Nike_and_Stp

Introduction In current competitive marketplace where diverse companies create more intense competition in business world, positioning appears to be more a critical matter in the sustainability of a company. Mazzarol and Soutar (2007) affirm that coherent and consistent strategy of positioning is an important issue for an organization to succeed in modern business. Positioning is defined as a way the product is defined by consumers on important attributes—the place the product occupies in consumers mind relative to competing products (Kotler, Brown, Adam, Burton & Armstrong, 2007). Company Background–Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. is the largest sports and fitness company in the world founded in 1964 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. Nike is based in Beaverton, OR and employs more than 24, 300 people world wide and includes brands such as Cole Hann, Bauer, Hurley and Converse. Nike operates on six continents with suppliers, shippers, retailers and service providers employing close to 1 million people. It provides athletic footwear, clothing, and equipment and is one of the most recognized supplier worldwide of these products. (source: Nike, 2009) Nike in Segmenting and Targeting Before positioning its product, a company should segment and target their markets. Likewise, based on research by Dawes (2008) and Tong & Hawley (2009), the youth market is particularly important to Nike and its customers are tended to be young, highly educated, single, and with moderate to high incomes. However, focusing on specific target group may be counterproductive, as it may actually constraint the ability of the brand to grow (Dawes, 2008). Therefore, Nike uses the marketing segmentation strategy which is called mass customization, where customization implies that each buyer is viewed as a potentially unique segment and have unique needs (Cant, Strydom, Jooste & Plessis, 2009). With this basis, Nike launched a new website called NikeID, where customers can select to “customize and buy” its products. Customer can choose the colors, materials, and even personalize the shoe with own unique symbol or name. Nike in Positioning Kotler et al. (2007) state in positioning, a company must identify and select the appropriate competitive advantages and enable to deliver them effectively to the market. The positioning statement of Nike is “Just do it”. In today’s competitive marketplace, Nike, one of the global leaders in sport-product industry, has established a strong position to enhance athletic lifestyle even for non-athlete customers. It has become fervor for everyone to use Nike products as it creates the Just Do It feeling. Knox (2004) asserts that customers are fervent to experience the benefits gained over the cost they sacrifice in possessing a product. The benefits demanded or the value demanded by Nike’s target market is shoes with high performance, stylish, innovative and highly technologically invented. Moreover, in sports industry, the consumer’s buying decision is influenced by the consumer’s perception of brand. Nike understands its consumers, therefore, it positions its product to customer’s expectation by providing an authentic irreplaceable value in consumers’ minds through athletic fantasy that is endorsed by real athletes to distinguish its product from competitors’ product, for instance they create basketball shoes named Air Jordan and they promote the product by signing the contract with Michael Jordan as their brand ambassador. Dawes (2008) stated that Nike is ‘a good example of an emotional brand. It made sportswear accessible to non sportspeople with a brand story that inspired not just success but energy and determination’. References Dawes, J. (2008). Brand loyalty in the UK sportswear market. International Journal of Market Research, 51(4), 449-461. Arora, R & Stoner, C. (2009). A mixed method approach to understanding brand personality. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 18(4), 272-283. Cant, M. C., Strydom, J. W., Jooste, C. J. & Plessis, P.J. (2009). Marketing Management. (5th ed.). Cape Town: Juta and Company Limited. Knox, S. (2004). Positioning and brand your organization. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 13(2), 105-115. Kotler, P., Brown, L., Adam, S., Burton, S., & Amstrong, G. (2007). Marketing (7th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia. Ma, H. (2004). Toward global competitive advantage: creation, competition, cooperation and co-option. Management Decision, 42(7), 907- 924. Nike. (2009). Company Overview. Retrieved September 20, 2009, from http://www.nikebiz.com/company_overview/ Nike. (2009). Nike Timeline. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from http://www.nikebiz.com/company_overview/timeline/ Murphy, C. (2008, March 4). Americas Most Admired Companies 2008. CNN. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fortune/0803/gallery.innovation.fortune/2.html