Sunday, September 29, 2013

Chapter 4. The Marketing Environment

Nike is the ultimate powerhouse in the shoe industry. Brands such as Asics, Reebok, New Balance, Puma and Adidas compete with the brand. Nike has become so successful over the years that they have covered every aspect of the footwear and apparel industry. Nike owns various companies, such as Cole Haan, Hurley International, and Umbro which cover classy, luxury and surf apparel. Nike Inc. also own Air Jordan brand, which is a branch under Nike Inc. driven by the man who's name are revolutionized sports as a whole, Michael Jordan. Nike offers different options and also tries to target every economical class in the economical pyramid. Nike also owns the legendary Converse footwear, which as been making footwear since the early 1900's. Nike's marketing has consisted of one thing and one thing only, Advertising. Nike has always had it's way with professional athletes since the early 80's. Either hiring them or having them wear their equipment. Starting 2012, all football (NFL) apparel is being made by Nike. Making it easier to advertise their name and brand into millions of houses every Sunday and Monday night. 
















New Media Marketing

Nike was an early adopter of internet marketing, email management  technologies, and using broadcast and narrowcast communication technologies to create multimedia marketing campaigns and advantages. In 1997, Nike was under fire for their labor practices amidst increased public awareness of the use of sweatshops in outsourced manufacturing. Nike created a website and adopted an email management system where they can confront and diplomatically deal with the influx of email communication and strengthen their public image through one-on-one interactions. This allowed them to mine data, remain sensitive to costumer feedback, and reduce the cost of service. Which is now used for different advertisers utilized the same email management technology for Nike to integrate TV, email, print media and the web in one of the earliest multimedia marketing campaigns, that allowed consumers to email featured athletes. For example, Nike now uses Twitter as a faster and more convenient way to get and purchase sneakers.

The new media feature Nike has developed is called "Twitter RSVP". (Only eligible for Twitter account users only) The way it works is Nike stores across the country tweet hash-tag that you will have to message back to them with the following info: Product hash-tag, first & last name, and size, once it's done, Nike will respond back on a fist come first served bases to those who successfully completed the message. With the replied message customers get the opportunity to purchase the product. This makes it easier for Nike to have a more complete interaction with the consumer. This also gives them feed back in areas of populations throughout the country, contributing to future locations in areas not yet explored by Nike Inc. Nike keep coming up with ideas in order to manufacture, sell and satisfy their customers and distribute their product accordingly in favor of the public themselves. Making this process a marketing advantage by Nike.This new method is purposely used to target age group 18 to 35 years old. Making it easier for teens and middle aged adults to purchase footwear without having to leave their comfort of their own homes to make lines outside retailers overnight. This now makes it safer for the customer to purchase Nike goods without the hassle. 







Sunday, September 22, 2013

Chapter 3. Ethics & Social Responsibility


Energy & Climate 

Climate change is perhaps the ultimate systems-wide challenge, in our entire planet. Climate change and the related issue of increasing energy demand pose challenges to their business, their industry and society as a whole.


At NIKE, Inc., reducing their own contributions toward climate change is a primary aim of their sustainability strategy. But they know that doesn’t go far enough, so they have also work to provide leadership in the business community toward climate stability.

Their aim is to drive innovation, collaboration and public policy advocacy to deliver carbon reductions across the value chain. 

Labor
NIKE, Inc. has worked to improve labor conditions in their footwear, apparel and equipment supply chains for more than 15 years. They have been working with contract factories to build their human resources management skills and help them reach even higher levels of economic, social and environmental performance. Their work has centered around three fronts:
- Working conditions in factories: Environment, safety and health
- Labor rights, freedom and protections
- Worker's lives outside of the factory and living conditions in their communities

Their aim is to transform there working relationship with contracted factories to incentivize changes that benefit their workers, instill changes in their code, instigate innovation, educate to build management capabilities, address root causes in their own processes, work with the industry, and reward factories achievement.

Chemistry
Nike is committed to making their products in ways that protect workers, consumers and the environment, all while delivering the high quality and performance for which their are known for. One aspect of this commitment is their work to eliminate, reduce and responsibly manage hazardous chemicals in their supply chain.

Water
Water stewardship including attention to water quantity an quality is an essential part of our sustainability strategy. We are working to design products from materials that require less water to produce, and helping material vendors and contract factories to reduce their water-related impacts and eliminate hazardous substances from discharge into water.

