BRAND REPORT ON NIKE

INTRODUCTION
The aim of this report will be primarily to assess the marketing strategy of Nike as a brand across all
products within its umbrella such as shoes, bags, sports accessories, etc. The analysis will be done using
the segmentation, targeting, and positioning and differentiation strategies of the brand. This will lead to an
analysis and understanding of the brand awareness and brand image of the organization. Nike Inc. as an
organization is one of the leading global brands for athletic shoes, sports accessories, equipment and
apparels. The organization has a strong brand reputation across the globe, a fact also justified by its huge
revenue of around $31 Billion in the year 2015 (Nike, 2016).

Marketing Strategy
Nikes marketing strategies are one of the most globally successful strategies despite the high competition
and aggressiveness the brand faces across the globe. The brand sponsors several sports teams as well as
famous sportsperson using them as the brand ambassadors of the company. Some of the globally
recognized trademarks of the company are SWOOSH and Just Do It (Mahdi, et al., 2015).

Segmentation
Given the high volume of customers and spread of the geography, Nike has several segmentation
strategies that are being followed. One of the major segmentation strategies of Nike is based on
demography as majority of the loyal customers of Nike are from the young generations belonging to the
age group of 12-35 years (Hanrahan, 2007). Another basis of market segmentation is geography which
basically affects the income and expenditure level of the consumers. For instance, the products sold by
Nike in geographies such as India and China are much cheaper than those sold in Europe. Another major
base of segmentation is the psychographics which are basically the lifestyle and personality indicators of
a population. For instance, the fashion conscious customer might like to buy the latest trending Nike
products.

Targeting
Based on the major segmentation strategies, the target groups of Nike vary in age, geography and
psychographic characters. The major target groups of Nike can be segmented as the young aged
customers between the age group of 12-35 years. These segments targeted also consist of customers who

are sportspersons and prefer products for specific sports like football, jogging, etc. The targeting of Nike
is also based on psychographic factors such as attitudes and presents their products in a manner that
generates desire for the products for people in these segments. The targeting strategy of Nike is also based
on sports such as in USA it markets and sells a huge variety of Rugby shoes and in India cricket shoes;
games that are popular in the respective countries (Magretta, 2002).

Positioning
According to Drakulevski & Nakov, (2014), the effective marketing mix program of Nike is built keeping
in mind the brand positioning in the target market.

Product

Price

Promoti
on

Place

Fig: 4Ps of Marketing of Nike (Keller, 2008)

The 4P strategy of Nike is effectively designed to sustain its positioning in the competitive market. The
products of Nike are primarily positioned for customers involved with some kind of sports or athletics.
The primary attributes of the products are designed to provide comfort and ruggedness, necessary for
sports. The pricing of products of Nike is also usually higher than the normal products in the same
category. This also provides a sense of high end brand and high quality to its customers. The place of the
brand on online and offline market is usually associated with some kind of sports related branding (Nike,
2016). This again aids in positioning the brand for the targeted market. The promotional strategies of the
brand are also implemented using famous sports teams and high profile players with global recognition.
This again strengthens the brand positioning.

Brand Awareness
Brand awareness is an effective and essential component of any business in this competitive environment.
Nike has been extremely successful in creating its brand awareness. The Swoosh symbol of the brand

has been made extremely popular by using it in all the product, billboards, advertisements etc. Swoosh
has been made so popular that it has been made synonymous with energy, passion and sportsman spirit.
For instance, in one of the sports illustrated column the title Swooshification of the World has also been
used as a title of an article (Keller, 2008). The brand recognition of the Nike brand is extremely high in
major markets across the globe such as USA, UK and other nations. The investment done by Nike to
create brand awareness is thus also impressive and effective as the organization understands the
importance of brand awareness. For instance, according to Carlson & Donavan (2008), the investment of
Nike on brand awareness was as high as $1.6 billion in the year 2007 (Carlson & Donavan, 2008).

Brand Potential
The above analysis of Nike as a global brand shows the high potential Nike has as a brand and product.
Nike is a renowned brand with huge potential to strengthen its positioning and control over the market.
There can be certain recommendations that can be provided to Nike to improve and strengthen its
potential as a global brand.

Pricing

Other
Adventure
s

Nik
e

Technolog
y based
Company

Counterfei
t
Protection

Fig: Recommendations for Potential recognition for Nike (Hanrahan, 2007)

Other Adventures: Along with sports, there are several other adventures such as fishing, hiking,

river drafting, etc. that Nike can target as a target market.

Technology based Company: Nike could do joint venture with technological companies such as
Apple and IPod and create new markets and product packages (Hanrahan, 2007).

Pricing: Nike should also work more on the pricing front to attract the middle class customers

across the globe.

Counterfeit Protection: Nike should act more aggressively to stop counterfeit products from being
sold and harming the brand name of Nike.

Conclusion
The analysis shows that Nike is a well-known brand with high brand reputation and brand image across
the globe. The company deals with several products, mostly in the domain of sports and related industries.
The brand has a strong image with brand titles such as Swoosh which are globally known and
acknowledged as successful marketing strategies. However, as discussed above the brand is too much
focused on sports and related events to maintain its existence and brand image. The brand awareness of
Nike is also very high (Drakulevski & Nakov, 2014). The brand is already one of the most popular brands
across the globe, but there is still a lot of scope for the brand to improve and strengthen its market
position.

Bibliography
Carlson, B. & Donavan, T., 2008. Concerning the Effect of Athlete Endorsements on
Brand and Team-Related Intentions. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 17(3), pp. 154-162.
Drakulevski, L. & Nakov, L., 2014. Managing Business Model as Function of
Organizational Dynamism, Serbia: International Symposium.
Hanrahan, W., 2007. Business Environmental Audit Critically assess the strategic
Direction of the Nike brand, Tyne: University of Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Keller, K., 2008. Best practice cases in branding: lessons from the world's strongest
brands. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice-Hall.
Magretta, J., 2002. Why Business Models Matter. Harvard Business Review, Volume
5, pp. 86-92.
Mahdi, H., Abbas, M. & Mazar, T., 2015. A Comparative Analysis of Strategies and
Business Models of Nike, Inc. and Adidas Group with special reference to
Competitive Advantage in the context of a Dynamic and Competitive Environment.
International Journal of Business Management and Economic Research(IJBMER),
6(3), pp. 167-177 .
Nike, 2016. Annual Report, USA: Nike.