Nike - Good Brand V/s a Failed Brand

NIKE

Nike has been able to maintain the founding spirit of Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, who set out to make products that would serve and improve the performance of world class athletes. Nike’s revolution as a brand was to amplify the voice of the athlete. Through a mix of a provocative, imaginative and entertaining marketing that leveraged their athletes, Nike came to stand for both championship level performance and attitude. Nike found a way to be a sports brand that is rooted both in authentic sports and pop culture.

Nike reached a pinnacle of the sports world wasn't just because of their shoes which are remarkable but it dominates the sports industry because of their brilliant branding strategies. The major reasons Nike is the ruling king of branding:

I)    Association with The Biggest Names-

The company locked on Air Jordan’s (shoes worn by Michael Jordan) in 1984 and has never let it go. Nike also made a deal with Tiger Woods (greatest golfer of his generation), Derek Jeter (face of baseball since 2000) and Cristiano Ronaldo (one of the world’s most famous athletes). The company always locks on the “next big thing”, Rory Mcilroy (Woods’ heir apparent as the world’s best golfer) signed a 10year, $200 million sponsorship deal with Nike in 2013.

II)    Consistent with Their Message-

Their slogan ‘Just Do It’ has been the same for nearly 30 years and logo has been around even longer than that. The logo is one of the most easily recognized logos in the world, even being used in a silly anachronistic in the 2001 film A Knight’s Tale.

III)    Making an impression-

Nike is always ahead of their game and knows how to create campaigns that will lead people to talk about them. They have never been afraid of taking chances with their ad campaigns with commercials featuring Mars Blackmon proclaiming “It’s gotta’ be the shoes” to the showcase of a brutally black and white ad showing the emotional Tiger Woods being chastised by his father. The company makes commercial that people don't tend to replace it with any other ad.

The competitor that's gaining ground as of 2014 was Under Armour. This company is pursuing U.S sponsorship deals similar to Nike’s, giving it a growing part in the market revenue. In Europe, Adidas is developing new products to compete head to head with its major competitor(Nike).

Nike has been by far the best but its competitors do have some strong points like Adidas has a more established market in European countries, as well being firmly established in market segments domestically and abroad where it has significant brand loyalty relative to its competition. However, the company does not boast quite the same level of high-end sponsored athletes, which could harm its perceived values relative to the other two companies.