{ Chapter: XVI } Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

Advertisement: When it comes to Ads Nike does not deliver the "traditional" advertisement, Nike in fact has won Emmy's the work they have put forward into commercials. Here are two of those (left) "Morning After" and (below) "move". Nike goes grand whenever they aim to catch their targets attention, from enormous billboards to interior designing sporting events they (wisely choose to sponsor) have experience in this field of marketing and skill that has come unparalleled in the sporting goods universe.

Promotion: Just as they innovate with their commercials and anything else they make, Nike also innovates in the way they present whats to come. Using athletes mostly to be the face and also the chariot of upcoming products, gives Nike a proven method of using star athletes (who are icons) as the vessel to securely put forth a new product on the market. While Nike aims to cater to everyone, I believe their promotional strategy is to sponsor professional athletes, colleges and professional teams first and foremost. This is a big industry that is the potential for great revenue. Nike knows this which is why they are dominant in places such as the NBA and NFL. Athletes needs better shoes and equipment to help them be better at their jobs and Nike is consistently enhancing their products to satisfy this need. For the average consumer that is not a pro-athlete, attention is given to them as well. Nike offers and is constantly enhancing running shoes for the average jogger and is also promoting shoes that help you get through normal everyday activities such as walking. I visited the website of Nike, one of the most widely known sellers of athletic footwear, equipment and apparel in the world. The message that I got from Nike is “if you have a body, you are an athlete”. This is a very clever message because not only is the company trying to target athletes, they are targeting everyone in the whole entire world. Everyone has a body so everyone has the potential to be an athlete. This is also a great boost for kids and young teenagers who realize that there is something that they can do to better themselves and possibly get rewarded for their efforts. Below is the most recent concept promoting "strive for greatness" for James' 11th Signature sneaker


Nike LeBron 11

Public Relations: Nike’s public relations includes upgrading its own code of conduct and participating in a range of coalitions including the Global Alliance for Workers and Communities aimed at helping workers in third world shoe and clothing factories and other business coalitions that represented social responsibility, like Business for Social Responsibility. Also to better their reputation, Nike promised to phase out the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from its shoes. It enrolled Greenpeace, which has a campaign against PVC worldwide, to publicize the promise. In a press conference in Oregon, Nike's home state, Greenpeace read a Nike company statement which said that the search for a suitable substitute for PVC had “barely just begun”. It was unable to predict when its shoes would be PVC-free. Nike stated that the “action was not intended to divert attention away from criticism it has received over its labor practices in low-wage countries.” In addition, Nike made efforts to recycle excess rubber from factories, converting to water-based solvents and recycling used shoes. It developed a tank top made of 75 percent recycled plastic and the t-shirts it sold in the US contained 3% organic cotton.