Nike Brand Analysis - Essay Example

? Brand Analysis Brand Analysis A brand may be described as a symbol, design, term, or unique feature that distinguishes onefirm’s services and products from other market players. Brand image is the perception in the consumers’ mind of a brand’s whole personality, both real and imaginary, including its shortcomings (Coucha, 2011). Brand image is what a selling firm should build, develop and commit to reduce the gap between its perceived and intended outlook among the consumers for their brand to be a success. This paper will analyse Nike, which is a sports brand franchise belonging to the Nike Company of America, in terms of the brand promise, personality, values, attributes, and visual identity. Nike was started in the early 1960s when Phillip Knight, the Chief Executive Officer and William Bowerman, partnered to develop a coach’s idea of manufacturing products that would help to improve the consumers’ performance, who were athletes, on the track (Coucha, 2011). Nike ventured into it with the promise to make possible “authentic, athletic performance” with their shoes (Schmidt & Chris, 2002). That became their brand promise. The brand image that Nike initially launched was purely an American emblem, associated with high performance, aggressive and innovative top male athletes. These athletes were considered achievers, in line with what Nike intended to present to the consumers (Coucha, 2011). In delivering their product related promise, Nike joined the growing aerobics arena which was influencing the design of shoes towards being more fashionable, albeit less durable. Although other manufacturers were using garments to manufacture shoes for the aerobics market, Nike stuck to leather, which was more long lasting but considered less fashionable (Kunde, 2002). As part of extending their non tangible promise, Nike took to the corporate scene by embracing the global social responsibility. Initially, it was a reaction to public oppositions relating to their labor practices in Asia. To salvage their image, they changed their corporate labor strategy, campaigning to be the industry leader in worker relations. They refurbished their factories and improved the working conditions on their premises in Asia. Compensation packages for labor were raised and new global standards applied. They created a Corporate Responsibility Division to reflect their intention to care for the ‘World family of Nike” (Schmidt & Chris, 2002). A brand’s perception and recognition are considerably influenced by its visual presentation. For effective visual brand identity to be achieved, the use of particular and consistent visual elements is critical (Schmidt & Chris, 2002). To create a distinction, a logo, colors, fonts, and graphic elements are used. In terms of visual identity, Nike’s logo of the “swoosh” is outstanding and easy to remember by consumers. Globally, there is a 97% recognition and awareness for the Nike logo and brand (Coucha, 2011). This is further propelled by associating themselves with athletic celebrities with similar personalities as the Nike brand. Examples include Michael Jordan the basketball hero and Michael Johnson the sprinter. For the purpose of increasing their relevance in the European market, Nike began associating themselves with famous European sports personalities while maintaining their criteria of selecting names that matched the Nike personality of super achievers. Such names included Eric Cantona and Roberto Mandeni. They also sponsored local, European teams like Borussia Dortmund and Paris saint Germain. This had an appeal that made them a household name in Europe (Holt, 2004). Advertising strategies were customized to reflect the similarities of European countries with the United States as a means of dealing with the diverse culture differences. As compared to Adidas, the German giants, Nike portrays a more self expressive and emotional personality in its brand image. This gives for a challenging, hardworking and winning mentality with a focus on individuality (Hansen & Pedersen, 2010). On the other hand, Adidas’ self expressive and emotional benefits depict them as valuing team spirit, perseverance, passion, and active participation of a team. This is how Nike and Adidas use personality traits to make a distinction between their branding strategies, providing each with their own competitive edge (Hansen & Pedersen, 2010). To add personality to their brand, Nike embarked on celebrity endorsements. Successful sponsorships and celebrity endorsements with both Americans and non Americans also served as a platform to Nike’s brand equity globally. Examples include Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, whose endorsements were used to deeply place the brand into basketball and golf respectively, shifting the concentration from athletics and track events to different sport fraternities (Chernatony, 2001). Sponsoring the United States Dream Team to the Barcelona Olympics and the Brazilian football team to the 1994 World Cup further served the globalization and personality building purpose, boosting the world’s awareness. This strategy also endorsed the brand’s credibility to basketball and soccer fans around the world (Hansen & Pedersen, 2010). It shows that Nike’s benefits of celebrity endorsements and sponsorship agenda surpassed the monetary gains of growing revenues, but actually conveys the brand’s personality and shapes the way the consumers’ minds perceive its image. Nike has used endorsement as a channel of brand communication whereby celebrities act as the brand’s representatives, authenticating its claim and position among its competitors, by extending their personalities, stature and popularity to its products. In other words, they have personified the brand (Coucha, 2011). To bring out a distinctive tone of a personalized brand communication, Nike employed several strategies like selecting celebrities considered attractive by the target groups, considering their credibility and matching their personalities to their own brand. This conditions the consumers’ minds always to remember the brand (Hansen & Pedersen, 2010). Nike is constantly adding new attributes to its franchise line. This automatically affects the consumers, and the effects have to be dealt with, with consumers in mind (Holt, 2004). By getting feedback from consumers, Nike has been able to expand their selection to suit performance choices specified by respondents, availing a wide range of improved choices (Holt, 2004). An example of carrying on with this attribute was the recent change from the swoosh logo in its advertising and replacing it with the name Nike in lowercase letters. They also established a separate division and named it All Condition Gear, also known as ACG. This is in keeping in line with bringing fresh, new ideas and designs (Hansen & Pedersen, 2010). In conclusion, Nike has managed to portray and maintain a brand image that speaks of dedication and effort as fashionable essentials required to excel in sports. Endorsements have displayed the personal benefits associated with using their products, and values the products satisfy. They have instilled an image of “competition, performance, achievement and reaching your personal best” (Schmidt & Chris, 2002). References Chernatony, L. D. (2001). From brand vision to brand evaluation – Strategically building and sustaining brands (1st ed.). Oxford: Lineacre House. Coucha, Ahmed (2011). Nike: Building a global brand case analysis. New York: O'Reilly Media. Hansen, M. N. & Pedersen, D. G. (2010). A comparative analysis of Nike and Adidas commercials. Aarhus: Aarhus University. Holt, D. B. (2004). How brands become icons: The principles of cultural branding. Harvard: Harvard University Press. Kunde, J. (2002). Unique now... or never: the brand is the company driver in the new value economy. London: Prentice Hall. Schmidt, K., & Chris, L. (2002). Inclusive branding: The why and how of a holistic approach to brands. Basingstoke: Macmillan. Read More

 

Read More