Analysis of Advertisement of Nike - Essay Example

? Analysis of Advert Contents Introduction to Consumer Behaviour 3 Nike: Ad Appeal 3 Marketing Concept 4 Segmentation 4 Market Targeting 5 Positioning 6 The Marketing Mix 6 Other Factors 8 Consumer Decision Process 11 Conclusion 11 Reference 13 Introduction to Consumer Behaviour Consumer behaviour is said to be dynamic, complex multidimensional and the marketing decision are based on the assumption of consumer behaviour. Consumer behaviour can be defined as reflection of consumer’s decisions in regards to consumption, acquisition and also dispositions of goods and services, experiences, activities and ideas mad by human decision unit. Thus consumer behaviour mean more than the feeling involved with the consumer on buying tangible products like automobiles or bath soaps (Hoyer, & Macinnis, 2008, p. 3). Marketing strategy is a plan to which the firms should adhere to so to have an upper hand over its competitors and plans to achieve the desired objectives. In formulation of the marketing strategy and to sell the product effectively, analysis of cost benefit should be undertaken. Nike: Ad Appeal Nike is the leading innovator in footwear for the athletic including apparels, accessories and equipment. Mission of Nike is to bring inspiration along with innovation to each and every athlete across the globe. Nike’s consumer affairs mission aims to provide the customers with the highest standard of service building loyal consumer relationship across the globe (Nike, 2011). The above prints advertisement describes the advertising strategy along with the aim and motive of the company. Nike mission is to provide innovative and comfortable footwear, apparel and other accessories to the athletic around the world and this is depicted truly through the above given prints advertisements. One of the most famous and recognized slogans in the history of advertising was coined by Nike employees and was given the title of “Just do it.” Nike as a brand has proved to be strong and can be placed in the rarefied air of resistant in accordance to recession with some of the consumer giants like Proctor & Gamble, Coca Cola and Gillette. One of the major strength of Nile is its branding and as a result the consumers are willing to pay more for the brands which are superior in regards to style, quality and also reliability. Nike with its “Just Do It” campaign was able to increase the domestic share and worldwide sales. The campaign had captured the corporate philosophy of determination, grit and of course passion. Nike is known for determination, detachment and unsentimental attitude. However with its campaign of “Just Do It” it was able to reassure the consumers that Nike was a quality brand. Celebrity endorsement has also appealed to consumers and it became a self fulfilling image (CFAR, 1998). Marketing Concept The marketing concept will take into consideration the following which help to determine the marketing strategy of Nike and further implementation on the same. Segmentation Segmentation is necessary for business to perform as it helps the firm to differ its product from its competitors which gives rise to healthy competition. All consumers are not alike and thus different consumers have different types of needs and thus by segmentation the market place and by choosing the target market, companies will be able t provide all the benefits to its desired market segment. Once the target market has been identified along with the segment the company will be able to decide on the mode of advertising. The prints ads of Nike clearly have indicated the segment that Nike caters to. In all the prints ads of Nike along with the two print ads shown in this section determine the segment of Nike. Nike has segmented its product for the young and for the middle aged people within the age group of 20 to 50 years. Based on economic segmentation Nike has segmented its product accordingly to the lifestyles of high, medium and also for the low end customers. Geographically Nike has segmented the market into various segments comprising of north, west, south and east, which means globally (Deng, 2009). Market Targeting The target market of Nike is the athletics from across the world. The print ads of Nike clearly describe the target markets which are the athletics. Apart from the athletics Nike has targeted the normal consumers with a message behind the campaign of Nike’s “Just Do It” is to lose weight either by running, joining a sport and others. The campaign of Nike wants its target market to stop procrastinating and hence start exercising. Through the campaign of “Just Do it”, Nike was able to tap the craze of fitness among the target customers. Nike is constantly looking to target new customer base understand the influencers and use new and exciting channels for promoting its product (Jones, 2009). Criteria for effective targeting are based on five factors which include, identifiable which means that the target market should be able to find the characteristic which the company have chosen for segmentation. Next factor is that the segment chosen should be sizeable which means the market should be large enough to generate profit for the company. The segment chosen should be stable allowing the company to experiment with the product and attains a guarantee that the target market will not change very quickly. Group of consumers should be accessible and affordable and lastly the target market needs to be congruent with the resources and objectives of the company. Nike tends to follow all the five criteria and is one of the most famous brand and its advertisements are among the most recalled advertisements. Positioning Nike has