NIKE

Nike - Just Do It

Abstract

In this study we try to explore the concept of “Nike” in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on “Nike” and its relation with “contribution towards sports industry”. The research also analyzes many aspects of “Nike” and tries to gauge its effect on “market penetration and current establishment”. Finally the research describes various factors which are responsible for “Nike” and tries to describe the overall effect of “Nike” on “the overall sportswear industry”.

Table of Contents

Abstractii

Nike - Just Do It1

Introduction1

Brand Image1

Nike Financial History2

Competition3

Market Development3

Product Development4

Intense competition between Nike and key rival Adidas4

Conclusion5

References6

Nike - Just Do It

Introduction

In 1996, Nike set up a separate unit, Nike Golf. Nike marketing executives were asked to look into the future for the company's next big sponsorship. Everyone was waiting for who Nike would sponsor, following their success with Michael Jordan. They decided to sponsor a young top amateur by the name of Tiger Woods. Tiger had just won the NCAA individual golf championship and became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles. Tiger Woods saw that he had a great future ahead of him in the golf world and dropped out of Stanford University and turned pro.

Brand Image

Golf was a very traditionalist sport and even the world's most recognizable sports brand was not guaranteed success. Golf was not a sport where people walked around in sneakers and sweat suits. Consumers were not interested in wearing the latest edition of golf shoes in a bright new color way. Nike's usual formula of footwear and apparel did not apply. Technology was the key to success in the sport. Golfers were serious sportsmen who were only interested in products that could aid them in their game. Nike was a company with a household name but no technology as of yet. Nike did have great marketing and the money to back it up and so they made the decision to step on to the market hand in hand with a new face and once again Nike made yet another smart move (Beldona, 2008).

One of the first Nike commercials featuring Tiger Woods was a montage of old family videos and clips of his amateur career featuring a repetition of the phrase: “Hello World.” Throughout the commercials they featured all his achievements and a remark about how he was still not allowed to play some golf courses due to the color of skin. The marketing implications were genius for Tiger and for Nike. They were declaring themselves but also setting themselves apart. Nike knew this was necessary since it wasn't a traditional golf company like Titleist and needed to bank on its innovativeness. They were attracting amateur golfers that would be willing to buy their apparel and building on their well-known brand image while simultaneously attaching themselves to professionals. When Tiger won the Masters, the following year, Nike knew they were off to a good start (Bickart & Schindler, 2009).

Nike Financial History

Nike was already well established being the #1 sports apparel ...