Nike was founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman. They initially found success through their superior running and basketball shoes. Some key innovations include Bowerman's "moon shoes" which he created using a waffle iron. In the 1980s and 90s, Nike positioned itself as the underdog compared to more mainstream companies. Their iconic "Just Do It" slogan launched in 1988 and became one of the top slogans of the 20th century. Over the years, Nike has sponsored many top athletes and expanded its product line beyond sports shoes to include apparel. While Nike faced challenges with international sales and controversies over its business practices in past decades, it has grown

3. VID

4. One of the first Nike shoes
-- courtesy of articlebase.com
-- courtesy of nike.com

5. Founders: Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman cofounded the company in 1964,
originally known as blue ribbon sports.
“Nike” was the Greek goddess of victory, and the swoosh symbol is representative
of her wing.
Their initial success came from their superiority of running and basketball shoes,
which meant forming strong relationships with their customers based on real value.
Nike “moon shoes” were created; the innovative soles were created by Bowerman
when he poured a liquid rubber compound in his wife’s waffle iron.
They considered themselves the maverick compared to mainstream companies,
and in the 1980’s and 90’s played the role of underdog. Their marketing strategy
started off as edgy, and anti-establishment.
Their 1988 “just do it” campaign won advertising age’s top 5 slogans of the 20th
century (nikebiz.Com ; company overview)
“Basically, our culture and our style is to be a rebel.”- Phil Knight, chairman.
FROM RAGS TO
RICHES

6. If you use Nike shoes you can defy gravity better than Isaac Newton.
--Courtesy of harwoodmedialit.pbworks.com

7. Nike has sponsored top athletes and celebrity endorsements to promote their products.
Over the years they have included: roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, tiger woods, Lebron
James, Christiano Ronaldo and perhaps most notable, Michael
Company diversified when they acquired the companies Hurley international, converse,
Cole Haan, Bauer in-line, and Umbro.
In years past, they faced challenges selling internationally, but most recently sales
increased up 50% in international markets when Nike sponsored 21 out 26 of the national
countries in 2008 Beijing Olympics. (Wikiinvest.Com, Nikebiz.Com)
Expanded their product line when they grew from selling only running and basketball
shoes to other sports and apparel such as: baseball, football, soccer, tennis, golf, skate
boarding, jerseys, shorts, sweats, etc.

8. -- courtesy of media.nowpublic.net

9. Criticized of over commercializing sports and exploiting sports. An example of this is
when they used the Beatles song “revolution” against apple records wishes, and were
sued by capitol records. (Los Angeles times)
Once the underdog, Nike now became mainstream, and was becoming the
establishment.
Slipping sales in the late 1990’s were due to the rise in other trends (hiking boots, grunge
look) and a notion that they were “too common to be cool.”
Nike was known for spending just about any amount of money to conjure up publicity
and market share. (Kotler, 12edition) aka advertising everything and everywhere instead
of doing research on which segment to market to.
To make matters worse they were fighting off charges of exploiting child labor laws in
Asian pacific countries.

10. -- courtesy phonedifferent.com -- courtesy of nikeblog.com

11. Now after forty years of success, their marketing is less edgy.
Revenue
Increase in market development
Toning Shoe
Nike versus Adidas
Nike +