SRM UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

MARKETING ASSIGNMENT ON MARKETING MIX

TO Mr. SIVASHANKARAN

SUBMITTED BY S.KARTHIK 3511010316 F SECTION

INTRODUCTION Nike, originally known as "Blue Ribbon Sports was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. The company was founded in January 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill

Bowerman and Philip Knight and officially became Nike, Inc. in 1978. The company takes its name from Nike (Greek pronounced [nk]), the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its own brand as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Skateboarding and subsidiaries including Cole Haan, Hurley International, Umbro and Converse. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey (later renamed Nike Bauer) between 1995 and 2008. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized trademarks of "Just do it" and the Swoosh logo. Nike, Inc. is a marketer of sports apparel and athletic shoes. The American manufacturer, through its marketing strategy which rests on a favorable brand image, has evolved into a large multinational enterprise. In keeping with the brand image is its association with the distinctive logo and its advertising slogan, "Just do it." In order to maintain and sustain this image, the company makes huge investments in advertising and brand promotion. Nike is a global sports shoe giant company. It is the largest seller of athletic footwear in the world, holding the lion share of 33% of the global market. The company has production facilities in Asia, sales facilities in almost 200 countries, and customer service and other operational units worldwide.

MARKETING ASPECTS OBJECTIVES Nikebiz.com stated that Nike's mission statement is Through the adoption of business practices Nike is committed to securing intergenerational quality of life, restoring environment and increasing value for our customers, shareholders and business partners. Nike shows passion for their company, products, and athletes. They are determined to provide consumers with comfort and assurance. They also find ways to innovate and create. They adhere to their five brand principles namely: inspire, innovate, focus, connect, and care. Another Nike's objective is to be the world's leading sports and fitness company." Nike's mission statement is similar to a vision statement and is potentially a weakness. The mission identifies the sports and fitness industry business they are in, it does not specify as to what products and services they provide. The mission statement does not mention distribution channels and customers. However, it portrays management's beliefs and the desire to be number one and remain in the leading position in sports and fitness shoe and apparel industry. CORPORATE STRATEGIES The past two decades saw a change in economy from standardized to flexible. Having a strict corporate organization used to be the rule, now it is common to have a flexible Organization that uses subcontracting. The main reason Nike succeeded in competing in the footwear industry for a long time is because they remain flexible in an unpredictable market by subcontracting overseas in countries with low labor-cost. Another reason for Nike's strength in competition is their product differentiation. Aside from athletic shoes, Nike's product line now offers a broad range of clothing, equipment and accessories.

TACTICS Nike's distinctive tactics are found in the area of marketing, specifically in consumer brand awareness and brand power. Nike's catch phrases like, "Just Do It," and symbols like the Nike "Swoosh," are reminders of the Nike empire. This tactic is effective because it could not be easily replicated and it offers value or benefit to consumers. Nike is becoming a part of American and world culture, the brand power becomes more difficult to replicate. The trademark and a slogan serves as the company's fingerprints. Nike is able to capitalize the unique identity due because of its financial strength. Nike reaches millions of consumers through large-scale marketing campaigns. The public benefits from the strength of Nike's image when they make a purchase. Consumers often associate Nike image with quality products. By associating star athletes and motivational slogans like, "Just Do It," consumers identify their purchases with the prospect of achieving greatness. This image they create forms a tactic that competing companies cannot easily duplicate by simply improving their products. PRODUCT Nike sells a huge variety of products, including shoes for running, basketball, cross training, women and children. All of which are currently its top-selling product categories. Nike also sells shoes for outdoor activities such as tennis, golf, soccer, baseball, football, bicycling, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, aquatic activities, auto racing and other athletic and recreational uses. Nike began selling active sports apparel in 1979 as well as athletic bags and accessory items. The company sells a line of performance equipment under the Nike brand name, such as sport balls, timepieces, eyewear, skates, bats and other equipment. They also sell a line of dress and casual footwear and accessories for men, women and children under the brand name Cole Haan. The company markets headwear under the brand name Sports

Specialties, through Nike Team Sports, Inc. They also sell small amounts of various plastic products to other manufacturers through Nike IHM, Inc. Bauer Nike Hockey Inc. manufactures and distributes ice skates, skate blades, in-roller skates, protective gear, hockey sticks and hockey jerseys and accessories under the Bauer and Nike brand names. The marketing mix or the 4 Ps of Marketing are Product, Price, Place (distribution) and Promotion. Nike's 4Ps are the following:

Product
Nike offers a wide range of shoe, apparel and equipment products, all of which are currently its top-selling product categories. Nike started selling sports apparel, athletic bags and accessory items in 1979. Their brand Cole Haan carries a line of dress and casual footwear and accessories for men, women and children. They also market head gear under the brand name Sports Specialties, through Nike Team Sports, Inc. They sell small amounts of plastic products to other manufacturers through Nike IHM, Inc. Bauer Nike Hockey Inc. manufactures and distribute ice skates, skate blades, in-roller skates, protective gear, hockey sticks and hockey jerseys and accessories.

