoes. The Nike Swoosh logo made its debut in the
spring of 1972, when it was featured on the vamp of an athletic shoe. It was registered as
a trademark in 1995 and has since become the exclusive corporate identity of Nike Inc.

Colours of the Nike Logo:

The Nike logo has traditionally used the Red and white color palette. The red color
exemplifies passion, energy and joy, whereas the white color stands for the nobility,
charm and purity of the Nike brand.

Font of the Nike Logo:

Until 1995, the Nike logo featured the companys name using Futura Bold typeface in
uppercase characters.

NIKES PULL & PUSH STRATEGY:

Pull strategy:

Nikes ability to make customer sign-up to receive e-mail about its latest products is one
of its pull strategy. As seen from the above picture in the right top corner, theres a link to
sign-up for its e-mail. Nikes website also includes links on the bottom of its website to
several of its social media accounts and which you can see in the bottom left corner in
the picture above too. Consumers can find links to Nikes Twitter, Facebook,
YouTube and Instagram accounts.
Nike also has pull techniques they use off its website including several mobile apps that
can be downloaded for iPhones and androids. Some of these apps include Nike Soccer,
Nike SB, Nike+ Running, Nike+ Training Club, Nike+ Fuelband and Nike+ Move. Apps
allow consumers to further explore a brand, see what else they have to offer and once
again find out more information about Nike.

Push strategy:

Nikes push marketing also includes commercials, as well as print advertisements and
selling its products in other retail stores. While the commercial above includes a pull
technique it also is push technique by putting Nikes name out there with the consumer.
Nike is able to reach its audience by pushing this message at consumers while they
watch television. Nike also puts out print advertisements to reach audiences by placing
them in media publications such as magazines and newspapers. Push medias focus is
relaying a message to large audience and using these two outlets allows Nike to do
exactly that.

Another push method that Nike uses on its consumers is selling its products in different
retail stores. Nike shoes and other sports apparel is commonly found in stores that
specialize in athletic products, shoes or active wear. This helps Nike get its product to be
more visible to consumers and puts its brand out there in more places. Seeing Nike
products in more places than just a Nike store allows consumers to associate the brand
more and more with what product they sell.
NIKES STRATEGIES:

In order to become the worlds leading designer, marketer and distributor of athletic
footwear, apparel and accessories, Nike followed many strategies. Their Corporate
Level Strategy, according to Dermesropian, Drage, Grigaite and Lopez (2004,p.15) is
their focus on innovation and emphasis on their research and development department in
order to be profitable in the long run and they do their best to produce footwear, apparel
and athletic equipment that reduce or eliminate injury, help in athletic performance and
maximize comfort. They continue to expand their operation in the USA, Asia Pacific,
Europe, Middle East, Africa and the American regions trying to reach as many customers
as possible. Their Business Level Strategy is a combination of the best cost provider and
broad Differentiation Strategy, but more emphasis is put on the best Cost Provider
Strategy. They rely heavily on strategic outsourcing and most of their products are
manufactured outside the United States. One of the main reasons behind their success
following the Cost Leadership Strategy is their extensive network structure that allows
them to cancel their alliance with any company that fails to maintain their standards.
They work very closely with their suppliers which allow them to produce their goods at a
very low price and of superior quality with the newest technology which makes them the
market leader and the rest have to try producing similar goods close to their standard in
order to survive in the market. They work very hard in their marketing strategies and
which one of the primary reasons behind its success.