positioned them as a brand that seeks to serve the athletics across the globe with their quality and innovative shoes, apparels and accessories. With its advertisements campaign, “Just Do It” it has further positioned the brand as a motive to stay fit and has targeted a large portion of the population ranging from the young people to the mid age people. It has positioned through various celebrities such as Tiger Wood who has helped Nike to position themselves as inspirational through the inspirational stories, through emotional connection and motivating the target customers. The Marketing Mix The marketing mix is recognized as one of the most important and essential concepts in marketing. It tends to describe the products along with the tools which the company offers to its target customers. The product includes name, feature and design; Place includes the price, payment methods, discount; Promotion are the method through which company let the customers knows about its product and their benefits. Nike has positioned itself as a global sport shoe giant company and is the largest seller of footwear globally with a global share of 33%. The marketing mix of Nike is as follows, Product: Nike offers a wide range of apparel, shoe accessories along with other equipment product. Nike provides various design, feature packaging along with various brands under its belly along with extra facilities such as warranty and after sale services. Nike various products and brand caters to the different market segment and individuals. The brand also offers customized designs products. For example Nike provides customization of shoe through their site at Nike.com. Over the years Nike has designed world class shoes and has been innovating new designs and patterns to attract its target customers. Price: Nikes pricing strategy has been designed keeping in mind the competition in the fashion shoe retailers. The pricing strategy of Nike is based on premium pricing strategy and makes use of the vertical integration where Nike participates at different level of channels which in turn controls costs and helps to influence the product pricing. Nike has targeted mainly the high end consumer market and with high disposable income demands for better and innovative products. Therefore it can be said that the pricing strategy of Nike is to provide value to its end consumers and earn maximum profits. Nike also provides discounts during special occasion such as festivals and others. Place: Nike products are displayed by various multi brand stores and exclusively at Nike stores around the world. Nike sells its products to about 20,000 retailers alone in the US an in about 200 countries across the globe. In the global market Nike sells its product through distributors, licensees and also through subsidiaries. The independent distributors need not requires adapting against the local pressure as the 4ps of the marketing mix are handled by the distributors. In addition to the above, Nike also sells it product through online marketing and various factory outlets. Promotion: Nike has promoted its product with the help of media such as television, magazines, outdoor, and through the internet. The overall promotional techniques revolve around communicating the brand value and states that Nike is a feeling, an emotion attracting the consumers. Nike has promoted the products through all forms of media such as through spokesperson and famous athletic personalities like Tiger Wood. Nike has always been able to hire the top athletes from across the globe associated with various sports like basketball, football, golf, Olympics sports and others in endorsing the brand leaving a brand image of perfection among the target customers. The brand has also promoted by associating the brand with inspirational stories of athletics revolving around fitness and sports. Emotional connection is another factor through which Nike has promoted its brand and product to the target customers. Other Factors Motivation: Nike through its campaign has introduced a short yet simple and catchy slogan “Just Do It” which is easy to remember and at the same time it is motivating and inspiring encouraging the consumer to exercise and stay healthy and perhaps purchase a pair of Nike footwear. With this campaign Nike was able to influence the consumers, people who played sports and also those who did not and as per reports about 80% of the consumers purchased Nike products just to fulfil the desire of owning Nike. The advertisements displayed by Nike are motivational and inspiring and aims to encourage the people to work out and conquer most difficult challenges. Nike motivates the world. The advertisement “I can” is one of the inspiring commercial advertisements by Nike. The ad encourages believing in oneself and thus conquering all the fears (Paul, 2011). Nike has applied the theory of expectancy which aims to achieve desirable outcomes. Consumers tend to chose one brand over other because they believe the desired brand to yield positive result. With respect to needs, Nike satisfies the “Hedonic Needs” which are subjective and also experiential. Consumer tends to own Nike product in order to satisfy their desire of owning one (Blythe, 2008, p.45). Attitudes: Attitudes are highly essential in the theories of consumer behaviour. Attitudes are important for marketers as they tend to summaries the evaluation of brand or company and thus represent a positive or negative feeling along with behavioural tendencies. Advertisements are used in order to create favourable attitudes in accordance to new products or brands, reinforce the existing favourable attitudes and change the negative attitudes associated with the brand (Belch, 