The
documentary video about Nike from 2008 by CNBC called "Inside the Swoosh”
told the story of how small idea became the Empire known as Nike. This video presented an unprecedented look inside Nike's
$16 billion empire, The Visionaries of Nike, The Elite Athletes, and most
importantly The Shoes. Nike marketing strategy is developed around one the most
well known slogans in the world “Just Do It”. The “Just Do It” slogan has stood
tall throughout the life of Nike. This slogan has become of the most well-known
phrases in the world. The key concept to Nike’s marketing strategy is simple,
they obtain the best athletes in the world to market their brand for them.
Their biggest
strategy move in their history was when they signed young NBA rookie to half
million dollar contract. Nike also promised this rookie his very own shoe
contract. The name of this rookie was Michael Jordan, and he would eventually
go down as the greatest basketball player to ever play the game. From a
business aspect, Nike developed Michael Jordan’s which was named “Jordan”. In
2007 the popular Jordan had a gross profit of $800 million, this was $100
million less than the entire company made 23 years earlier. Even more wide
opening statistic is that Jordan products have doubled in profit since Michael
Jordan’s retirement in the early 2000’s. The Jordan exploded, the shoes were
then worn by R&B and Boyz II Men as the music awards in 2008. Everyone
wanted to be a part of the Jordan Brand. Nike then wanted to penetrate the
skate boarding market by using the same marketing strategy they did with
Jordan. Nike would continue this trend of paying famous athletes to market
their product for them. This list includes Lebron James, Chris Paul, Tiger
Woods, Carmelo Anthony, and many more.
Nike approached the skate boarding market, the same way they approached the basketball market. Nike went on to sign a young skater by the name
Paul Rodriguez to promote their product. Unlike the success that Nike achieved
in the basketball world, they struggled to find the same success in skate
boarding market. Many of the experienced skate boarders were against Nike entering
the skate boarding market. The skating world pushed hard to make the younger
generation of Nike entering this market. They even developed their own slogan “Don’t
Do It”. They believed that Nike would bankrupt the small skating boarding
companies that were developed specifically for skater. Eventually the Nike
empire broke through by redesigning their own shoe brand, and having their well
skaters market them for Nike. In my eyes, not everything that did to become an empire was on completely ethical. From trying to bankrupt small skating boarding companies to allowing child labor in poor countries. Though these aren't completely ethical situations, Nike has has been good as accepting the the ownership of their flaws, and has been good about correcting these issues.
Nike has
become one most using effective marketing strategies to the masses. For as long
as I have been lived, Nike has dominated the other appeal brands. I have always
bought Nikes brands and will continue to buy them. This is because I feel Nike
has the best quality when it comes to apparel wear. The “Just Do It” campaign has only become more
popular, and now it seems that this campaign is everywhere. Nike recently has
taken over the football world by having contracts with over 90% of college
teams in the United States, and recently owning every NFL teams appeal. Even
with all this happing in the United States, most of the Nike’s profit comes
from overseas. It’s simple, Nike has become the most popular appeal company in
the world, by using effective marketing.
After the
analyzing the distribution channels between Nike and Under Armour, both have
unique styles of distributions. Nike’s distribution is centered on its products
through three major channels. The first channel is by selling products to
wholesalers in the United States and international markets. Sales to
wholesalers has the largest profit gain in the Nike distribution channel.
Selling to wholesalers accounts for more than 80% of the sales in the past two
fiscal years. The second channel is by direct-to-consumer sales, which includes
online sales and factory retail outlets. This style of distribution has grown
16% to 20% over the past two fiscal years. It has been the fast growing style
of distribution for Nike. Nike is has been focusing on its direct selling to
the consumer with its DTC initiative. The third style of distribution is the
sales to global brand divisions. Compared to Under Armour, Nike has a much larger
international revenue. Since 2009, Nike profits have increased every year. Key component
to this style of distribution, has been their profits in China and emerging
markets. Under Armour is also based on three styles of distribution. The style
of distribution is the expansion of in the number of whole doors, which would
include the shop in shop partnerships. This would their primary channel for
their company in the United States This accounts for more than 65% of their
company’s total sales this past year. The second distribution channel for Under
Armour is the multiple stores opening within the United States and overseas.
Under Armour has been pushing strongly to pursuing expansions, which lead to a
rapid growth with the company. Finally, has also experienced growth from their
Connected Fitness platform. Under Armour gained positive revenues in both
category and channel, company-wide. Overall both companies have continued to
grow over the past decade, but Under Armour has excelled in growth. This is mainly due to
their aggressive style of marketing, and their willingness to expand rapidly. On the other hand Nike has a strong foundation within the market, and will
continue to dominate the retail world. 
