Nike: Marketing Strategy Review

This paper discusses the different marketing strategies employed by Nike as a multinational brand to achieve global recognition and flourish as a successful sportswear business.

SERVICE MARKETING
Nike: Marketing Strategy Review
4/17/2019
NIKE
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Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Marketing Strategies...................................................................................................................................2
Product....................................................................................................................................................2
Market Segmentation..............................................................................................................................2
Promotion................................................................................................................................................3
Use of Social Media.................................................................................................................................3
Placement................................................................................................................................................3
Distribution Strategy...............................................................................................................................3
Pricing......................................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................4

Introduction
Nike is a world renowned brand which deals in sportswear. It sells apparel, sports shoes, gaming
equipments and accessories etc. The company is a multinational corporation in America and has
its headquarters in Portland Metropolitan Area.
Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), was founded by University of Oregon
track athlete Phil Knight and his coach, Bill Bowerman, on January 25, 1964.11. Over the years,
Nike has grown multi-fold and spread all across the globe providing employment to thousands of
people while serving to millions.
Needless to say, the company has some solid marketing strategies in play through which, the
brand has been able to create an empire of leading product seller in the globe. As of 2017, the
Nike brand is valued at $29.6 billion(David, 2017). Nike ranked No. 89 in the 2018 Fortune 500
list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue(Greene, 2018).
This paper aims to discuss the different marketing strategies that have been employed by Nike as
a multinational brand which help it to achieve global recognition and flourish as successful
sportswear business.
Marketing Strategies
There are a number of marketing strategies that Nike uses to proliferate its business. These are
discussed in detail below.
Product
Market Segmentation
Market segmentation happens to be an important strategy for a company to consider when it
wants to hit and expand to its audience. Sportsmen are the majority consumers of Nike’s
products(Parker, 20).
This segmentation allows the brand to filter the specifications and needs of its target audience.
By providing a good quality product to its audience, Nike wins the business game by specifically
targeting athletes and sportspeople.

Promotion
Use of Social Media
In today's date more and more people have and spend time on their smart phones than ever. Nike
realized this and decided to turn this into an opportunity. Margot vs. Lily is a YouTube original
series centered around two sisters, and it features Nike merchandise like shoes, workout gear,
and Nike+ technology(Islam, 2017). The series has over 80 million views. Taking advantage of
the internet, Nike has been able to advertise itself to a huge audience with the power of social
media.
Placement
Distribution Strategy
Not only in stores, but Nike is selling its products over the internet as well. Nike distributes its
products worldwide through different channels such as resellers, supermarkets, e-commerce
sites, retailers, licensees and company-owned outlets(Bhasin, 2018). Nike owns over 700 factory
outlets, and it also has its subsidiaries which drive traffic back to the parent brand.
Pricing
Nike's products are adequately priced. They happen to have a value based as well as a premium
pricing strategy. The value based strategy considers the maximum amount their customers are
willing to spend ok their products. In relation, the premium pricing strategy involves high prices,
based on a premium branding strategy that establishes Nike products as higher in quality and
value than competing products. Nike collaborates with top athletes of the world as a marketing
strategy. This definitely helps the company to not only spread brand awareness but often also
results in high sales and fans tend to buy what their favorite celebrity athletes advertise.
Conclusion
Nike has been a world recognized brand for a very long time now even though it started with a
completely different name as well as identity. As for its marketing strategies, Nike has been able
to deploy a number of effective techniques which have deemed successful results.

Nike has also been able to set an example of how marketing can be done using current trends
such as use of social media. While other brands also utilize social media for marketing,
advertising through a YouTube series definitely was a game changer. With its fresh and
innovative ideas, the brand is sure to go places.
Pricing a product is one of the most important things when it comes to flourishing a successful
brand. Nike prices its products at a price where it's target audience is satisfied enough to buy
quality shoes, accessories and sportsgear time and again. All in all, the marketing strategies that
the company has used have resulted in increased sales and revenues. Not only that, but over the
years, Nike has become known all over the world as one of the top brands which deal in
sportswear, sports equipment and accessories.

REFERENCES-
Bhasin, H. (2018, March 6). Marketing Strategy of Nike – Nike Marketing Strategy. Retrieved from
marketing91.com: https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-strategy-nike/
David, H. (2017, March 3). THE WORLD'S MOST VALUABLE BRANDS 2017. Retrieved from Forbes.com:
https://www.forbes.com/pictures/591c87fc31358e03e5593101/16-nike/#3bbbcb083bca
Greene, P. (2018, December 15). Fortune 500 Companies 2018: Who Made the List. Retrieved from
Fortune.com: http://fortune.com/fortune500/list/
Islam, Z. (2017, March 9). Nike’s Brilliant Marketing Strategy – Why You Should Be (Just) Doing it Too.
Retrieved from referralcandy.com: https://www.referralcandy.com/blog/nike-marketing-
strategy/
Parker, O. (20, August 2013). Marketing Strategy of Nike. Retrieved from sales-management-slides.com:
http://sales-management-slides.com/marketing-strategy-of-nike/