This commercial is for Nike’s newest sneakers, their Flyknit shoes that are their lightest and most weightless pair yet. This is how Nike followed the trend of fit, light and airy. They created shoes that look and feel almost like socks on the user, and are comfortable enough to wear daily, and workout and run in. Nike understood what consumers wanted, and created a product that is perfect for this recent trend.
A The main reason why people purchase Nike+ products is because they want them, and they have the financial ability to spend money on products that they do not necessarily need, but that they want. They know that spending slightly more money on Nike+ products will mean higher quality, and better comfort and performance. The primary motives that customers use to determine whether or not they will buy them are:
These are the primary motives because these are the main aspects that customers focus on before purchasing. The style and design of the product are very important to the customer, and that will be one of the main reasons why a customer decides to buy a particular product. The performance and quality of the product, depending on what type of product purchased, is another important factor. Sneakers, for example, will be purchased based on their quality and durability because these are important factors when deciding which sneakers to purchase. Customers also have secondary motives that help them determine whether or not to purchase an item. These motives are:
These are considered secondary motives because they are not considered essential deciding factors when purchasing Nike products. They may be considered, but they are not top priority for the consumer. The price of a product may not matter to a consumer if they are more focused on the style and performance of the product. The status of a brand is not always considered when deciding to purchase a product or not. This is why all these factors are considered secondary motives.
There are various evaluative criteria that Nike+ consumers use to decide on a purchase.
Nike knows and understands this evaluative criteria, and is able to adhere to all of these. The performance and quality of Nike+ products are always outstanding, and Nike is known to have quality products that will last for many years. They have a wide variety of different shoes, clothes and accessories that will fit anyone’s needs and wants, and will be able to perform with whatever task the consumer wants to do. Nike+ products are also very comfortable. Many of their shoes have followed the trend of light and airy, and they make shoes and sneakers feel more like slippers and socks. Their clothing and accessories are very comfortable, especially for someone who likes to wear workout gear even when they are not working out! The design of Nike+ products, as mentioned before, varies for each and every product. There is a wide variety of different sneakers, shirts, pants, shorts, headbands, FuelBands, etc. All of these products come in different colors and sizes to fit the wants and needs of the consumers. Some sneakers and accessories can also be customized to further enhance the design of the product to make the consumer more eager and willing to purchase the product. The price of Nike+ products may seem high to some consumers, but other consumers would disagree. So would Nike. They have very high quality products that are made to withstand and outlast the conditions that they are made for, and they are also comfortable and attractive. Nike cannot product these high quality products with all these attributes without having slightly increased prices. It would seem as if these products were not as high quality, and were not as fantastic as they really are. Nike+ products range in various prices, and are slightly on the higher side, but many believe it is worth your money to purchase the products. Some consumers also believe that Nike’s status and brand is important to wear and show. Nike accepts this criteria, and that is why their Nike Swoosh is prevalent on almost every article of clothing, accessory or shoe that they produce. Nike also advertises their products as being the best, for the best, and to create the best, making it seem like consumers who buy Nike will become like these world-famous athletes, and they can do this buy showing off their Nike products and even purchasing products that the athletes specifically endorse.
After these consumers decide to purchase the Nike products, Nike hopes that they leave them feeling very satisfied with their purchase. The quality and reliability of their product after they purchased it will be the main focus for a consumer’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Nike’s products are made to be reliable and high quality, so they hope that their consumers will find this after their purchase and continue to be satisfied. Consumers want to be satisfied with their purchase afterwards, and they want this feeling of satisfaction to last. Nike remains one of the top companies for sneakers and workout gear, and by continuing to stay on top with their high quality goods and customer service, consumers will continue to purchase their products and remain satisfied after purchase and hopefully be even more satisfied after using their products.
Nike is a world renowned brand, and is a common, household name. They no longer need to advertise their products or brand, so they focus on advertising their newest products with famous athletes, and endorsing athletes in sports all across the world, making Nike a brand that is talked about and referred to constantly.
