NIKE CASE STUDY

Nike Case Study

Nike Case Study

Introduction

This paper aims to answer the important questions relevant to our case Scoring Goals around the World. This respective case entails the details about the aggressive marketing strategies employed by the two leading, and rival sports goods manufacturing giants, Adidas and Nike. Specifically, focusing on their continuous efforts to outdo each other in sales and brand prominence with respect to the game of soccer.

Discussion

Before progressing towards addressing the case questions, it is only prudent to first discuss a brief background of each of these companies.

Nike

Officially incorporated in 1972 and renamed from Blue Ribbon Sports to Nike, this Oregon based company was named after the Greek Goddess of Victory, by the co-founders Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. In the next eight years, the company dominated over half of the athletic footwear market in America, and that too by not using traditional means of advertising of that time, which was advertising through television. However, the company ran its first TV advertisement in 1982. Although, the company greatly thrived upon the constructive reviews and comments of its shoe buyers and sports athletes and thus, positive word about Nike products soon began to snowball and eventually lead to increased volumes of sales. The company adopted its slogan of 'Just Do It' in 1988 and still continues to use the same to this day. The mission of the company states it to bringing inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world, where by athlete; the company classifies all those individuals who have a body to be an athlete (www.nikeinc.com/). Hence, from humble beginnings, today the company boats to be one of the top one hundred Fortune companies in the world, with various manufacturing factories and a large retail network spread across the world. In addition, Nike is globally regarded as the world's leading distributor, designer and marketer of athletic accessories, apparel and footwear, for a wide range of fitness and sports activities.

Adidas

Founded by two brothers, Rudolf and Adi Dassler in 1924, Germany was first named as Dassler shoes, but was later on renamed to Adidas. This happened when Rudolf Dassler, left to make another company on his own, which today is popularly known as Puma (Barrett, 2008). The three stripes logo of the company represents foot stability. The company gained worldwide recognition for its heavy promotions at the countless Olympic Games spanning over decades. Adidas, over period of many years has undergone many structural changes in its leadership hierarchy. From a time when it was written off by its auditors, on to becoming a global firm, which has become synonymous for its branding and various products. Adidas shoes are famous for their design and the element of being highly comfortable for the user.

The Below sections will now address the different case study questions in detail.

Q1. After reviewing both strategies, which company do you believe will dominate global soccer in the long term? Why?

To best answer this question, it is only wise that a brief analysis of the ...