Marketing for Nike - Questions - Essay Example

? Marketing for Nike - Questions Question A Marketing, as a concept, has been clearly described by the American Marketing Association. The above organization has developed three definitions of marketing, aiming to align marketing with the social and economic changes developed worldwide. More specifically, between 1985 and 2005 AMA’s definition of marketing represented the key roles of marketing, i.e. ‘the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services’ (Ferrell 2012, p.7). Through the above roles marketing was expected to cover the needs of individuals and organizations (Ferrell 2012). In 2005 another definition of marketing was developed by AMA. The new definition highlighted the importance of customer value and the quality of communication between the organization and its customers (Ferrell 2012). In 2007 the definition of marketing had to be changed, again, in order to cover a broader audience: the new definition of marketing focuses on the value not just of customers but also ‘of partners and of society at large’ (Ferrell 2012, p.7). In this definition the issue of corporate social responsibility is emphasized (Ferrell 2012). At this point, the need for aligning marketing practices with ethics is made clear. At this point, the application of the above definitions of marketing for NIKE should be explored. NIKE has based its marketing strategy on the needs of its customers (Mourdoukoutas 2012). From this point of view, the organization’s marketing strategy is aligned with the first definition of marketing, as developed by AMA. Another characteristic of NIKE’s marketing strategy is the importance given to the communication with customers. This fact is made clear, for example, in NIKE’s ‘She Runs The Night’ campaign which was introduced by NIKE in order to improve the communication of the organization with ‘its female customers’ (Marketing 2013). In other words, NIKE’s marketing strategy is also aligned with AMA’s second definition of marketing, that of 2005, as explained above. In addition, NIKE, aim to respond to the needs not just of individuals but also of the society. This target is made clear through the recent marketing plans of the company where emphasis is given to digital marketing and social media marketing (Intelligent HQ 2013). The products that the firm developed in order to respond to the demands of such project are presented in Figure 1 below. The first of the images shows NIKE’s new logo while the second and the third images show two products that have been designed in order to help towards the transition to a digital society: ‘a wristband for tracking energy, in the central image, and a watch customized for sports’ (Intelligent HQ 2013). Through such products the firm aims to contribute in the expansion of digital products in daily human activities, a target that it is related to the society at large, and not just to individuals. Thus, NIKE manages to respond to the requirements of the third definition of marketing, as set by AMA. Question B The Marketing Concept reflects the key role of marketing: ‘the satisfaction of customer needs’ (McDonald 2007, p.3). The marketing activities of NIKE seem to be fully aligned with Marketing Concept, as described above. More specifically: a) NIKE tries to respond to the needs of all its customers; the introduction of a marketing campaign for improving the communication of the organization with women (Marketing 2013) denotes NIKE’s willingness to keep all its customers satisfied, b) in 2013 NIKE presented a watch that it is specially customized for sports (Intelligent HQ 2013); this initiative is an effort of NIKE to respond to the need of its customers for wearing a watch even when being involved in sport activities that are quite demanding, c) moreover, NIKE tries to continuously update its product, emphasizing on innovation (Mourdoukoutas 2012); this practice also denotes the firm’s effort to respond to the need of its customers for innovative products, d) NIKE is aware of the need of their customers for digital products of advanced technology; in 2010 the company established ‘the NIKE DIGITAL SPORT’ (Cendrowski 2012), a division that focuses on the creation of such products; this initiative is a clear indicator of the firm’s efforts to respond to the changing needs of its customers; e) NIKE has developed a series of brands for addressing different needs of its customers, in regard to sport activities (case study); excessive branding has offered to the company a unique advantage towards its competitors that are not able to respond to all the needs of their customers while being involved in sport activities. All the above examples show the level at which Marketing Concept, which focuses on customer needs, influences the marketing activities of NIKE. Question C The SWOT analysis for Nike product Jordan shoes: a) Strengths: a1) high quality, a2) brand name, a3) available to customers directly, using the organization’s website; b) Weaknesses; b1) the price of the specific shoes is rather high, compared to other low-price brands (Chang 2010); this fact, sets limits to the firm’s growth in markets where low-price sport products are preferred; the Chinese market is an example (Chang 2010); b2) other products of similar characteristics are already available