Nikes marketing strategy rested entirely upon a brand image which is favourable and has evolved into a great multinational enterprise over time. The favourable brand image has been kept afloat due to the strong association with the Nikes logo which is quite distinctive and the slogan Just Do It which has been used in advertisement for quite some time. The company has been known to invest heavily in advertisements and brand promotion (Fill C, 2005 p.54).
Market Segmentation
Most of the consumers of Nikes products are mainly sportsmen. This is so because of the utility that comes with the products. An athlete is more likely to go a sports shoe designed and marketed by Nike more than a person who detests sporting and exercises. Nike targets these consumers by agreements between Nike and athletic teams, colleges athletic teams1 etc for product sponsorship and eventual promotion to the members of these teams. In this way, Nike is able to reach a wide number of consumers and consumers who are more likely to buy. Even though others are likely to buy the products, Nike pays specific emphatic targeting to the athlete more than any group of individuals even though it also targets the youth who have embraced the hip hop culture (Mercer David, 1996, pp 171).
Targeting strategies
Nike lays a number of strategies to target their immediate consumers; athletes and other sportsmen. The targeting strategies include among others the sponsorship of products by professional athletic teams, celebrity athletes and college athletic teams. This strategy is specifically successful because of its ability to reach a large number of athletes. If the athletic team manager prescribes a specific type of track shoes made by Nike, the trainees have no option other than to buy them. The teams can as well buy the track shoes in bulky and supply them to the team members.
The second strategy that Nike applies is the designing of product destination. It does this by associating success with the product. For example, when a celebrity athlete sponsors a specific brand of athletic shoes, the brand will be associated with success. This psychological effect is reinforced with advertisements that affirm this position.
Finally, Nike targets the consumers who are likely to develop product intimacy; those who care more about the utility and quality of the product than the price. In this way, the pricing is not affected too much in a bid to accommodate a large number of consumers. However, price has also been factored in Nikes marketing strategies as shall be seen later in this paper (Frank, 2004, p.173)
Pricing Strategies
As stated in the foregoing section, Nike targets the consumers who embrace product intimacy and thus care less about the product. This has enables Nike to set relatively higher prices than its competitors. This is a strategy that calls for higher pricing points so as to push the perceived product value. It has been established that consumers who consider a product to be of high quality are likely to pay the high price more often and consistently. Once consumers develop product intimacy, they come to associate their person with the product and will pay whatever price quoted on the product provided it has the Nike logo on it.
Another very important thing to note is the fact that Nike uses the vertical integration pricing strategy in which they take ownership of the participants at channel levels that differ and they also engage in multifarious channel level operations both in a bid to control costs and thus influence pricing function (Goldman S, 2000, pp154)
Distribution Strategies
Distribution strategies embraced by an organization can either give them an edge in market or make them lag behind the winners in the market. The more efficient the product distribution is the more sales and thus more profits. The delivery of the right product and at the right time to the consumer not only effects utility but also leads to high degree of consumer satisfaction and loyalty. Nike distributes its products on level basis. The high priced premium products are given to certain distributors while leaving the low priced to be sold at highly discounted prices at mega retail stores such as Wal-Mart. Whereas Reebok embraced a limited distribution strategy Nike ventured more into a global3 market capitalization (Jeannet J, 2000, pp 44).
Promotional and Communication Strategies
Apart from Nike selling quality products which have lead to a high degree of customer loyalty, the promotional strategies that the company employs are simply superb. Nike has contracted a number of professional and celebrity athletes which have managed to draw a considerable attention to their products. Some of the sportsmen signed by Nike include soccer stars such as Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos, Basketballers such as Jermaine O’Neal and Lebron James2, triathlete Lance Armstrong and golf superstar Tiger Woods. This has created a relatively high degree of Nike products awareness. Besides the signing of celebrity sportsmen to promote their products, Nike has also employed a great deal of advertisements through the mass media. Nike employs a selective- demand advertisement focused on the high priced shoes used for traditional sports (Goldman S, 2000, pp154).
Conclusion
Nike has remained and continues to remain at the top of production and distribution of sports gear and equipment. However, it should be noted that competitive pressure cannot allow Nike to sleep at the top. The recent Reebok- Adidas merger poses a great challenge to devise new marketing strategies to continue leading or recede to oblivion. The following recommendations are suggested in a situation where marketing management is competent. These include:
Increased market share through a new product development, competent pricing strategies, advertisement and other sound promotional activities.
