Nike Company and the Targeted Consumers - Essay Example

Nike Company and the Targeted Consumers Nike Company produces a wide variety of sports items. They make, shoes, shorts, jerseys, base layers etc. The company generates these products for sports like football/soccer, track and field, hockey, baseball, lacrosse, cricket, ice hockey, basketball, and tennis. For instance, Nike Air Max is a line shoes released by the Nike company in the year 1987 (Kumar, 2009). The most recent lines of shoes produced by the company are the Nike SB, Nike NYX AND Nike 6.0 designed for skateboarding. Recently the Nike Company introduced cricket shoes denoted as Air Zoom Yorker, deliberated to be thirty percent lighter than their competitors. Also, in the year 2008, the company presented the Air Jordan XX3 which was identified to be a high-performance basketball shoes created with the environment in mind (Kapferer, 2012). Some of the Nike Companies’ newest shoes contain Lunarlite and Flywire foams to lessen weight. In addition, Nike Company is well recognized and popular in young adult and hip hop philosophy for their delivering of city fashion clothing (Kumar, 2009). However, The Company being well recognized for its performance, the question is “What constitutes the capability of the Company to capture its targeted consumers?” There is a bundle of attributes presented by the Nike Company for their targeted consumer consideration. Some of this attribute are discussed in the following paragraphs in detail. First, is the logo “swoosh” which is the company’s signature or trademark. With or without the name Nike underneath the logo, the general consumers can perceive the logo and visualize Nike. Regardless to a check of excellence, the flowing nature of the logo has played a vital role to the marketing of the brand. The role of visual rhetoric is to influence the company’s targeted consumers visually. The logo represents competition, athleticism, and victory. With a single brush stroke, viewers of the logo anticipate that this what it means (Hawkins, 2013). Also, the logo looks like a check mark which, for instance, in American philosophy, has become illustrative of a job well done or success. Nike prides in making state of the art athletic items from running shoes to football and using a logo that rhetorically illustrate success. The logo visually ties into the early gods of sports, elaborating its achievement as a successful, recognizable, and uncomplicated trademark. Second, attribute is the slogan “Just Do It” which is the tag-line allied with the Nike logo. Together, the tag-line and the logo feature the importance of Nike’s brand objectives and ideals; victory and athleticism. The design of both logo and the slogan has emerged into a motto and the way of life for Nike’s consumers (Palmer, 2009). The Nike slogan and the logo serve to identify consumers as icons for action and excellence. When the consumers read the word “Just Do It”, the word is defining content; however, they do not reflect it visually. The slogan provides distinction and identification. The word “Just Do It” is distinct in its content. It means do not talk about it, do not ask, do not regret it, do not think, but just do it (Hawkins, 2013). These appeals to the desire to be independent, free, incapacitating all barriers and physical and social obstacles and limitations and consumers can understand how this appeals to the athlete. Third, is the use of print advertisements such as real women. This has been the most effective Nike’s feature in marketing their products. The advertisements not only function as a marketing tool, but also at their core, they serve a rhetoric purpose, to convince the targeted consumers. For instance, the Nike Company personifies this role when they use “real women” commercials. These advertisements postulate what seems to be real women and highpoint a particular part of their physique (Keller, & Apéria, 2012). In other words, these means that to be an athlete woman, fit and strong does not mean women have to be sample size. However, the images embody what is denoted as no object advertisements. Here women are concealed, denied agency, and objectified (Keller, & Apéria, 2012). The Nike real women advertisements play on women’s insecurities, yet portraying them in a manner that empowers the female. Nike’s advertisements go against the grain, but they are rhetoric in the sense that they function as persuasive liberation. While the style of the advertisement is not different, the style in which the text modifies the meaning of the divertissement is a substantial feature of the Nike Company in captivating its consumers (Palmer, 2009). Fourth, is the postulation of the Web site for branding. Nike’s Web site constructs a sense of cohesion wherein everything links and everything drifts together. Their site is simplistic and subtle when offering its argument. Nike’s Web site is an interactive tool. Consumers can view the site and select images of their interest (Keller, & Apéria, 2012). The Web sites are effectively promoting Nike’s product, which fundamentally is the key purpose, however, that is just the surface. Going deeper, it becomes apparent that the company has attempted to establish a narrative representation (Visual Rhetoric in a Digital World). The Web site is provided in different languages allowing for the company to promote its product all around the globe. Nike’s Web site is creative and distinct. It attempts to put itself apart from other competitors. This has encouraged exchange making it accessible for consumers to purchase Nike products (Palmer, 2009). Lastly, is the creation of the Nike Town. Nike Town is the retail branch of the Nike Company. It is a rhetorical retail experience. It is neither a building nor a sporting goods superstore; however, it is a city lively by the spirit of Nike as a brand (Keller, & Apéria, 2012). Through the presence of visual rhetoric such as interactive models, video displays, and ambient sound, centers the consumers within the scene of the Nike brand. The store within Nike Town embody effective rhetorical branding in that they are capable of transforming individuals beliefs and views into a spatial understanding for the customers. References. Hawkins, D. I. (2013). Consumer behavior: building marketing strategy (12. ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Kapferer, J. (2012). The new strategic brand management: advanced insights and strategic thinking (5th ed.). London: Kogan Page. Keller, K. L., & Apéria, T. (2012). Strategic brand management: A European perspective. (2. ed.). Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Kumar, D. (2009). Consumer behavior and branding: concepts, readings and cases (The Indian Context. ed.). New Delhi: Pearson Education. Palmer, A. (2009). Managing the customer experience. Bradford, England: Emerald. Read More