and at lower price; for example, in China the sport shoes of the local brand Li-Ning are preferred by locals due to their price (Chang 2010); c) Opportunities; c1) opportunities for increased sales are still important in growing markets, such as the Chinese market, but also in developed markets, such as the European market (Chang 2010); c2) the shoes could be further improved, by adding new features, and keep their level of sales secured; c3) through social media the popularity of the shoes could be further increased; and d) Threats: d1) the expansion of financial crisis could affect the buying potential of consumers; the level of demand of the shoes could be significantly reduced in the future. Question D The increase of customer satisfaction by NIKE is based on the following practices: a) NIKE alternates its marketing strategies trying ‘to follow the customer where the customer is’ (Intelligent HQ 2013); the use of social media as a marketing tool instead of traditional media, such as television, shows the effort of NIKE to align its strategy with its customers’ style of life; such effort is highly appreciated by customers increasing customer satisfaction, b) NIKE’s marketing strategy is based on a series of approaches: the involvement of hero athletes in the firm’s marketing campaigns is one of the firm’s strategies for increasing customer satisfaction (Kalb 2013); the involvement of ‘Michael Jordan, a legend of basketball’ (Kalb 2013) is an example of NIKE’s strategies for satisfying its customers, c) NIKE has been the first firm that identified the potential value of digital products for sports (Kalb 2013); by developing a series of digital products of advanced technology (Kalb 2013) NIKE has managed not only to keep its customers satisfied but also to secure customer loyalty; the ‘Nike+ FuelBand’ (McGowan 2013), a device that helps its users to measure their own performance shows the emphasis that NIKE gives to customer satisfaction; d) employing the content marketing strategy; in 2012 NIKE developed a website through which ‘visitors can test their performance’ (Stott 2012); this website has soon become quite popular contributing in the firm’s efforts to keep the satisfaction of its customers at high levels. By engaging social media (Intelligent HQ 2013, Kalb 2013), instead of traditional media, NIKE has achieved two important benefits: it has kept its costs low while it has develop a competitive advantage towards its rivals; the latter continue to use traditional marketing for promoting their products and do not rely heavily on social media marketing, as NIKE does. The development of a series of digital products of advanced technology (Baker 2012) can be also considered as another example of the firm’s unique market orientation strategy. Another practice of NIKE that shows the firm’s ability to use marketing orientation in order to create competitive advantage is the following: the firm has highly developed its communication capabilities that it is able to promote its products through networks of volunteers. This practice has been made clear in the firm’s ‘She Runs The Night’ marketing campaign; in that campaign, students in universities participated as volunteers in the promotion of NIKE’s products ‘using their personal social media accounts, for sending messages, and setting posters across the campuses of their universities’ (Marketing 2013). In 2010 NIKE announced its plans for growth up to 2015 (Bloomberg 2010); reaching customers directly and securing innovation and quality have been highlighted as the key elements of the firm’s strategy, as reflected in its current market orientation practices. References Baker, R., 2012. “Nike: ‘Digital more valuable than traditional’.” 21 June 2012, Marketing Week. Available at . [Accessed at 21 October 2013] Bloomberg, 2010. “NIKE, Inc. Introduces 2015 Global Growth Strategy.” 5 May 2010. Available at . [Accessed at 21 October 2013] Chang, B., 2010. “Nike, Adidas readjust marketing strategy.” 30 August 2010, China Daily. Available at . [Accessed at 21 October 2013] Cendrowski, S., 2012. “Nike's new marketing mojo.” 23 February 2012, Fortune. Available at . [Accessed at 21 October 2013] Ferrell, O., 2012. Marketing Strategy Text and Cases, 6th ed. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Intelligent HQ, 2013. “Nike Takes Digital Data and Social Media Marketing Seriously.” 5 January 2013. Available at . [Accessed at 21 October 2013] Kalb, I., 2013. “One Of Nike's Core Strategies Is In Danger.” 25 February 2013, Business Insider. Available at . [Accessed at 21 October 2013] Marketing, 2013. “She Runs The Night – strategy, execution, results of Nike’s groundbreaking campaign.” 6 May 2013. Available at . [Accessed at 21 October 2013] McDonald, M., 2007. Marketing Plans: How to prepare them, how to use them. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. McGowan, M., 2013. “Nike Sharing Its New FuelBand Data With Marketers.” 21 June 2013, Ad Week. Available at . [Accessed at 21 October 2013] Mourdoukoutas, P., 2012. “Why Nike's Buzz Marketing Strategy Is Riskier Than Red Bull's”. 18 October 2012, Forbes. Available at . [Accessed at 21 October 2013] Stott, J., 2012. “Four brands to inspire your content marketing strategy.” 14 December 2012, E Consultancy. Available at . [Accessed at 21 October 2013] Read More