Nike hired famous Basketball Player Michael Jordan, Tennis Player Serena Williams
and Golf Player Tiger Woods who signed a seven year contract in order to be the
spokesperson of Nike. In 2003 they spent around US$ 32.4 million on Net TV
commercials and another US$ 39.8 for magazine ads. In order to become the market
leader one has to follow a rigid and innovative strategy but to remain as the market leader
the strategy has to be sustainable. According to (www.bizjournals.com) on a report
published by Nike, suggest that they have planned four major programs in order to keep
their corporate level strategy sustainable. In order to sustain in the long run Nike is now
emphasizing more on the concerns about global warming. They have decided to focus
more on their product design process, eliminating toxics and wastes wherever possible,
establish a lean manufacturing and human resource management in order to acquire a
more equitable supply chain, establish a social program which combines education and
sports programs for the third world countries and establish a new group call the Business
for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy.
 NIKES PORTERS FIVE-FORCE MODEL:

1. Threat of entry/Barriers to entry:

The threat of entry is highest in the apparel market due to the relatively lower costs of
manufacturing apparel compared to the footwear market where the biggest threat posed is
basically from current rivals already established in the market e.g Adidas and Puma, who
although behind in market share, are currently implementing strategies that are helping
them close the gap on Nike. Adidas has especially been gaining ground on Nike boosted
by its strong presence in sponsoring the European soccer tournament where it sponsored
eventual winners Spain (Torry 2012).

According to Marketing Weekly News (2012), Adidas is also planning on moving into the
more fashion-aligned market of teenagers, which could see it improve global market
share. NEO, a fast fashion adidas sub-brand aimed at teenagers is Adidas attempts to
enter new apparel segments that will even pit it against the likes of H&M and Zara in an
effort to gain market share and squeeze more profits out of mature industries.

Another threat of entry is posed by Under Armour Inc. an established company in the
athletic sportswear in the USA which in 2009 decided to enter the U.S athletic footwear
market creating competition in a market which had been dominated by a few players like
Nike and Adidas. Recently the US sports brand has started entering markets which have
been traditionally fought over by Nike and Adidas. For example, Under Armour is using
its sponsorship of Tottenham Hotspur in an "aggressive" digital marketing drive which it
views as part of a wider strategy to steal market share from Nike and Adidas in the
apparel category in Europe. This is the firms first foray into professional football, which
have been areas where Nike and Adidas traditionally dominated and performed well in
but are now having to brace for new competition from Under Armour (Sebastian 2012).
2. Threat of substitutes:
Substitutes in the footwear category can include any other types of shoes that consumers
can choose to serve similar purposes. Substitutes here therefore include the likes of
sandals, which can act as substitutes, even though they may not fulfill exact same
purpose. It is difficult to think of other substitutes that can fulfill the same purpose as
athletic shoes from the footwear industry since this an industry that has something very
specific to offer to a targeted market. This means that it is not meant to appeal to the
general population and everybody. Thus consumers who are looking for shoes to run in
will not look for boots as substitutes simply because boots are cheaper substitutes. This is
due to the specialization of running shoes that makes substitutes hard to come by.

But while athletic footwear has little substitutes, sportswear apparel can have substitutes
that include normal everyday clothing, which can be used for athletic purposes if
necessary. For example, some consumers may choose to wear tight fitting t-shirts to
exercise in instead of using Nikes sportswear, making normal clothing from high street
brands substitutes.

3. Rivalry between firms:

Adidas: Although Adidas is currently not able to outcompete Nike in terms of sales and
market share, it has been outperforming Nike and gaining market share since 2006 while
Nike has been losing market share since 1998 when it still had more than 47 percent of
the market, which has been cut back to 32 percent (MSN money 2011). Adidas is also
still the second biggest competitor to Nike competing for market share and has plans in
the pipeline that it is trying to implement in order to grow. One of them is heavy
sponsorship of football tournaments all over the globe since football has the highest fan
support with more than 2billion people who follow it, with Basketball behind it with 1.2
billion followers. One such plan has been paying off when Spain, the team it sponsored at
the 2012 Euro championships, won the tournament in style (Torry 2012).