Waste 
At NIKE, Inc. they define waste as any material purchase anywhere in their supply chain that does not ultimately end up as a useful component of product, or cannot be reused at the end of product life. This includes packaging, shipping material and product samples, in addition to a wide range of manufacturing waste, such as scrap fabric, leather and rubber. This definition, which is broader than most companies forces them to think about waste at all points across their value chain.
Their ultimate, long-term vision is the conversion of raw materials into finished products with zero waste, as well as “closing the loop” on materials use that is, using only materials that can be fully recycled.
Community
They believe in the power of human potential. They are leveraging the size and reach of their brands to effect positive long-term changes that empower and support the communities which they live, work and play.
Their aim is to deliver focused areas of impact through innovation, partnership, advocacy and movement making, with a stable source of funding to allow for a portfolio of innovation to scale and flourish.





Sunday, September 15, 2013

Chapter 2. Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

As the world’s leading athletic footwear, apparel company, NIKE Inc. is dedicated to inspiring every athlete to reach peak performance. Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman sawendless possibilities for human potential embodied through sport. His philosophy still guide sour mission today: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” "And if you have a body, you are an athlete."
Through our commitment to innovation and design, they are continually challenging ourselves, and their customers, to reach that next level of achievement. They strive for:

- Innovation to serve the athlete
- Innovation to grow the company
- Innovation to inspire the world

Company Portfolio
NIKE, Inc. includes seven distinct brands, each with a powerful connection to its customers:

Nike Brand- Designs, develops and sells high-quality athletic performance gear and sport inspired casual products, including footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories.
Cole Haan- Designs markets and distributes luxury shoes, handbags, accessories and outerwear
Converse- Designs markets and distributes athletic footwear and appeal

Hurley International LLC- Designs marketing and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories
Umbro- Designs distributes and licenses athletic and causal footwear, apparel and equipment primarily for football & soccer.
Nike Golf- Designs and markets golf equipment, apparel, balls, footwear, bags and accessories
Jordan Brand- Designs and markets premium footwear, apparel and accessories inspired by the dynamic legacy, vision and direct involvement of Michael Jordan
Cole Haan, Converse, Inc., Hurley International LLC, Umbro international Limited are wholly owned subsidiaries of NIKE, Inc. These affiliate business play a major role in the future growth plans. Together with their Nike Golf division, the company as a whole contributes approximately $2.7 billion of the company's $20.9 billion in revenue.
Plan For Growth
Nike is growth company. But they want to deliver growth in the right way. They seek growth that is:
- Sustainable
Profitable
Capital efficient
Brand enhancing
http://stupiddope.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/nike-sportswear-tech-pack_large.jpgLike many other business, Nike faced some significant headwinds. Around the world, unemployment was high, especially among youth and governments wrestled with high debt levels. Rising cost of energy and labor sparked inflationary pressures. in turn, higher cost of materials, labor and freight were evident in their margins. While the headwinds they faced were shared across their industry, the competitive advantages they have their unique to the Nike portfolio. In spite of ongoing macroeconomic challenges, they are well positioned to leverage their strengths, including scale, operational capabilities and pricing power – to help mitigate the risks beyond their control and capitalize on opportunities to grow the company.
Integrating Sustainability Into Our Game Plan
A more holistic sustainability strategy that is fully integrated into the business enables Nike to create value, not just through risk mitigation, but also through top-line growth, cost avoidance and better access to capital. As an example, their next portfolio of targets is designed to improve Nike’s environmental and social impacts for them and across their value chain, while also avoiding costs across the value chain by reducing waste, energy and water expenditures. 
At Nike, one way they seek to deliver shareholder value is through sustainable growth. To them, sustainable growth means there long-term vision to deliver profitable growth decoupled from constrained natural resources, even as they work to deliver value to their shareholders in the near term. Meeting these two objectives requires a careful balance – one their stakeholders expect of them – and it remains their commitment. They attempt to strike this balance by leveraging their significant competitive advantages, including their authentic, emotional connections with consumers; innovative product and retail experiences that lead the industry; and a strong NIKE, Inc. portfolio that gives them tremendous opportunities for growth and profitability.