2003, p. 117). Nike is known for its determination, detachment and unsentimental attitude which can also be said to be cool. The new advertisement of has helped Nike to retained the attitude but most of the advertisements based on the slogan of “Just Do It” incorporated jokes, implicit and explicit in order to make point (CFAR, 1998). The ad poster shown in the figure describes the attitude of the footballer and seeks to make a difference. And similarly the next poster determines the attitude of life towards an individual. Perception: Nike has been able to create a perception in the minds of the target customers as a brand that tends to produce quality products. Consumers perceive Nike to be higher in quality as compared to its competitors like Adidas and Reebok but at the same time it is much more expensive than the other sports brands (Siemers, 2011). As per a survey conducted by media curves, consumers generated about 69% indicating favourable perception about the brand Nike before they were made to watch respective advertisement of Nike and about 64% after watching the advertisements (Media Curves, n.d). The advertisements of Nike have always intended to create a positive perception in the minds of the target customers. Consumer gets a feeling to work out and stay fit after viewing the ads of Nike. One of the advertisements of Nike which featured Lance Armstrong racing up mountainside and at the same time driven by voices of survivors of cancer patients announcing the hopes, dreams and goals of the survivors, generating a perception of being strong and a will to survive. Risk: In consumer point of view, it can be said that the type of risk that consumer seeks is perceived risk which is defined as uncertainty which consumer faces when they are not able to counter the consequences of the purchase decision. Risk which cannot be perceived cannot influence the behaviour of the consumer. Types of perceived risk that consumer perceives are such as functional risk, a risk of non performance of the product; physical risk, financial risk which indicates the product is not worth the cost; social risk, psychological risk and time risk (Schiffman, 1998, p. 191). With respect to Nike, it has taken a risk and has endorsed Tiger Woods even after all the controversy that aroused around Tiger Woods and it proves the risk taking attitude of Nike and further Tiger Wood has helped Nike to increase and boost its sales. Consumer Decision Process In the process of buying products mainly when it is expensive or new consumers tends to follow the consumer decision making process which includes need recognition, information search, evaluating the alternatives available, purchase the product and post purchase behaviour of the consumer (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2011, p. 189). Nike tends to influence the purchasing decision of its target consumers through the advertisements made in television, posters and other modes adopted by Nike to promote its brand and product. Nike makes use of celebrities, spoke person in endorsing its brand and is one of the most famous way of influencing the consumers. Nike has used Michael Jordon to endorse the brand along with Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods and other famous personalities. Conclusion In conclusion it can be stated that Nike’s advertisements plays a key role in determining the purchase decision of the brand and in influencing the consumer to buy the product. In all the advertisements whether the ads are shown in television or print media like poster, banner Nike aim is to encourage the target consumer to get up and start working out and stay fit. Nike ads are highly motivational and inspirational which also helps consumers to decide on the purchasing factors. Nike has been regarded as a brand for sports athletics but now it has positioned indicating the products not only for sports person but also for the normal people just with motivation to stay fit and with zeal to work out. The report shows various advertisements each one of it representing the purpose such as motivating, creating a positive perception, risks taking attitude among others. Nike has been able to recognize the need of consumers and way to influence the purchase behaviour of the target market. And finally it can be said that Nike motivates the world. Reference Belch, G. E., 2003. Advertising And Promotion, 6/E. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Blythe, J., 2008. Consumer Behavior. USA: Cengage Learning EMEA. CFAR, 1998. Nike’s “Just Do It” Advertising Campaign. [Pdf]. Available at: < http://www.cfar.com/Documents/nikecmp.pdf> [Accessed 14 November 2012]. Deng, T., 2009. “Just Done It”--- Nike’s New Advertising Plan Facing Global Economic Crisis. [Pdf]. Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2012]. Hoyer, W. D. & Macinnis, D. J., 2008. Consumer Behavior. USA: Cengage Learning. Jones, G., 2009. Nike: Just do digital. [Online]. Available at: http://www.brandrepublic.com/features/889695/ [Accessed 14 November 2012]. Lamb, C. W. Hair, J. F. & McDaniel, C. D., 2011. Essentials of Marketing. USA: Cengage Learning. Media Curves, No Date. Perception of the Nike brand. [Pdf]. Available at: [Accessed 15 November 2012]. Nike, 2011. About Nike Inc. [Online]. Available at: < http://www.nikeinc.com/pages/consumer-affairs> [Accessed 14 November 2012]. Paul, R. J., 2011. One Minute Motivation: 10 Most Inspiring Nike Commercials. [Online]. Available at: [Accessed 15 November 2012]. Schiffman, L. G., 1998. Consumer Behavior. Pearson Education India. Siemers, E., 2011. Nike ties the score with Adidas in consumer satisfaction rating. [Online]. Available at: [Accessed 15 November 2012]. Read More