Print-friendlyDoes Nike Fit? Some Women Say No
I conducted a short series of interviews with everyday conusumers about the venerable Nike brand. What I learned was that a lot of women say Nike's are made for narrrow feet. The following highlights some other valuable information I gathered and outlines a basic marcom strategy consistient with it.
Nike is one of the world's most popular and innovative brands, recognized internationally for its embrace of sport, athleticism, and the spirit of competitiveness. Because the brand offers a wide range of athletic equipment and apparel that seek to serve a variety of consumers, the methods and tactics it uses to communicate its core messages and value is vital. This discussion focuses on several factors that were revealed in a series of interviews conducted with three consumers loyal to the brand.
A Brief Description of Nike
To get of very brief glimpse of Nike, I referenced their website. The organization was originally founded in 1962 as Blue Ribbon Sports. The company changed its name in 1972 to Nike, 'named for the Greek winged goddess of victory.' Today Nike directly employs some twenty-six thousand people, as well as approximately six hundred and fifty thousand in contracted factories worldwide. It is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. It possesses an extensive network of retail and manufacturing operations, distribution centers. Under the Nike corporate brand, its own numerous athletic apparel subsidiaries that include Cole Haan Holdings, Bauer Nike Hockey, Hurley International, Converse Inc., and Exeter Brands Group, LLC.
The Interviews
I conducted a series of three interviews over a course of two days. The interviews were conducted in a relaxed, face-to-face setting with individuals that I know both personally and professionally. The interviewees were comprised of two females and one male. The females' ages were 31 and 33 and both were held advanced educational degrees; one was a primary school teacher with a Masters Degree in education, the other an Attorney. Both were single and had no children and pursued similar lifestyle habits relative to exercise and fitness. The male was 41 years of age, also possessed an advanced degree and was married with two children. His lifestyle factors relative to his personal exercise and fitness habits were somewhat similar to the females, although the impetus for this was mainly as a result of his family demands and not necessarily reflective of his personal motivation.
During the brief interviews, I asked each a series of questions that were aimed at revealing key data in accordance to the Communications Strategy Development Form within IMC: The Next Generation (181-182) by Schultz. The questions ranged from the basic - do you buy Nike, to more subjective, such as 'what does Nike mean to you?'
Key Revelations
The interviews uncovered several key pieces of information about the perceptions of the Nike brand, technical considerations of Nike footwear and the methods in which each were exposed to the brand and its messages. From the attitudinal perspective, the women described somewhat different thoughts regarding what the Nike brand represented to them. While they both described the main meaning of the brand to be 'sportswear' or 'sneakers' or products related to 'sports', they also offered insights such as 'empowerment', 'achievement' and even contrary factors like 'slave labor'. The male echoed similar beliefs of the Nike brand relative to sports-related 'footwear', but appeared more focused on 'victory', 'winning' and 'professional athletes'.
Beyond these subjective views, what was most interesting was the point that both females made relative to Nike technical factors of their footwear (namely sneakers). Both commented how the brand appeared to be designed for individuals with narrow feet. While both women noted that they remained partial to the brand and sought it out over other brands when making purchases, they both appeared noted that other brands often were more comfortable. Their male counterpart noted none of these, yet said he was influenced mainly by pricing factors and promotions at his time of purchase. Aesthetics were an important factor for all participants, but seemed to be weighed more heavily by the females. Another interesting factor that all noted the status factors like 'coolness' also played a role. This was more apparent in the female teacher and the male father. Both noted that they were positively influenced by the children in their lives; the teacher's pupils and the father's children.
As far as their methods of brand messaging reception, the females both noted that advertising was an influential, especially relative to new styles. The teacher and the father were additionally influenced by their children in considering Nike. Of the three, the lawyer female was also observant and influenced by her peers at the local fitness center she frequents.
The Communications Platform
In determining a basic communications platform for Nike, I reflected on the data gathered during the surveys to establish three core concepts. These include message delivery contact points, message content and creative execution.
In terms of message delivery, the strategy is to deliver messaging that at the right place and at the right time, using media that reflects the mainstream lifestyle factors. Nike currently appears heavily dependent on print advertising. While this would not fundamentally change, the range of publications and vehicles used would be adjusted. The strategy would be to augment the brands core athletic consumer base with exposure to consumers that pursue more varied activities beyond sport. This includes placement in homestyle publications, beauty publication and niche publications centered on business, management and profession practice. The goal is to connect with consumers in different contexts who might not necessarily be athletics and fitness focuses. Additional outlets would also include varied forms of interactive media, outdoor media and possibly more reliance on public venue sponsorships and placement. The strategy is to shift exposure away from sporting-centric media into lifestyle media to increase exposure to the 'everyday fit folk'.
Consistent with this media placement shift would be to communicate new messages relative to the shoes technical factors. While this may force major adjustments to the company's product lines, it was clear and consistent from the female interviewees that Nike shoes were targeted for individuals with 'narrow feet'. To compensate, I would pursue tactics that communicated changes on this level. Doing so could re-introduce many past loyalists and spur re-introductions to many sneaker consumers. Fortunately, this change could be introduced to compliment the needs of 'everyday fit folks' and introduced by utilizing the mediums above. Consistency in message could be achieved through both tactics.
Finally, in terms of the creative execution of these messages, all of the interviewees noted (in varying degrees) that they struggled with identifying with the brand's current 'superstar athlete mantra'. The bottom line in that they respected the brand for its quality, agreed with it core philosophies, yet didn't identify with many of the images that the brand currently projected. To address this, the creative tactics would center on the use of 'everyday folk' using Nike brands in common lifestyle activities that touched upon core fitness themes, yet were in contexts that everyday consumers could identify with. This could help the brand re-connect to aging brand loyalists who may not be running a marathon, but still appreciate comfortable and cool looking sneakers. Additionally, tactics would also center on celebrating 'everyday champions' like fathers, grandfathers, teachers, professionals and the like in an attempt to reinforce Nike's winning philosophy. The underlying strategy would be to connect the technical with the lifestyle and be delivered through appropriate media.
Reflecting upon the information I received from these interviews, it is clearly apparent that the Nike brand is held in high regard with adults. This is due to the fact that the brand has been around for much of these people's lives. Many of the brands key messages are firmly ingrained within this group. Unfortunately, however, the brand may not necessarily reflect their lifestyles or be reasonable to their needs. Nike can leverage its brand equity with this group by making adjustments to their products and the methods they use to communicate its value. Doing so may enable them to recapture significant market share within this group and reestablish relationships with many of these consumers. Pursuing this will force Nike to reexamine their core messaging tactics, the main messages and their delivery vehicles.