Consumers are often influenced by the information that other consumers and peers tell them about Nike’s products. This type of reference group can play a big role in how consumers view Nike’s products, especially in the younger demographics that are more easily influenced by peers and the opinions of others. Many peer groups influence what children and teens buy, because of the need to fit into society. These peer groups make the members conform to the same ideals and attitudes of the group, and Nike can be influenced by this.
Many consumers hear information about Nike and their products from others. This can be done through word-of-mouth, social media, or other opinions expressed. Because Nike is such a large brand, people are constantly talking about the company and brand, and they are doing this on different media sources for all consumers to hear and see. Because Nike is so relevant in society today, it is important to realize that not all information may be credible or factual. Consumers need to understand this fact. However, Nike is an extremely successful company, and has been for years. Nike does not need to be very concerned with informal information that may be spread in the community, because Nike is still successful and will continue to be successful. It is important that Nike realizes that there will always be non credible, slanderous words spread about the company, but they also realize that it is out of their control. They have wide customer base, and they cannot please everyone by trying to make sure every piece of information spread about the company is credible, factual, and beneficial for the company. They maintain their credibility status by continuing to reach out to consumers and making sure their information seems more beneficial, credible, and helpful to the consumer over any other false information.
Nike is already considered a credible company because of their success. Their past performance, good service, excellent choice of spokespersons, and reputation of the retailers that offer their products all convey the credibility of the company. Nike is an internationally known company, and they continue to do business and promotions that maintain this credibility. This outweighs any slanderous or harmful information that has been put into the media about Nike. Their success is proof of how well the company is doing, and proof that information about their company is not all true.
Nike products, including Nike+, appeal to the consumers that want to customize their products and make them perfect. Nike does this by having the option to customize each pair of shoes, cleats and the color of the Nike+ FuelBand, as well as many other products that can be customized. Nike does this because they realize that consumers want Nike products, but they want them to be different than everyone else’s, and they want to use these products to express themselves.
Consumers who purchase Nike+ products are unique, goal-oriented, outgoing, individualistic, ambitious, and creative. Nike realizes this, and they created customization in all aspects of their products. The customization comes with an additional price tag, but that price is not what the consumer is focused on. They are focused on expressing their personality through their shoes and Nike products. Nike advertises their products as being customizable, but with all the benefits of the original, plus more if you choose! This appeals to the consumers who are willing to spend more on customization, and want to express themselves.
Nike has a specific brand name for the customization of their products, NikeiD, which makes the ability to customize and personalize products that much easier. There are endless shoes and products that are capable of being customized to fit each consumer’s specific set of needs and wants. Below is the link to the NikeiD website.
http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/nikeid
Another way in which Nike positions their brand and products to appeal to the characteristics of their consumers, who are considered to be unique, goal-oriented, outgoing, individualistic, ambitious, and creative, is by advertising with famous athletes. Lebron James, Serena Williams, Christiano Ronaldo, Maria Sharapova, Derek Jeter, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and countless more are all sponsored or endorsed by Nike, or have advertised with Nike. They appeal to the athletic and ambitious characteristic traits of Nike consumers. Nike consumers want to believe that purchasing these products will make them more like these athletes. Consumers want to create a stronger self-image for themselves, and they are constantly searching for ways to better themselves. Purchasing products that famous athletes, champions, and stars have helped create, advertised, and even used, is one way that consumers look to try to better themselves. These consumers want to be like these world-famous athletes, and by having them advertise with Nike, Nike is strengthening their brand and attracting more consumers. Even within these advertisements and promotions, there is the opportunity for customization. Lebron James, for example, has his own line of sneakers under Nike, and they are able to be customized any way the consumer wants, but still allowing them to purchase shoes advertised and created by Lebron James. Nike appeals to all aspects of the consumer’s characteristic traits by doing this.
