Nike

Lesson 1 Case Study

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MKT500: Marketing Management

Roshan Rathi

July 05, 2015

Marketing Spotlight: NIKE

Nike was originally named as Blue Ribbon Sports and was established in 1962 with a motive of producing high-quality running shoes for athletes. Nike’s commitment to design innovative footwear and strong marketing techniques helped it to become number-one athletic shoe company in the United States by 1980. It signed top athletes and top national level players such as Steve Prefontaine, Michael Jordan, and Walt Stack to promote its products because Nike realized that product and brand choices are influenced by the preferences and behavior of a small percentage of top athletes. This marketing strategies adopted by Nike became a huge success and they were able to create a strong position in the industry. Their “Just Do It” ad campaign that was aired in 1988 was able to grab attention of the consumers from around the globe. Then, Nike started to capture the market of European countries sponsoring soccer youth leagues, local clubs, and national teams. Nike was huge success when they sponsored Brazil soccer national team and they won the world cup in 1994. This increased the sale of Nike’s products and ultimately overseas revenues surpassed U.S. revenues for the first time in 2003. Nike is leading athletic footwear brand in the market and introduces products for all kinds of sports.

Nike has not only created its image in manufacturing high-quality shoes but also established strong position in producing sports apparels. It continuously sponsors players, sports, programs, as well as television programs as its marketing strategies. Nike marketing strategies also includes strategic alliance with several online marketing media and Internet services company. For example, in 2002, Nike signed agreement with SINA’s sport channel, which is ranked number one in China, to become the co-brand partner (Business Editors/High-Tech Writers, 2002).

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