Restructure market dominance by driving away competitors mainly through fierce promotional strategy coupled by pricing function that will make the market quite unattractive for the competitors.
Increased social responsibility to strengthen the image of the company
Diversification of market through factoring the Asians and Black Americans in their product promotion besides doing a research to establish the tastes of these groups.
Venture into new distribution channels especially in international markets
Different pricing strategy so as to open up a new market segments.
All the above show a competent marketing management can hoist organizations top become market leaders and making the market leaders maintain their competitive edge in the market through adherence to marketing ethics, marketing plans and well thought out and formulated marketing strategies.
As humans, our strongest emotional responses – both positive and negative – come from visual cues. That’s precisely why the old adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” has more than a ring of truth to it. When you’re flipping through a magazine or surfing the Web, the photos are what make you stop and look. Today, the images that are most effective in capturing the attention of readers and web visitors alike can be summed up in three words: ocean, water, life.
Imagery is Everything
Those who are in the business of advertising or web design understand that developing a wonderful product or a website full of useful information is important, but it’s only one component of success. Choosing the proper imagery to communicate to the potential customer or visitor can result in resounding success, while selecting the wrong images can be disastrous in terms of sales and web “stickiness.”
Carefully selected images can help to establish and reinforce brand awareness, can help to target niche markets, and can help to build customer loyalty. Today, lifestyle photography is the primary means of conveying consumer messages -so much so that product photography is often a small element of a print advertising campaign or a web design.
Lifestyle Photography Conveys Concepts
The primary purpose of lifestyle photography is to convey concepts. For example, a photograph of waves lapping on the beach can convey relaxation, freedom, luxury, and promise. Photography of crashing waves can communicate agitation, strength, and persistence. Images of still water with stormy skies can convey turbulence, doubt, conflict, and confusion. A hand reaching out of the water can relay a message of hope or of hopelessness. Photography that depicts surfing can communicate youthful exuberance or a hip, active lifestyle.
Finding Unique, Captivating Images
If you use these types of ocean, water, and life images in your advertising campaigns or web design work, you know how frustrating it can be to find the right photography to communicate your key concepts. Most, if not all, major stock photography companies have either a limited number of images, or images that are dated. When you’re looking for unique images that evoke the proper emotional tone, it often pays to patronize smaller stock photography companies, particularly those that specialize in ocean, water, and life images. The images that will allow you to stand apart from your competition may very well come from a company that is steeped in the surf and water lifestyle.
Besides offering unique stock images, the right stock photography company should be able to offer you exclusive rights, should you so desire, should track the use of all photos, and should consider commission ideas. In other words, if you need a certain type of ocean, water, or life image, the company should consider shooting the image for you and then adding it to their stock catalog.
With ocean, water, and life photography quickly becoming the most common images used in advertising and web design, it’s important to find a stock photography company that can deliver the unique images that will give you the edge and set you apart from your competitors.
Brochures are one of the simplest and fastest ways for advertising one company. This is at the same time the cheapest marketing strategy so no wonder why so many companies worldwide opt right for this way of promotions. There are different types of brochures, but one of the most used ones is the tri fold brochures.
When creating a brochure, it is very important how it will look. The final product will depend on a variety of factors, but design is on the first place. You can find a lot of free tri fold brochure design templates online and therefore create the design of your choice that will at the same time represent your company in the best possible light. Free tri fold brochure design templates can be easily edited and adjusted for the company needs, but in some cases the help of professional designers might be of a big help.
However, if you have enough money to invest, however, there is no harm in getting your brochures professionally-designed. You can download these templates on many web sites, but it is very important that you look for files that are easily editable and adjustable using the design program that you are using.
Professional Brochure Design ideas
Professional brochure design can be obtained on various ways, but there are also a lot of different features that need to be taken into consideration. After deciding what kind of design you want, you need to get into contact with professional designers, printers, or suppliers. Whenever it is possible for you, make sure to consider samples of brochures and other similar materials.
Another thing that should be kept on mind when looking for professional brochure design ideas is the type of clientele you have in mind. For example, for any business that is trying to reach the high market, the final design of one brochure has to be elegant and exciting. If you are considering younger crowds of the market, then you should definitely think of designs with light design, fun designs, and such designs that will be able to highlight the different benefits of your products. This all leads to conclusion that any promotional material should be made based on the preferences of the market that you are trying to sell to.
