Nike is a multinational corporation based in the U.S. that engages in the manufacturing, development, design, and global sales and marketing of services, accessories, equipment, apparel, and footwear. The organization currently operates a total of 1096 retail stores globally (Shahbandeh, 2020). The firm has the biggest market share within the North American athletic apparel industry and it engages in various marketing approaches to promote its products. The paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the enterprise’s promotional mix.
Advertising
Concerning advertisement, the aim of Nike is to influence a massive populace of target consumers via a prime potential impact. The company uses effective ads to endorse the trademark to clients. These commercials also increase the purchasers’ opinion concerning the firm and its merchandise (Mahdi et al., 2015). While advertising may be an efficient approach in communications and marketing, it is a costly venture, mainly when including customary mass media such as television, radio, and newspapers. The organization also utilizes popular individuals such as prominent footballers to epitomize the ultimate purchaser of their products. By using celebrities in publicity, the firms’ marketing communications meritoriously endorse its products to clients by appealing to them to mimic how personalities such as Michael Jordan fancy the Nike trademark.
Public Relations
Nike utilizes public relations in its promotional and communications approaches. For instance, the company engages in various corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability approaches to promote the community’s wellbeing and better its relations with the public. Some of the CSR initiatives by Nike include reducing the overall waste generated from its operations and minimizing water consumption in its supply chain by implementing innovative strategies (Jili’ow, 2016). The organization also sponsors sports events and uses it to communicate with its target clientele concerning the strategies it employs to resolve pertinent social issues.
Personal Selling
Nike typically initiates this particular approach in its retail outlets. The company’s employees are usually trained on the proper mannerisms and approaches to be implemented when attending to consumers in these retail stores (Zawawi & Razak, 2017). Furthermore, Nike expects its workers to have adequate background knowledge of the firm’s products and convince consumers to purchase these apparels. Sales personnel also promote the enterprise’s goods by providing personalized services to help consumers locate the product which matches their preferences. The personal selling strategies described above trigger positive consumer experiences and relations while marketing Nike’s merchandise.
Sales Promotion
The company’s sales promotions are typically availed in the form of unique offers accorded to target consumers. Nike utilizes this approach to attract new clients by providing extra benefits (Mahdi et al., 2015). Some of these incentives include the savings they could make by buying products following the application of discounts and special offers. Sales promotions in the organization’s promotional mix trigger a surge in demand from new clients by encouraging them to buy its products.
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Plan
IMC relates to the procedure of integrating all brand promotion approaches to market a specific service or product among target customers. Under this strategy, all marketing communication aspects are coordinated to enhance significant increases in sales and cost-efficiency. The major components contained in an IMC include:
- The foundation phase: It incorporates the comprehensive evaluation of the target market and product.
- Corporate culture: The service or product’s fundamental features should complement a company’s organizational culture.
- Brand focus: This element underscores the brand’s corporate identity.
- Consumer experience: The promotional approaches selected by the company must center on clients’ encounters.
- Communication tools: This includes the various mediums used to promote a specific brand, for instance, social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, direct selling, and advertising.
- Promotional tools: According to Zawawi and Razak (2017), the marketing of brands assumes the use of several promotional tools, including personal selling and trade promotions.
- Integration tools: Enterprises should monitor elements such as consumer reviews and feedbacks. To enhance the efficacy of this activity, the organization should use software such as CRM (customer relationship management) which supports the evaluation of the efficiency of the selected IMC tools.
Advertising Plans
Nike utilizes direct marketing to advertise its products to its intended consumers. Nevertheless, to generate a more significant influence, the corporation uses salespersons to approach particular entities or establishments in intended market divisions. It also endorses its products to sporting establishments in universities and institutions of higher education (Zawawi & Razak, 2017). The firm also employs this approach to inaugurate stouter associations with intended consumers and influence them to buy its merchandise. Direct advertising contributes to Nike’s marketing plan’s effectiveness by promoting customer allegiance.
By communicating directly with intended firms, schools, and higher learning institutions, the firm generates a loyal customer base with the above communities. The company utilizes a value-based pricing approach, whereby it sets its product’s retail costs as per the value placed on them by the consumers. Furthermore, it adjusts the prices in line with their target market; it allows the firm to align its manufacturing processes with the consumers’ expectations, which enhances loyalty (Jili’ow, 2016). Nike also employs online marketing strategies using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to market its products. The organization also runs and manages a company website where they showcase their full catalog and even promote online purchasing, thus, reaching customers in all parts of the globe.
Conclusion
From the above analysis, it is evident that Nike leverages the benefits of its marketing communication or promotional mix to interact with its target consumers in the international athletic equipment, apparel, and footwear industry. The organization uses this strategy to advertise its products and business, as per its target marketplaces’ dynamism. The efficient promotional communications approach adopted by the company contributes to its overall success.
References
Jili’ow, A. I. (2016). Business strategy, corporate strategy, swot analysis and swot matrix report: Business strategy case study: Nike Inc. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Open University Malaysia.
Mahdi, H. A. A., Abbas, M., Mazar, T. I., & George, S. (2015). A comparative analysis of strategies and business models of Nike, Inc. and Adidas Group with special reference to competitive advantage in the context of a dynamic and competitive environment. International Journal of Business Management and Economic Research, 6(3), 167–177.
Shahbandeh, M. (2020). Total Nike retail stores worldwide from 2009 to 2020. Statista. Web.
Zawawi, N. H. A., & Razak, W. R. A. (2017). Advertising practices: The case of Nike, Inc. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 6(5), 45–47.