Companies spend a lot of money in advertising and promotional campaigns to uniquely and accurately position their products in the minds of the customers and consumers. The effectiveness of the positioning results in the building of perception which makes the criteria of preference in buying decisions. The customer and consumers use the products which fulfill their needs and incase of shoes, define the personality of the wearer. For this the perception of the products, services and the brand in particular of a company plays a pivotal role (Martinez, 2012). The advertising campaigns are directed towards a target market which the products of the company can compliment exceptionally. The focus on the target market and segment provides the opportunity for the company to increase its market share. We will be analyzing the three athletic shoe market companies, Nike, Adidas and Reebok. We will review the background information of the companies; assess their target market and products. We will evaluate their market share in light of their target market. Based on our analysis, we will prepare a questionnaire and collect data from a convenient selected sample of students. Our goal of the analysis will be to see if the perception of the three brands image differs from each other.
Discussion
Nike
Background
The company Nike was formed in 1972 and the company is focused on developing products to help athletes in achieving the best performance with exceptional comfort. The company besides shoes also ventures in different businesses like apparel for increasing their shareholder value. Nike has been successful in the developing numerous autonomous brands and has evolved them as subsidiaries, with each catering a different segment of the market.
Target Market
Nike competes in numerous brands and products. It target market comprises of females and males in the age bracket of 1 years to 35 years. Nike is targeting its customers globally and promotes its products in the programs of prime-time, sports events of college, programs of TV aired at late-night.
Products
The products of Nike Shoes cater to the men, women and kids who are willing to experience the sports athletic experience. The women category of shoes contain footwear for action, dance, gym training, football, golf, NIKEiD, Nike Sportswear, Tennis, Running and shoes with performance factors like Air Max, High Tops, Nike Free and Sandals and flip flops. The Men category contains most of the same product categories, with inclusion of Jordan, Basketball shoes and Rugby etc. The kids' category of shoes contains footwear for girls and boys having a product range of toddler, pre-school and youth sizes.
Market Share
The current market share of Nike is 18.9% in the year 2011 (Statista, 2012).
Reebok
Background
The history of the company dates back to 1890 when the owners first designed the shoes. Currently the Reebok is inspired for American lifestyle based international brand that develops and sells lifestyle and sports products constructed upon a powerful authenticity and heritage in sports, women's and fitness categories (Reebok, 2012). Brand is obligated to planning marketing and products programs ...