MARKETING

PROJECT
ON NIKE
Done by

TANAY RISHU
BATCH:2016-2019
Section D

INTRODUCTION
Indian market is so complex because of the large number of cultures,
religions, diverse levels of income of the people. Moreover, a wide rural
and urban divide creates another challenge in front of companies while
establishing effective distribution network. The successful companies
repositioned their brands only then adapted to the local market needs
and became successful.
NIKE had remained different, all over the world the company had
managed to gain and eventually become the market leader but India
remained unconquered. It was only in 2006 that Nike changing its
strategy took a step which left the likes of Reebok and Adidas far
behind. The thing with Nike was instead of selling the product, they
tried selling the whole reason behind buying the product but first they
had to capture the hearts and spirit of the Indians and this is exactly
what they managed to do.

CULTURAL FACTOR: THE

PASSION FOR CRICKET
There was and is no denying that Cricket has become something more
than a sport in India and companies before Nike used this to their
advantage. Its a part of the Indian culture now and if any doubt, the
streets will tell you a different story.
The footwear industry in India is highly fragmented and dominated by the
informal sector. The size of the industry is around Rs. 75 billion and is
growing at around 10% annually. Nike competes with local players such as
Liberty Shoes, Phoenix International, Mirza Tanners, Tata, Action,
Lakhani Shoes and global players like Adidas, Reebok and
Puma. Footwear sales contribute over 96% of sales, whereas Accessories
and clothing represent the rest.
Nike took the right to become the official sponsor of the team's cricket
team in India for the next five years, beating its rival Reebok and Adidas,
by paying 1.96 billion to the Cricket Control Board of India for the
privilege. The first "Just Do It" ad in Cricket also made an appearance
during the Champions Trophy. They looked at what drives the passion for
cricket in India. Their goal was to connect emotionally with their

customers. All these years, market leadership has eluded Nike in

India. This is the only market where Reebok had a (40 percent market
share), followed by Adidas (20 percent). Nike, 15 per cent share was a
distant third.

A FRESH START: emotional

marketing?
Other sports companies realised the value of adapting to Indian
consumers long ago. What delayed Nike? The operational arrangement
was probably to blame: Nike's entry into India was through a sevenyear licence agreement with Sierra Industrial Enterprises, unlike
Reebok, for instance, which is a fully-owned subsidiary of the American
parent.
In 2004, instead of renewing the franchise, Nike India became a
subsidiary.
It was an opportunity to start afresh, with greater independence, and
Nike was aware of it.
The company figured that it is critical to connect emotionally with
customers. And in a cricket-crazy nation like India, you don't need to
think too hard about how to do that. Even rival Reebok agrees.
"You can't be present in India without being associated with cricket,"
wryly commented Subhinder Singh Prem, managing director, Reebok
India. "But to build a successful association, you can't see cricket as a
seasonal activity," he had warned.
Nike was listening. They wanted to first show their loyalty to Team
India, to prove their commitment towards the market and win the
confidence of cricket fans.
That was followed by the introduction of Nike's first cricket shoes. The
Air Zoom Yorker was launched this September by pace bowlers S
Sreesanth and New Zealand's Shane Bond, who have also been signed
on brand ambassadors for the product. A shoe for batsmen, the Air
Zoom Opener, followed.
Nike is also thinking ahead and taking its commitment to cricket to the
grassroots level. In December 2005, it tied up with coaching schools
like the BCCI's National Cricket Academy.

The academies will work with Nike to understand the product

requirements of the players. It's a win-win situation for both the
company and the academies. While Nike creates brand awareness and
has a shot at creating loyalists at a young, impressionable age, the
academies' need for equipment such as shoes and training gear is
looked after by the company.
This is a good move by Nike to promote products at a serious level and
to build brand awareness through its commitment to develop sports in
India.

