Post #10 - Nike Marketing Strategy: How Nike Branding Flatters Athlete Egos (Free Post)

I thought that for this week's free post, I could watch a marketing video on Nike and its marketing strategy. I decided to do this because for my Steve Jobs free post a few weeks ago, he mentions how Nike's greatest strategy is "honoring great athletes and athletics." Because I thought this was interesting, I decided to go ahead and dig deeper into Nike as a company. In the beginning of the video, a Nike advertisement is shown to prove that the brand's belief revolves around "tenacity". At the end of the commercial, it says, "success is not calculated, it's earned." The host of the video then goes on to describe that this commercial is successful because everybody believes the same thing about themselves. Also, it's a universal thing because people around the world believe that they don't give up, or that they are tenacious and smart. This is the message that Nike is ultimately giving off, which causes the brand to be so successful. Another advertisement is shown that reveals a woman running up a hill, and claims that she used to be fat and was not even able to walk up the hill back then. Furthermore, Nike is said to have a 5 step formula for their successful ads. They are: First To The Challenge, In The Zone, Doubt and Suffering, Rededication and Victory. This formula is supported with examples such as being up early and training while everyone else is still asleep, being focused and "in the zone", overcoming obstacles or falling down/getting hurt, getting back up/fighting, and then reaching victory. The host says this works so well because it's a "universal story." This is what Nike strives to accomplish as such a large brand. They emotionally capture every athlete's attention or for that matter, anyone who is striving to be the best.

I believe this video correlates with the Steve Jobs one because Job's quote of great athletes and athletics is the marketing strategy that causes Nike to universally capture consumers' attention. Nike's successful advertising is measured by their ability to tell real life stories of athletes around the world. Not only this, but they use famous athletes as well. They are able to include emotion, which is a huge strategy in selling Nike's product.

Work Cited:

"Nike Marketing Strategy: How Nike Branding Flatters Athlete Egos." YouTube. YouTube, 09 June 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.