Marketing Spotlight Nike.doc

Marketing Spotlight : NikeNike hit the ground running in 1962. Originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports, the company focused on providing high-quality shoes designed especially for athletes by athletes. Founder Philip Knight believed that high-tech shoes for runners could be manufactured at competitive prices if imported from abroad. The companys commitment to designing innovative footwear for serious athletes helped it build a cult following among American consumers By 1980, Nike had become the number-one athletic shoe company in the U.S.From the start, Nikes marketing campaigns features winning athletes as spokespeople. The company signed on its first spokesperson, runner Steve Prefontaine, in 1973. Prefontaines irreverent attitude matched Nikes spirit. Marketing campaigns featuring winning athletes made sense. Nike saw a pyramid of influence it saw that product and brand choices are influenced by the preferences and behaviour of a small percentage of top athletes. Using professional athletes in its advertising campaigns was both efficient and effective for Nike.In 1985, Nike signed up the then young and unknown, guard Michael Jordan as a spokesperson. Nikes gamble paid off. The Air Jordan line of basketball shoes flew off the shelves, with revenues of over $100million in the first year alone. Jordan also helped build the psychological image of the Nike brand. Phil Knight said sports are at the heart of American culture, so a lot of emotion already exists around it. Emotiona are always hard to explain but theres something inspirational about watching athletes push the limits of performance. You cant explain much in 60 seconds but when you show Michael Jordan, you dont have to.In 1988 Nike aired its first ads in the Just Do It ad. Campaign. The $20million month-long blitz subtly encouraging Americans to participate more actively in sports featured 12 TV spots in all. The campaign challenged a generation of athletic enthusiasts to chase their goals, it was a natural development of Nikes attitude of self-empowerment through sports. The campaign featured celebrities and noncelebrities. One noncelebrity ad. Featured Walt Stack, an 80-year old long-distance runner, running across the Golden Gate bridge as part of his morning routine. The Just Do It trailer appeared on the screen as the shirtless Stack ran on a cold morning. Talking to the camera as it zoomed in, and while still running, Stack remarked people ask me how I keep my teeth from chattering when its cold. Pausing, Stack replied, I leave them in my locker.As Nike began expanding overseas in Europe, it found that its American-style ads. were seen as too aggressive. The brand image was perceived as too fashion-oriented. Nike realized that it had to authenticate its brand in Europe the way it had in America. That meant building credibility and relevance in European sports, especially football. Nike became actively involved as a sponsor of football leagues, local clubs and national teams. Authenticity required that consumers see the product being used by athletes, especially by athletes who win. The big break came in 1994, when the Brazillian team (the only national team for which Nike had sponsorships) won the world cup. The victory allowed Nike to sign other winning teams, and by 2003 overseas revenues surpassed U.S revenues for the first time. Nike also topped $10billion in sales for the first time in that year as well.Today, Nike dominates the athletic footwear market. Nine of the 10 top-selling basketball shoes, for example, are Nikes. Nike introduces hundreds of shoes each year for 30 sports averaging one new shoe style every day of the year. Swooshes abound on everything from wrist watches to golf clubs to swimming caps.Discussion Questions1. Using classical conditioning learning theory, explain how Nike has built the brand ?2. Making use of motivation theory, discuss consumer motivation behind a Nike purchase ?3. How has Nike kept the brand fresh over the years?4. What future recommendations do you have to make Nike an even more successful brand?5. Apply each stage of the typical consumer decision-making process to the purchase of a pair of Nike running shoes .Just doing itBy LIU JIE (China Daily)Updated: 2008-04-07 07:18 Sports apparel giant Nike recently launched its 2008 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) China report, which highlights its efforts to improving working conditions in its contract factories through a holistic, integrated business approach to its supply chain.Nike entered China in 1981 with its sponsorship of the Chinese National Basketball Team, and has since turned the country into its largest single sourcing market and second-largest consumer source.Today, Nike's manufacturers in China employ more than 210,000 workers. About one out of every three pairs of Nike shoes it sells is made in China.Global strategyAccording to the CSR report, Nike addresses working conditions through a strong commitment to transparency and informed, constructive dialogue with contract factory management, shareholders and the broader industry.It believes that addressing these issues not only benefits workers but also can be a catalyst for growth and innovation within Nike.The report says that Nike believes it cannot make good shoes in bad factories.Globally, Nike has set an aggressive target for corporate responsibility by 2010. Key labor condition targets include eliminating excessive overtime, implementing tailored human resource management systems and education training for workers and implementing freedom of association educational programs in all its contract factories.Worker profileNike estimates that 80 percent of its workers in its global supply chain are women ages 18 to 24. In China, typically more than 70 percent of workers at Nike-contracted factories are young women who have migrated from rural areas to coastal regions.Nike says it works with contract factories to help them more effectively communicate with these migrant workers, help them understand their rights and ensure they receive the same entitlements and benefits as local workers, and accommodate their basic social needs, the report says.As an example, three contract factories based in coastal Qingdao recruited workers from Northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. They are largely minority nationalities, far from home, and regional cultural and linguistic differences also create communication issues.To help the workers adjust, all three factories have established new cafeteria facilities to prepare food that meets their religious requirements, facilities for prayer and guest rooms in the workers' dormitories to host visiting family members.China labor lawLast year, China passed important legislation intended to increase protection of workers' rights - the Labor Contract Law and the Employment Promotion Law.The Labor Contract Law expands rights for individual employees and enhances collective rights through unions and employee representative congresses. And the latter is an important addition to workers' right legislation.Nike says it supports a regulatory environment that strengthens legal protection for workers and promotes decent working conditions.To help factories and workers understand the law, it conducted training in contracted factories. Nearly 90 percent of contracted factories participated in this initial forum, and other briefings were held as the implementing regulations were issued.Since the law went into effect on January 1 several cases have been reported of workers using the new regulations to obtain their rights, including overtime pay, equal employment and social insurance.Constructive partnershipAccording to the report, the top three management issues arising from Nike's audit in China in 2007 are an inadequate system to enforce compliance with Nike's code of conduct, lack of knowledge and training around compliance, as well as insufficient communication internally and externally.Other labor-related challenges include falsification of factory documents, such as payroll records, lack of effective grievance systems for workers; hiring practices to ensure minimum wage standards are met and high worker turnover.Nike says it is addressing these issues through a master action plan that includes a list of prioritized actions agreed to by Nike and factory management. Together with the contract factory, it uses the plan to track progress.The company expects revenues in China to reach $1 billion this fiscal year, contributing to total Nike Inc revenues of more than $16 billion.(China Daily 04/07/2008 page8) 窗体顶端Comments (total 0)   Print This Article    E-mail   窗体底端