Nike’s advertising approach includes messages that brand their products as one-of-a-kind, especially with the customization option. This is shown in Nike’s advertising strategies because Nike advertizes their products as unique, strong, and competitive. Nike compares their products to other brands that sell the same products, but they do it in a subtle, easy way. This works for Nike because they are already such a strong and well-known company that they do not need to tell their customers how much better their products are than other companies’. This is effective for Nike, as shown by their extreme success. Nike also demonstrates that their products are competitive, and they make the users competitive too. Using famous athletes and showing strong, athletic models that are using Nike and Nike+ products show the consumers that they can too be like these athletes.
There are many factors that influence the choosing of Nike+, and family and personal influences are key factors.
Family factors are large influences in the decision making of purchasing Nike+ products. These factors include parental influences, and their parenting strategies, as well as the difference in husband-dominated and wife-dominated decision making. Parenting strategies can play a major role in deciding if their children should or should not purchase Nike+ products, as they will most likely be the ones purchasing the goods. If parents have an indulgent style of parenting, they will be more likely to purchase items for their children. Indulgent parents are bigger consumers because they are more indulgent and more likely to spend their money on material items, especially for their children. Young children are more materialistic than older children and adults, and indulgent parents will give in to these children. Nike+ goods are not considered a necessity for most, so they may be considered a luxury or more expensive item. On the other hand, if parents have an authoritarian style of parenting, they will be much less likely to purchase items for their children. This style of parenting proves to be less willing to purchase more materialistic goods for their children, and they are stricter on their children.
Mothers are more involved in the decision making of the purchase of goods for their families, and for their children in particular. Mothers are also more involved in the socialization of their children, and are stricter on how commercials influence their children than husbands are. How decisions are made are based on how the household is run, and who is involved in making the decisions. Recently, there has been a trend towards children playing a larger influence on the decision making of the families, and what families buy.
Marketers for Nike+ will have to take these considerations into account when trying to sell Nike+ products to families, and children in particular. Although Nike and Nike+ products may not be considered a necessity, and may even be considered a luxury for some families, they will still be used, bought, and desired, especially by children. These children will try to persuade their parents to purchase these goods based on the advertisements that influence these children to want these products.
The commercial above is an example of how Nike targets children and advertises towards them. Marketers need to convince children to purchase their products, and these children need to convince their parents to purchase their products for them.
Nike targets children because they know how susceptible they will be to peer and group influences. Many of Nike’s products are advertised by celebrities or athletes that appeal to the children and teens who will want to purchase these products. Nike takes advantage of this because they know they can benefit from using these celebrities in their ads. They also create specific lines of shoes or clothing from specific athletes that make the children feel like they ‘need’ these products to fit in with their peers. For example, Lebron James has his own line of shoes with Nike, and also appears in multiple different advertisements for Nike. He is a large influence on children, and many believe that purchasing Nike products or shoes created by Lebron James will make them stronger, faster and better at basketball so one day they will become as successful as Lebron James.
This commercial is an example of how Nike chooses to appeal to the demographics who are susceptible to celebrity advertisements, which are the younger children in society who are also influenced by their peers.
Social class can also play a key role in influencing the purchase of different products. Different social classes have different views and beliefs that affect their purchasing behavior. Nike and Nike+ are generally geared towards the middle to upper social classes because of the relatively higher prices of their products. The Nike+ FuelBand, in particular, is a product that is not marketed towards all different social classes. Nike+ products are generally more expensive because of their newer technology, so higher social classes will be more interested in these goods. Middle and upper social classes are more interested in newer products and technologies, and are more willing to try these products.
Although Nike and Nike+ products are not considered by all as luxuries, they are considered status symbols by most who wear and desire these products. Some consumers aspire to purchase these products because they are not able to purchase them on a regular basis. The newer technology and higher prices of these goods help position these products as a product of aspiration for consumers that are not always regular customers. The marketers of Nike+ products advertise these products as an aspiration by marketing them with actors that seem to have an economic well-being, and a stable environment that some customers wish to achieve in their lifetimes. These advertisements also show how advanced technology is in these devices, and not all social classes are able to afford these technologies, but they also wish to strive for this status symbol. This is shown in the commercial below.
