Marketing Timeline:

1962- Phil Knight travels globally, and makes a deal with Initsuka Tiger company to give him a distributorship for the tiger shoes in the U.S. He calls the company “Blue Ribbon Sports” (Nike’s original name).

- Blue Ribbon Sports begins their marketing by taking the product directly to the athlete. Knight sends out information of Blue Ribbon Sports and tiger shoes to dozens of high schools and track programs.

1966- Blue Ribbon opens 1st retail location in Santa Monica, Ca.

1971- For $35, the swoosh symbol is created by a graphic design student, Carolyn Davidson from Portland State University.

- An employee, Jeff Johnson comes up with the name “the Nike” for the new shoe originating from Mexico. The company also creates their first apparel product which is a tee shirt promoting the new shoe.

1970’s- Nike begins sponsoring track and field runners and builds brand recognition in the US.

1977- Nike releases their first print ad in the form of a poster with the tag line, “There is no finish line.”

1981- Nike reaches out to the Chinese market and sponsors both the men’s and women’s national basket ball teams.

- Nike also opens their first headquarters in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

1980’s-90’s- Nike continues to grow and sponsor American athletes and sports teams.

1995- Nike signs the Brazilian National Football Team. This was their so-called big break for international sales.

1999- Nike opens another headquarter location in Hilversum, The Netherlands.

- Nike signs up to sponsor the Australian Team. This allows Nike to unveil new and innovating products to the world such as the thermo regularity Swift Suit and the lightest track spike ever made.

2002- Nike launches the “Secret Tournament” campaign, which is their first truly global, integrated brand campaign. Millions participated on the integrated website.

2003- International sales exceeded U.S. sales.

2007- Nike opens a flagship retail store in Beijing, China, and sponsors 22 of 28 Chinese national teams competing in Beijing.

Currently: Nike continues to cater their marketing strategy to each of the more than 160 countries they are present in.

Nike Globally:

Head Quarters: Portland, Oregon. Operate in more than 160 countries worldwide

3 Countries Marketing Mix:

America: Developed

America is where the brand originated, and offers by far the largest product assortment. They have all different sports such as basketball, football, gold, running, and soccer apparel and gear. They also offer products for specialty lines such as LIVESTRONG, Nike 6.0, and Nike+. They offer clothing, footwear, and sporting gear. True to the American way of life, Nike offers so many different options it is almost impossible to choose. There is an overly sufficient amount of choices to choose from, and this is an example of how inflated our spending habits have become.

Singapore: Developing

Singapore has a smaller selection of products. They offer running shoes, the element family (3 different running jackets in both men and women’s style), swift bras, and Nike+ sport bands, sportswear, specialized women’s products, basketball products, and football products. Singapore locations seem to be more focused towards singular personal use and not so much a specialized sport products. Sportswear and Nike woman’s categories are made for very practical and casual use. These are great selections to offer with a realistic down to earth customer in mind. They also have products designed for harsh weather conditions. Nike is really promoting their Nike+ program, which gets customers involved with their running plan and sharing their progress with other.

India: Newly Developed

Nike in India promotes three sports, which are popular in the country and also Nike+. Nike+ seems to be a global marketing strategy to get people to use Nike products to track their progress while running and in turn share their progress with other people around the globe.

Cricket is a very popular sport in India, and Nike has really targeted this sport market. They are just unveiling the new India cricket team uniform, which is highly promoted on the site. The also offer cricket shoes and bats.

Promotional and Positioning Strategy:

Nike is a truly global company with locations in over 160 countries.

Nike uses a market development strategy where they market their same products to different customers globally. This can be seen through their Nike+ campaign. The Nike band and shoe insert are the same globally, but they attract a multitude of different customers. Nike+ is a way for people who are running to track all their information pertaining to the run, set goals for themselves, share their progress with others, and have an overall organized and interactive workout experience with a simple tracking tool. In America Nike+ is being promoted, but not as heavily as other popular American sports such as Football and Basketball. In Singapore, Nike+ is a main focus of the website possibly due to Nike tying to build their customer base in this developing country. Unlike America, Singapore does not hold sports to such a patriotic level, and Nike+ is a tool that every day people can use in a practical sense. In India, Nike+ is still in its introduction stage. The site

is trying to education people on the product and what it an do for them. They are more focused again on the popular sports for that culture such as cricket and football.

This is again a demonstration of all three countries economies. America already has a developed audience that is involved with the product, Singapore has an evolving customer base who they are really trying to encourage to use the service more, and India is just beginning to learn about the product and become familiar with its functions.

Nike is also a polycentric company meaning that they change marketing strategies and ways products are sold to match their location. Nike can be seen as the chameleon of sports gear. They offer the same underlying products, but they change their color for very different culture they penetrate. Their process involves adapting to a country, learning their athletic activities, and sometimes focusing on people who are public sports figures that many look up to and admire.

This is an extremely effective way for Nike to operate and can be seen through their success. In the early 1980’s and 1990’s Nike began sponsoring other countries in the native sport, and this is when they really began to globally grow.

My idea of a promotional strategy:

Particularly in America, obesity is becoming a large issue. This epidemic is spread throughout age groups, but it is unfortunately happening to too many young children. They are uneducated about nutrition, and I think Nike should take on this cause. They already offer children’s products such as apparel, shoes, and sports gear. This could be a great cause to get involved with and spread awareness about. It would also promote Nike products at the same time.

I believe that Nike is a truly global Company. They have really expanded throughout the world, and consumers can see their presence in each and every country they offer products in. Nike specializes in entering a country while earning and adapting to the culture of both the people and their spending habits. Nike researches what is popular, and then translates how their products are viewed according to the consumers in that country.

Sources:

"Nikebiz : Careers : Locations." Nikebiz : NIKE, Inc. Official Site, the World’s Largest, Leading Athletic Brand. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.nikebiz.com/careers/locations/>.

"Nikebiz : Company Overview : Timeline." Nikebiz : NIKE, Inc. Official Site, the World’s Largest, Leading Athletic Brand. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.nikebiz.com/company_overview/timeline/>.

"Nike - Home." Nike - Please Choose Your Nike Region. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.nike.com/nikeos/p/nike/en_US/?sitesrc=uspl>.