2. NIKE STORY
• NIKE IS ONE OF THE LEADING MANUFACTURER OF SHOES AND
THE SPORTS EQUIPMENT IN THE WORLD.
• PHIL KNIGHT, THE CO-FOUNDER OF NIKE WAS AN ENTHUSIAST
OF SPORTS , HE WAS A RUNNER.
• HE BECAME THE DISTRIBUTOR OF JAPANESE SHOE BRAND
TIGER SHOES IN THE USA.
• HE AND HIS MENTOR OF UNIVERSITY OREGON,
BILL BOWERMAN LEGALLY STARTED A COMPANY CALLED
BLUE RIBBON SPORTS IN 1964.
• IN 1966 THEY HAVE THEIR FIRST STORE IN SANTA MONICA,CALIFORNIA.
• 1971 THEY REBRANDING THEIR COMPANY AS NIKE, THE LITERAL MEANING
OF WHICH IS VICTORY.
9. MarketingStrategies(contd…)
2012– When2012OlympicshappenedNikelostits chanceto becomethetitlesponsorto its rival –
Adidas,who paid$150mnto be associatedwiththenamewith2012Olympics.
TheOlympicscommitteecameoutwitha bunchof strictrulesforthecompaniesinsuch as way
thattheycouldin no way associatethemselveswithOlympicsinany typeof commercials,which
includedthewords‘LondonOlympics’,SummerOlympics’,Olympics,2012.Sotheoreticallyit was
impossiblein anyway thatwouldstealthe thunderof adidasas a brand.
So,aftertheseallrestrictions,thelegendarystrategyof Nikecomesintoplay,firsttheyhired400
Olympiansto be its brandambassador.Nikecameup with new linecalledVoltwhereinthey
distributedeyecatchyneoncolouredshoesto be wornduringtheirmatches.Secondlythereare
almost28 otherlocationsin theworldcalledas LondonexcepttheLondonof UK.So,Nikeshot
theircommercialsin allother Londons(e.gLondoninOhio,LittleLondonin Jamaica,Londonin
Hotel,Gym etc,SmallLondonin Nigeria,eventheLondonroad.Nikewas ableto placetheword
‘London’in allof its commerciallegally.
Thirdlyfortheendorsement,theywerenotallowedto use Olympiansforendorsementtheyhired
averageteenagerswho werenotknownto anybodyandit cameout witha beautifulmasterpiece
which literallybroketheinternetas Nikemanagedto strikea cordwithlocalchampions.Thespirit
of a championwithineverysingleindividual.Andif you aresomebodywhois pushingyourlimits
thatNikecommercialis literallydepictingyourown story.
In Nikecommercialsit leveragestheemotionof inspirationto communicateit idea
WiththeabovestrategyNikewas ableto be on trending as numberonein socialmediaplatform
with4.5mnviewsandAdidasbeingthe titlesponsorwas at numberthreewithonly2.9mnviews
Thatis howwithoutbeingthetitlesponsorandwithoutactuallyusingthebannedkeywordsNike
emergedas a championin themarketingwar.
10. Marketing Strategies (contd…)
2018– Therise ofcontroversy marketing. AnNFLplayer namedColin Kaepernickkneeledduring
the nationalanthem asagesture andthis gesturetookthe blacklivesmatter toanother level and
became aburning issue.
Andthat iswhenNikeintroducedthe world tothe iconicdream crazy commercial, it includedthe
bannedplayerColin, withina fewhours, this commercial wastrending onevery single social
media platform. It turns out, this was aresult ofsomethingcalledBipolarisationwherein one
segmentofpeoplesawthis asagesture ofcourageandsupportforthe minority ofUSAwhereas
the secondsegment ofpeoplesawColin’s kneelingas aninsult tothe nationalflag.Nike
supportingColin was seenasananti-nationalbrand. Whenthe sentimentanalysis wasdonefor
the conversation around Nike.According tothe brandwatch, immediately afteradwent live the
sentimentratio aroundNikedrawn from72% positive to65% in negative.
Even thoughsomany peoplewereboycottingNikesalesactually shotupby$100mn.This Dream
Crazy campaignwasapurpose driven campaignthat stoodbyapurpose, that is the dignity, the
respect andthe safetyoftheblackminority in the USA. Andassoonaspeoplesawit, every single
personwhoresonate with the Nike’s messagestarted sharingthe video resultinginto extreme
virality. Although it lookedlikemajority oftheAmerican wereagainstNikebutthedata showed
that evenmajor chunkofNike’s White customersalsosupportedColin.
After this adNike’s owncustomerswereeven moreloyal tothe brand, forthemNikewasnot just a
shoecompany but it as alsoarepresentation oftheiropinionandaniconthat stoodfortheir
dignity. Alsomanycelebsstarted spporting the brand andhenceit ledtoBrand Perception
Nikeendedupgetting $163.5mnworth ofmediabuzzat zerocost.Nikeestablisheda benchmark
forviral marketing.
11. PROBLEMS FACED BY NIKE
• NIKE’S SUPPLY CHAIN
• TECHNOLOGIES AND TROUBLES FROM SOFTWARE.
• DEMAND FORECASTING
• INVENTORY MANAGEMENT AND SCHEDULING
• FALL OF NIKE PROFIT IN 1991
12. RECOMMENDATION
• COMPANY SHOULD FOLLOW CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.
• NIKE SHOULD WORK WITH GENERAL FEDERATION OF LABOUR AND LABOUR UNION.
• NIKE SHOULD WITH OTHER SHOE MANUFACTURERES, PROVIDE FAIR WAGES TO THE WORKERS.
• NIKE CAN OPEN ITS OWN BRANDED STORE AND MANAGE ITS SUPPLY AND INVENTORY CONTROL
ON IT’S OWN.
• THEY CAN ASK CONSUMERS THEIR NEEDS BY TAKING SURVEY AND PRODUCE ACCORDING TO IT.
• PRODUCE THE REQUIRED AMOUNT TO AVOID EXCESS INVENTORY.
• NIKE SHOULD KEEP ON CHECKING THE PROGRESS OF THEIR
COMPANY IN ORDER TO STAY IN THE MARKET.