Nike is a global company located in countries worldwide. One of their main countries that they focus in is Brazil. The love and passion that Brazilians have for soccer influences the way Nike positions their products in the country. Their main focus is always on soccer, especially when the World Cup was located in Brazil.
One way that Nike positions their products in Brazil is by offering an option to personalize cleats online so customers can choose the colors and designs that suit them best. These personalized cleats come with a training session from a professional soccer player who uses the same type of cleat. This increased the sales of cleats in Brazil because the customers idolize the Brazilian soccer players and want to have an opportunity to have a training session with one of their favorite players. This same deal is not offered in the United States because soccer is not as important or popular as it is in Brazil. The same items are positioned differently in the two countries. Nike also has a contest named “The Chance”, which is a contest that gives each entrant the opportunity to sign a contract to play professional soccer. This is offered to people across the world, but mainly focused and advertised in countries that have soccer as their main sport. This contest gives up to three winners professional contracts to play soccer. This is very big in Brazil, as many people so desperately want to be a famous soccer player like the ones that they love and cheer for.
Below is a link to Nike’s main page for “The Chance”
http://news.nike.com/the-chance
Nike has to recognize cultural considerations that are present in today’s society. Some of the core American values are relevant to Nike’s acceptance in the marketplace, such as activity, fitness and health, progress, and achievement and success.
Activity is a core American value that people believe to be important in today’s society. This, along with fitness and health, greatly contribute to the successful marketing and selling of Nike products in the United States. People believe that it is important, if not imperative, to be active and health-conscious in order to live a happy and prosperous life. These people can become more active with the help of Nike products, including their running sneakers, active wear, and athletic gear that come in men’s, women’s and children’s sizes. American families can make fitness and health a part of their family culture by exercising together and tracking their progress with the use of the Nike+ app or Nike+FuelBand. These two products also tie into two other core American values, progress and achievements and success. Nike+ helps consumers track their progress by logging their activity and workout and viewing their progress over time, as well as shares their progress with a dashboard with other friends using the application. Americans like to show their achievements to their loved ones, and Nike+ lets them do this. Not only can they show their progress over time in the application, but the benefits that Nike will have on the person’s health and fitness will be shown to others around them.
Nike’s various types of products and lines appeal to all different types of people within the market. There are many different subcultures within Nike that they market to. Outside of Nike+, one of Nike’s biggest markets comes from their shoe sales, and in particular, their sneaker sales. There is a culture of people referred to as ‘sneakerheads’, who are avid sneaker collectors. These people await the release of new sneakers more than the typical teenage girl awaits the release of a new Ryan Gosling movie. And the release of a new movie is equivalent to the release of a new sneaker for Nike. They promote and advertise the release to get as many sneakerheads to purchase these sneakers, and purchase them the very second they are released. Many of these sneakers will sell out in minutes because of the highly anticipated release. Nike makes an effort to market and promote their sneakers towards their sneakerhead market, because they acknowledge and understand that this market gets extremely excited about a new release, and they are the most willing to spend the extra money on these shoes. Social media is a way that Nike uses to advertise these new sneakers and help create excitement about a new release, and the sneakerheads listen. Although Nike may spend more money and promoting and advertising these sneakers, the profit they gain back in sales is incomparable.
This article from USA Today shows how sneakerheads are changing the way sneaker companies are advertising their sneakers, and how they have adapted to this new subculture.
The short documentary above also shows the subculture of sneakerheads, and why and how they have created this new culture.
Nike+ is geared towards a younger, more active generation that links technology to almost everything, and fitness, in particular. The Nike+ products are for people who exercise regularly and wish to record and track their workouts and calorie intake. The largest group of people that would partake in these activities, with the help of Nike+ products are the demographic of men and women ages 18-24, with healthy, active lifestyles.
This group of people is the ideal target market not only because they live active lifestyles that would lead them to use the Nike+ products more than other demographic groups, but also because this group of people are in the millennial generation, the generation that adapted to technology quickly and is the most willing to try new products, especially technologically advanced products. This generation will serve the best market to target, and will be the customers who will most likely purchase the products.