SOCIAL FACTOR: CATCH EM

YOUNG
There's nothing original about the focus on cricket, but elsewhere Nike
is stamping out fresh ground. Players like Reebok and Puma are looking
at extending the sports product line as a lifestyle brand for the 17-35
years age group.
While Reebok is looking at increasing its exclusive women's stores from
the existing three to 10 by next year, 70 per cent of the merchandise in
Puma stores is lifestyle-, and not sport-related.
But when Nike talks of young customers, it means young. Across the
world, its core audience is between 12 and17 years, and it sees no reason
why India should be any different.
They want to inspire youth to become serious about sports that interest
them. The cricket ad, for instance, is clearly targeted at this group.
The ad showcases some of India's finest cricket moments in recent
times: Virendra Sehwag becoming the first Indian to score 300 runs in
a test match and the dramatic win for India in the Natwest series in
2002. You won't find any memories of the Prudential Cup win of the
1980s in this supersized, 300-second commercial: the target group isn't
likely to relate with an event that's not just historical, it's history.
Children today don't just play the game, they also understand how
serious it is. That is why instead of showing cricketers, they decided to
show moments that highlight the achievements of cricketers.
The sponsorships of the cricket academies and the ad isn't the only
child-friendly tactic Nike is adopting. It has also launched its cricket
shoes and the replica gear in small sizes. That's a very good move,

Targeting kids will help Nike build the brand and create a long-term
effect by addressing customers' needs at an early age.
There's some doubt, though, on whether cricket is the best sport to
communicate the brand's values to a young, discerning audience.
Brands like Nike are clearly focused on the upper segment of
consumers. I'm not sure whether cricket is any longer such a popular
sport with that group. Young consumers in the upper strata are more
likely to be tuned into events like the NBA or Premier League Football.
For its part, Nike isn't taking any chances. The company is also paying
attention to other popular sports in the country, such as tennis and
football. Of course, it hasn't started any aggressive marketing initiatives
for these sports, but the company is determined to tap into the under-15
group here as well.
After announcing its partnership with the All India Football Federation
in March 2006, Nike gave an opportunity to the Indian leg of under-15
players to participate in the Manchester United Premier Cup, an annual
international Nike tournament.

SOCIAL FACTOR: WOMEN

POWER
Another master stroke was when Nike India, in its
recently-launched ad film 'Da Da Ding', a part of
'Nike Just Do It' campaign, featured women
athletes and Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone
instilled a new enthusiasm amongst the women.
The film, which features sports athletes, showcases the
unrelenting spirit of women in India, and aims to trigger a
movement to change the way sports is perceived in the
country. The campaign features the ultimate girl sports squad
-- from national hockey player Rani Rampal and surfer Ishita
Malaviya, to Deepika Padukone -- as well as a huge supporting
cast of everyday women performing a diverse range of sports.

Nike's campaign aims to inspire people to take up sports

by showing the unstoppable feeling that only sports can

deliver. The campaign showcases a series of young

athletes across India who are unstoppable. Through their
stories, Nike aims to ignite a sports movement.

This is just an example of how Nike is targeting its audience and

how it is changing the whole atmosphere of Indian sports culture.
This ad showcases how women can come out of this cocoon which
has been created in the gender sensitive India and make their own
path. This again is an example of the hero concept which is
inspiring and easily draws attention.

CONCLUSION
One of the regional marketing strategies by Nike was to build the promotions
and advertisements based on the sports that were famous in that region like
in India Nike took over the sports of cricket to promote the brand to the
Indian market; as Indians are crazy for cricket.
Just the way food tastes different in every part of the world the taste for
buying things is also different, since consumers find it hard to change their
taste, all you have to do is that you present the same thing in a way that it

meets the demand of the consumer; this is the marketing strategy by Nike.
Just like Italian concept of pizza is modified in the entire world to the tastes
of the people of that area.
Nike brand strategy takes the emotional marketing story of the Hero and
turns it inward. You are the hero, and your lazy side is the villain.
This specially relates to the youngsters.

So all in all Nike has targeted many sectors such as the gender, age
or cricket but its main marketing agenda stays the same, that is
the whole idea behind the product itself that is to stay fit and there
is a rising trend towards health and wellness and Nike has
successfully implemented its plans and have risen to become the
market leaders.
No doubt other companies had atleast tried one of these
strategies before but what set Nike apart was that it was
already a well established brand and Nike set apart itself
in its way of marketing the game itself to the masses.

After 1994 Nike never looked back.