Puma: Puma is another rival to Nike that has been having a bad time with financial
 figures not going according to expectation. Although the firm has been sponsoring some
very famous names (it sponsored the Italian football team who reached the final of Euro
2012), while Usain Bolt wore the firms kit when he competed in the 100m at the London
2012 Olympic Games, Puma has served up a profit warning. It said that net earnings for
the first quarter of 2012 were expected to be 13 percent below the 115m Euros reported
during the same period last year. Puma is also expect to take a EURO 100m restructuring
charge showing that the firm is doing not as well as expected so Nike has little worry
from this rival. According to the Financial Times (2012), the main problem with Puma
does not lie on the sporting field but in the stands. Puma's recovery over the past decade
was driven mainly by its popularity with fashion-conscious youngsters. So it is not
helping Puma that many youth are unemployed in the Eurozone. Puma generates more
than 45 per cent of sales from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, so the fall in spending
power has been hurting it badly, as does rising competition in the sports lifestyle market.
The company is also hurt by its dependence on shoes, which account for about half of
sales.
Under Armour: As stated previously, Under Armour has been the one company that has
gained the most from any slip ups from both Nike, Adidas and Puma as it has been going
strong for the last few years.

4. Power of Suppliers
The footwear market is one of those industry categories where the demand is always
there. Retailers have to buy whatever the big brands like Nike make whether they like it
or not therefore this also means that suppliers like Nike and Adidas have a lot of power
compared to other industries. One of the biggest factors that contribute to this is the fact
shoes such as Nikes are made very cheaply but sold at very expensive prices making
them very desirable for retailers, which gives suppliers like Nike power. It is one of
reasons why Nike has always been famous for sweatshop prices (Forbes 2012)

5. Power of Buyers
Highly Competitive market due to market saturation and slowdown in the sales industry
worldwide, buyers more intellectual, have specific wants and needs and know where to
get discounts and deals.

As seen with the problems in the Eurozone experiencing high rates of unemployment as
seen with the problems with Puma, many consumers have more discretion to choose what
to buy and what not to buy as the world economies suffer.
NIKES ADVERTISING STRUCTURE

Heading: Explosive Speed the punch-line acts as a heading for the above print ad.

Theme: The central idea in the particular print ad was to physically motiovate the
customers to buy and wear this product as it will help them to run at the explosive in the
field.

Picture: Nike has used football star Neymar Jr. to attract the customers.

Arguments: In this particular ad, the customer gets satisfied or feels that he/she can rely
on this product because the football star Neymar Jr. is endorsing the product himself.
So, this acts as a validation for the customer.
Closing: Nike has placed its logo at the bottom of this print ad for the closing.
Primacy effect: Nike has used the attraction on the top of the print ad with the punch-
line and the celebrity.

In the above print ad, Nike especially created the poster for a marathon, which was going
to be held in April11. As we all know, the most important accessory needed in marathon
is a pair of Shoe.
Heading: Change history with just one strike the punch-line acts as a heading for the
above print ad.

Theme: The central idea behind this print ad was to emotionally motivate the customer to
buy the product as it will help to change the history with just one strike.

Picture: This above print ad is been digitally signed by another football star Frank
Ribery which creates an attraction for the one who knows a little about football.

Arguments: In this particular ad, the customer gets satisfied or feels that he/she can rely
on this product because the football star Frank Ribery has himself signed the print ad.
From the above print ad it can be said that Nike is focusing totally on Content dimension
rather relationship dimension..

Theme: The central idea behind this print ad was to make aware customers about their
new product offering, the products specifications and its benefits.

Picture: Nike is transparently picturing their product details, which helps the customer to
know the product inside out and get, attract towards it as they are completely aware about
the products offerings.
 NIKES ELEMENTS OF PROMOTION MIX:

1. Advertising
In the advertising, Nike's own target is to achieve the greatest possible impacton large
populations of the target audience. These ads are usually expensive. However,
successfully applied a strong brand image of Nike products can reap the rewards and high
demand.