This target market is a young market. Both men and women are targeted in this market because Nike sells products geared towards both genders, and Nike+ does the same. They sell technologies in a myriad of colors, geared towards this younger generation, but also geared towards both men and women. In this market, some of these people are still in college, and some are just entering the workforce. Because of this, Nike+ does not have extremely high prices for their products because they know their market. This group of people are the most active, and the most willing to buy new products, but they are also a group that does not have a large amount of excess spending money, because of their education or work status. Nike+ prices their products so that they will be able to sell to this market. For example, the Nike+FuelBand, is $99, a very reasonable price for the amount that this simple band can do for the user.
A great benefit of Nike, Inc. is that their products can be used anywhere. There are different products that are geared towards different atmospheres, training, terrains, etc. Nike+ products are not different. Because of this, the target market is not limited to any specific location or type of area. Rural and suburbs are both targeted, because people in all locations will be able to use these products. However, this is a large range of markets to target. Nike+ will initially focus on suburban areas, and especially focusing on cities, simply because of their higher populations, which will lead to higher sales. Once Nike+ products have sold successfully, Nike will be able to expand and reach more suburban areas and even more rural areas.
Nike + is a specific brand within Nike, Inc. that was added to their company in 2006, in the midst of the technology and Apple boom. Nike+iPod is a device that tracks and records the length and speed of a person’s walk or run, as well as the calories burned by that person. A device is put into the bottom of a person’s Nike shoe that connects to a person’s iPod or iPhone. Nike implemented this software by selling Nike+ as a kit to customers. The kit contained the tracking device, an iPod, and an iTunes membership, which were all needed for the Nike+ software. The iTunes membership was used by users to add music to their runs, record and share their workouts with others across the internet, and created a community for those using this Nike+ application.
In 2007, Nike added an app located in the iTunes store called Nike+Running that does not require a tracking device in a shoe. It simply tracks a person’s runs and walks when the person uses the application. By 2008, Nike had created the Sportband, which eliminated the need for the iPod. This Sportband had a USB connected to it that could connect to any USB port after a run or walk to record the information.
The Nike+FuelBand is Nike’s newest addition in the Nike+ brand. The FuelBand is a band similar to the Sportband, but it is even more advanced. This FuelBand is an extension of the original Nike+ brand that created the tracking device. This band measures every activity the user does in one day, and connects with the user’s smartphone to record this activity, NikeFuel. Nike has created a strong brand, Nike+ underneath their huge empire of Nike, Inc. that can transform the way people connect fitness and technology.
Nike+ was the first brand within Nike that became a big part of the new technologically-advanced, health-conscious generation that the globe was becoming so fond of. Nike has brands that range from sports equipment to sneakers to athletic clothing. The addition of Nike+ created a brand that was able to expand past the current phase that it was created in, because of the widespread use of technology and the advances it has made. Nike+ also created a path for the beginning of the health craze that has recently become so popular in the United States.
Nike Incorporated is a multinational corporation that was founded in 1964 with the name Blue Ribbon Sports. They changed their name to Nike, Incorporated in 1971, from the Greek language meaning the goddess of victory. This was the year that Blue Ribbon Sports created the infamous Nike Swoosh, which became a trademark for the company in 1974. In 1988, their slogan “Just Do It” became one of the best slogans of the century.
Nike produces, sells, and markets athletic footwear and apparel in countries all across the world under a variety of different brands, including Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Air Force 1,Nike Dunk, Foamposite, Nike Skateboarding, and others including Brand Jordan, Hurley International and Converse. Nike is located in many countries across the globe, and are sponsors of various sports such as basketball, soccer and baseball. They have countless football club sponsorships across the world, and are the sponsor for all the teams in the National Football League in the United States.
By 1980, Nike had more than 50% of the market shares for athletic footwear in the United States. Today, Nike has 31% of the market share for global athletic footwear. By 2010, Nike was worth over $10.7 billion, which made Nike the most valuable sports equipment and apparel company in the world. Nike’s sales revenue is 2011 totaled $20.8 billion, coming from their 700 stores located across the world.
Nike, Inc. 