As they set aggressive goals in all areas of their business – financial, social and environmental – they are committed to sharing these goals and to reporting on their performance to consumers, the investment community and others interested in their commitments and progress, including the wider sports and apparel industry, community groups and academia. Over the past 15 years, they have moved from approaching sustainability as a risk management issue to viewing it as an innovation opportunity and a competitive advantage to be integrated into every aspect of their business. 
Target & Performance 
Their vision of the future is one in which they see a world in transition from an industrial economy to a sustainable economy, where renewable sources of energy flourish, water is borrowed responsibly and returned clean to communities, waste is a new asset, workers across the industry are consistently valued and environmental impact will be a critical metric of success.
This is a future that will be good for business, economies and communities, and citizens, workers and consumers. And they are determined to set Nike up to lead and thrive, in this environment.
In order to get there, they will need to move from incremental to disruptive innovation. Their aim of decoupling growth from constrained resources will require change at a systems-wide level. No single company can eliminate toxic chemicals from vast supply chains, nor improve living conditions of workers in low-income communities, nor eliminate waste from consumption. They need step change in collaboration to drive collective understanding of the systemic issues they face and agreement on the solutions. Competitive advantage should be built on a sustainable playing field where getting better faster than the competition raises the bar for everyone. That will require relentless focus on systems innovation and collaboration across government, industry, social influencers and even consumers. It also will require putting sustainability at the heart of innovation.
They operate in a globally competitive industry, where markets change, regional and national policies play into the impacts they have and the way they can address them. In some cases, the kind of large-scale systemic changes needed to make a lasting positive impact in the environment and society. While retaining communities and businesses, this requires movement on all fronts. It sometimes requires agreeing with their common approaches and definitions. One example is in their approach to sourcing and assessing factory performance by including the expectation of progress toward the Fair Labor Association’s definition of “fair wages” into what they consider compliance. That relates to minimum wage, inflation, community vitality and other things beyond their control. It speaks to all efforts needed to bring about a better world.
Their milestones needs is along way, they take their environmental and their social targets seriously. In the same way a company’s business targets are based on the planned, the real, the owned and the predicted. They work to develop targets that organize their efforts, drive and performance to help them to take account of what’s important and how their managing.
Manufacturing
Their value chain is global:
More than 900 contracts factories
More than 1 million workers
- More than 500,000 different products, each with its own environmental and social footprint

Their ability to improve their own footprint and shape sustainability solutions at scale relies on fundamentally changing the nature of their relationships across the value chain, including,  importantly with the factories that make their products. Like many global companies that outsource production, their supply chain is complex, fragmented and influenced by factors beyond their power. That’s what makes their work so challenging. They do not own these factories, so they cannot mandate change. Instead, they build and influence positive change through their contracts. 

http://jamiepang.smugmug.com/Sports/Nike-Free-Run/i-rC2p765/0/M/Tech%20Fleece%20-%20Men%27s%20Windrunner%20(2)-M.jpg







Sunday, September 8, 2013

Chapter 1. Overview of Marketing


Before there was the Swoosh, before there was Nike, there were two visionary men who pioneered a revolution in athletic footwear that redefined the industry. The company was founded on January 25, 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight and officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1978. The company takes its name from Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger (now ASICS), making most sales at track meets out of Knight's automobile. By 1971, the relationship between BRS and Onitsuka Tiger was nearing an end. BRS prepared to launch its own line of footwear, which would bear the Swoosh newly designed by Carolyn Davidson the woman who created the Nike "Swoosh". The Swoosh was first used by Nike on June 18, 1971, and was registered with the U.S. Paten and Trademark Office on January 22, 1974.

In 1976, the company hired John Brown and Partners, based in Seattle, as its first advertising agency. The following year, the agency created the first "brand ad" for Nike, called "There is no finish line," in which no Nike product was shown. By 1980, Nike had attained a 50% market share in the U.S. athletic shoe market, and the company went public in December of that year. 
Together, Nike and Wieden+Kennedy have created many print and television advertisements, and Wieden+Kennedy remains Nike's primary ad agency. It was agency co-founder Dan Wieden who coined the now-famous slogan "Just Do It" for a 1988 Nike ad campaign, which was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of the 20th century and enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution. Throughout the 1980s, Nike expanded its product line to encompass many sports and regions throughout the world. In 1990, Nike moved into its eight-building World Headquarters campus in Beaverton, Oregon.

MISSON STATEMENT: To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete*  
*IF YOU HAVE A BODY, YOU ARE AN ATHLETE