Corporate Brochure Sample
A good corporate brochure samples can be the right choice for advertising your business. Brochures are used by many companies nowadays for advertising purposes and for spreading out the information about the products or services of one company.
Before you start creating your promotional brochures, it is not a bad idea at all looking at some corporate brochure samples that are available online, just for you to get the idea of how one successful or efficient advertising material should look like. There are a lot of such web sites where you can find corporate brochure sample materials. Some of those samples can be also edited, and this can save you a lot of work in the process of creating a brochure though which you will hopefully manage to attract new clients and business partners.
When creating a brochure, the design is one of the most important factors along with the useful and valuable information that will be shared with the audiences as well as the contact.
Advertising is a type of communication done through various media by industries, non profit organizations, business firms, individuals etc. Advertising actually informs and educates target audiences about a particular brand or service and influence them.
The job in advertising requires researching the client products and services, identifying the USP, briefing the team, coordinating with team and client, understanding the audience and delivering the best.
Advertising is one of the most important tools of marketing. People who are creative by nature can find advertising as their dream job. Today there is huge range of products and services in India. So advertising companies are hiring professionals to balance with the growing need.
There are professional training advertising institutes in India that offer diploma courses in advertising. Every company, organization use advertisement to promote their brand. Advertising job demands for qualifications and one can find a range of degrees and diploma courses available on journalism, mass communications and even public relations in advertisement.
Different types of advertising courses are offered in advertising institutes to cater to the specific needs of the field. The most popular among them are Diploma in Advertising, Diploma in Advertising & Communication Management, Diploma in Advertising & Marketing, and Diploma in Commercial Arts & Advertising. Some of the Advertising institutes offer Post Graduate Diplomas like PG Diploma in Advertising & Marketing Communication and PG Diploma in Public Relations & Advertising. Certificate courses of different duration are also available in this field.
The institutes offering the course are Futuristix Media Communication Centre, Sadhna Academy For Media Studies, Atharva School of Business, National Institute of Event Management, Delhi Film Institute, Genesis Institute of Business Management, Mass Co Media, Gecko Animation Institute, Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication, National Institute of Creative Communication etc.
As the communication and marketing technologies are growing, the advertising career is also growing. In return, it is opening vast opportunities for the talented advertising professionals. One can find job in Television, Newspaper, Websites, Radio etc.
In India, a career in advertising is booming. Advertising jobs have become quite popular. Youths having the desire to do something different are thronging the world of advertising today. Not just in India, but this career is highly in demand internationally.
To make an effective advertisement, the advertising personnel has to become a bridge between the customer group, the owner and the media in which the advertisement is to be featured.
Where Not to Put Your Money
Using and finding an online marketing plan that works is not easy. However, if you can wade through all of the list building and joint venture membership sites there are a few that actually work that will not break your bank. The biggest difference between a brick and mortar business and an internet business is a budget. Very few online advertisers give this any thought they just jump into a list building membership, pay their membership fee and find that it takes a lot more work than they are lead to believe. This generally leads to more money spent and sometimes show no inkling of a return on their investments i.e. more loss than gain.
AdSense a Better Investment of Your Time and Money
We see the billboard equivalent advertisements in the form of banners and popup windows with clickable links that drive traffic to the specific websites for the product and services presented. Moreover, the breakthrough that showed the most promise was a program called AdSense designed and implemented by Google. The AdSense advertising program innovated the industry of online advertising by integrating advertisements germane to specific websites that were similar to the products having representation by the banner and text ads. This would appear on the side panels at the top or bottom of a given website.
The biggest drawback of the list building and Joint Venture Memberships is that they sell no actual product or service. They sell systems and as usual not all systems work because at the start they become over populated within months, sometimes even weeks from the release and so no real money can be made using them. It is the same with affiliate programs. The only way to promote them, in a realistic manner is through an AdSense campaign. This targets your audience by putting ads on the side of search pages about similar websites to yours and you earn money through the amount of clicks and of course through selling the actual product or service associated with the affiliate program or your own service or product.
Coupled with an AdWords campaign
AdSense drives higher quality traffic through the keywords specified and congruent with the given product or service presented in the AdSense campaign. Move forward to the year 2014 and the internet, coupled with television make a match unsurpassed by any other combination of media in history. Add social media, which has integrated all forms of media like magazines, News shows, Sitcoms and any other type entertainment. So why not use AdSense to drive quality traffic it is cost effective and easy to put into action.