Price
Nikes pricing is designed to be competitive to the other fashion shoe retailers. The pricing is based on the basis of premium segment as target customers. Nike as a brand commands high premiums. Nikes pricing strategy makes use of vertical integration in pricing wherein they own participants at differing channel levels or take part in more than one channel level operations. This can control costs and influence product pricing.

Place
Nike shoes are carried by multi-brand stores and the exclusive Nike stores across the globe. Nike sells its product to about 20,000 retail accounts in the U.S. and in almost 200 countries around the world. In the international markets, Nike sells its products through independent distributors, licensees and subsidiaries. Independent distributors need not adapt to local pressures because the 4Ps of marketing are managed by distributors.

Promotion
Promotion is largely dependent on finding accessible store locations. It also avails of targeted advertising in the newspaper and creating strategic alliances. Nike has a number of famous athletes that serve as brand ambassadors such as the Brazilian Soccer Team (especially Ronaldino, Renaldo, and Roberto Carlos), Lebron James and Jermane ONeal for basketball, Lance Armstrong for cycling, and Tiger Woods for Golf. Nike also sponsors events such as Hoop It Up and The Golden West Invitational. Nikes brand images, the Nike name and the trademark swoosh, make it one of the most recognizable brands in the world. Nikes brand power is one reason for its high revenues. Nikes quality products, loyal customer base and its great marketing techniques all contribute to make the shoe empire a huge success.

Marketing strategy
Nike's marketing strategy is an important component of the company's success. Nike is positioned as a premium-brand, selling well-designed and expensive products. Nike lures customers with a marketing strategy centering on a brand image which is attained by distinctive logo and the advertising slogan: "Just do it".[40] Nike promotes its products by sponsorship agreements with celebrity athletes, professional teams and college athletic teams. However, Nike's marketing mix contains many elements besides promotion. These are summarized below.

Advertising
In 1982, Nike aired its first national television ads, created by newly formed ad agency Wyden and Kennedy, during the New York Marathon. This was the beginning of a successful partnership between Nike and W+K that remains intact today. The Cannes

Advertising Festival has named Nike its Advertiser of the Year on two separate occasions, the first and only company to receive that honor twice (1994, 2003). Nike also has earned the Emmy Award for best commercial twice since the award was first created in the 1990s. The first was for "The Morning After," a satirical look at what a runner might face on the morning of January 1, 2000 if every dire prediction about Y2K came to fruition. The second Emmy for advertising earned by Nike was for a 2002 spot called "Move," which featured a series of famous and everyday athletes in a stream of athletic pursuits.

Beatles song
Nike was the focus of criticism for its use of the Beatles song "Revolution" in a 1987 commercial, against the wishes of Apple Records, the Beatles' recording company. Nike paid US$250,000 to Capitol Records Inc., which held the North American licensing rights to the Beatles' recordings, for the right to use the Beatles' rendition for a year. Apple sued Nike Inc., Capitol Records Inc., EMI Records Inc. and Wyden and Kennedy advertising agency for $15 million.[44] Capitol-EMI countered by saying the lawsuit was 'groundless' because Capitol had licensed the use of "Revolution" with the "active support and encouragement of Yoko Ono Lennon, a shareholder and director of Apple." According to a November 9, 1989 article in the Los Angeles Daily News, "a tangle of lawsuits between the Beatles and their American and British record companies has been settled." One condition of the out-of-court settlement was that terms of the agreement would be kept secret. The settlement was reached among the three parties involved: George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr; Yoko Ono; and Apple, EMI and Capitol Records. A spokesman for Yoko Ono noted, "It's such a confusing myriad of issues that even people who have been close to the principals have a difficult time grasping it. Attorneys on both sides of the Atlantic have probably put their children through college on this."

Nike discontinued airing ads featuring "Revolution" in March 1988. Yoko Ono later gave permission to Nike to use John Lennon's "Instant Karma" in another advertisement.

Minor Threat advertisement

In late June 2005, Nike received criticism from Ian MacKaye, owner of Discord Records, guitarist/vocalist for Fugazi & The Evens, and front-man of defunct punk band Minor Threat, for appropriating imagery and text from Minor Threat's 1981 self-titled album's cover art in a flyer promoting Skate boardings 2005 East Coast demo tour.

On June 27, Nike Skate boardings website issued an apology to Discord, Minor Threat, and fans of both and announced that they tried to remove and dispose of all flyers. They state that the people who designed it were skateboarders and Minor Threat fans themselves who created the advertisement out of respect and appreciation for the band.[45] The dispute was eventually settled out of court between Nike & Minor Threat. The exact details of the settlement have never been disclosed.

Chinese-themed advertisement
In 2004, an ad about LeBron James beating cartoon martial arts masters and slaying a Chinese dragon in martial arts offended Chinese authorities, who called the ad blasphemous and insulting to national dignity and to the dragon. The advertisement was later banned in China. In early 2007 the ad was reinstated in China for unknown reasons.