Nike uses celebrities represent product to the client or ideal user. Extremely popular
personalities such as professional athletes used as offering the Nikes products. Target
customers are watching their favorite celebrities use the company's products. As a result,
customers are motivated to imitate the behavior of these celebrities. Through the use of
ad figure known marketing communication mix, Nike is promoting the company's
products to customers how to motivate your choice to imitate the famous Celebrities.
(Nike Marketing Communication).

Brazilian football team, like Nike especially Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos are as brand
ambassadors of Nike; LeBron James, Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong cycling golf are
number of famous athletes and used by Nike as celebrity endorsement strategy to
promote its products.

Nike focuses on other countries sportsman as Brand ambassador for making its all target
customers of all countries aware about its offers and currently Indian football captain
Baichung Bhutia is as Nike new brand ambassador (marketing-mix-Nike).

2. Personal Selling

For this IMC strategy, Nike has in stores personal sales efforts. The stores offer staffs
help for customers to learn more about the company's products and to purchase these
products. In some cases, sales staff helps customers to find the right products to promote
the Nike Company through personalized service.
 The customer experience has been developed by staff trained to help and persuade sales.
Customers feel good about buying Nike products. They also sell these products which
customers feel as having better decisions.
Therefore, the combination of Nikes marketing communication while promoting the
company's products, improves customer experience and use personal selling to build
relationships with customers (Nike marketing communications-mix).

3. Direct Marketing

Nike uses direct marketing to promote new products to the target market. These new
products are usually advertised heavily. However, to make a bigger impact, the firm uses
salespeople to approach certain organizations or individuals in target market segments. As
the Nike approaches sports organizations to promote its products. Nikes marketing
communications mix uses direct marketing to establish stronger relations with target
customers and motivate them to purchase the companys products.

It uses direct marketing to introduce new products to the target market. These new
products are usually heavy advertising. However for having larger impact, the company
may use some of the organizations or individuals close to the seller in the target market
segment which can direct promote the product to customers. (Nike marketing
communications-mix).

4. Sales Promotions

Nikes sales promotions include coupons and special offers to customers which it target.
The characteristics of these products business and its benefits can be as discount coupons
can make customers to save and by using special offers new things are offered to
customers, showing sales promotions enable customers to be motivated. Marketing
communication mix uses sales promotions whenever Nike want to attract new customers
to drive demand, since they would be motivated to buy the products of Nike on the basis
of the perceived benefits (Nike marketing communications-mix).
5. Public Relations

Nike rarely used public relations as marketing communication mix or IMC strategy. The
company depends on social problems such as the use of workshops and green technology
that use public relations to cope. In some cases, Nike may use similar charity events and
public relations activities as a sponsor. This is the Nike communication mix of existing
and potential customers marketing, so they have a better perception of the brand, the
brand uses to solve problems and promote public relations (Nike marketing
communications-mix).

Social Media

Nike is one of the biggest brands in the world and therefore has been a big surprise
followed on social media. Expectations of getting this IMC strategy are there but the
budget of social content is high.
As a sports brand, Nike may expand its social media to creating a buzz which is
important. Especially fornew technology based or current products of Nike it may
increase its social media IMC strategy to get in line with customers way of receiving
promotions. As for promotion of new series of Nike 6.0; it should use social media to
promote their dancing shoes and parlor. (Case-study Nike)
Nike has recently use some social media communication mix for its promotion of
productswherecustomersareallowedtotakeadvantageofthecampaign,bytaking action in
social site to share photos of themselves call this demographic youth to
demonstratetheirsportsskillsbyuploadingthem,wheretheWinnerswillreceive$500

NIKES CUSTOMER SERVICE REVIEW:

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

https://adambailey505.wordpress.com/2015/02/02/nike-just-pushing-and-pulling/

http://www.customerservicescoreboard.com/Nike

http://www.academia.edu/4493713/Comparison_of_strategy_between_Nike_and_Adi
das

http://123writing.com/sample_description.php?sample_id=1