The Role of Marketing Communication In Recognition of The Global Brand: A Case Study of Nike

Thesis

By

Aleksander Madej

Submitted in Partial fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the degree of

Bachelor of Science

In

Business Administration

State University of New York

Empire State College

2019

Reader: Tanweer Ali

Statutory Declaration / Čestné prohlášení

I, Aleksander Madej, declare that the paper entitled:

The Role of Marketing Communication In Recognition of The Global Brand: A Case

Study of Nike

was written by myself independently, using the sources and information listed in the list of references. I am aware that my work will be published in accordance with § 47b of

Act No. 111/1998 Coll., On Higher Education Institutions, as amended, and in accordance with the valid publication guidelines for university graduate theses.

Prohlašuji, že jsem tuto práci vypracoval/a samostatně s použitím uvedené literatury a zdrojů informací. Jsem vědom/a, že moje práce bude zveřejněna v souladu s § 47b zákona č. 111/1998 Sb., o vysokých školách ve znění pozdějších předpisů, a v souladu s platnou Směrnicí o zveřejňování vysokoškolských závěrečných prací.

In Prague, 26.04.2019 Aleksander Madej

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Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I would like to thank my family for their support and the possibility to study at the Empire State College and the University of New York in Prague.

Without them, I would not be able to achieve what I have today. Furthermore, I would like to express my immense gratitude to my mentor Professor Tanweer Ali, who helped and guided me along the way. I am incredibly lucky to have him. In addition, I want to thank my professors who enriched me greatly over the course of four years.

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Table of Contents

1. Chapter 1: Introduction ...... 5

2. Chapter 2: Critical analysis of marketing theories ...... 8

2.1 Definition of a global brand ...... 8

2.2 Elements of the Global Brand Equity ...... 12

2.2.1 Brand Identity, Visual Brand Identity and Brand Image ...... 12

2.2.2 Brand Positioning ...... 16

2.2.3 Marketing communication – historical models, one-way and two-

way ...... 21

2.2.4 Integrated Marketing Communication – New concepts of communication, definitions, and tools ...... 25

3. Chapter 3: Analysis of building the global brand recognition on the example of Nike – case study ...... 30

3.1 The history of building the brand’s capital ...... 30

3.2 Nike as a Global Brand ...... 33

3.3 Elements of the Global Brand Equity ...... 36

3.3.1 Brand Identity, Visual Brand Identity, and Brand Image ...... 36

3.3.2 Brand Positioning ...... 40

3.3.3 Integrated Marketing Communication ...... 41

3.3.3.1 Advertising ...... 41

3.3.3.2 Public Relations ...... 46

3.3.3.3 Digital Marketing ...... 49

4. Chapter 4: Conclusion ...... 59

5. References ...... 61

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Abstract

Global brands and their roles are constantly growing in today’s fast-paced world.

Consumers expect to be emotionally connected with companies and their causes. The aim of this thesis is to verify the significance of a brand’s image and its recognition, the impact of various promotion-mix components regarding consumer relationships, brand stability, and placement among other brands. It is assumed that, based on the case study method of global marketing icon, Nike, we will find the answer to the following research questions, “Which theories concerning the global brand, its positioning, and

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) presented in the literature of the subject have been reflected in the communication practices of the selected company.” The most important element in creating advantage is the brand, its positive image created in the minds of target consumers, and a clear distinction from the competition. In recent years, the concept of integration of communication has become more popular, and it is believed that it is foundational for building strong brand equity because it integrates individual communication channels. The most significant foundational concept is that communication should be tailored as much as possible to the consumer to build an emotional bond and ensure proper two-way interaction (with feedback) between sender and recipient. The analysis of the global brand, Nike, confirms the importance of a properly integrated marketing communication strategy in the brand’s success.

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1. Introduction

Rivalries for customers, similarities in products, changing attitudes, and knowing what motivates consumers are some of the challenges for companies on the contemporary fast-growing global market. In the book “Ted Levitt on Marketing” (2006), the author presents the global market as a place where the product can be accepted without adapting to the local market. For example, the products of brands like Nike, Starbucks, and Coca-Cola. This standardization results in lower costs and higher quality of the products. The role of the global brand is constantly growing and the consumers are more connected to the world than ever before.

Properly selected marketing strategies are crucial in distinguishing a company from the competition and matching the brand to a broader group of consumers. The research was done in order to identify the biggest factors that influenced global brand equity in the market. An important differentiating element of a global brand is the brand’s image and its recognition from the customer. The brand needs to carefully select proper communication channels to favorably place itself in the mind of consumers.

The above-mentioned premises of our fast-paced globalized world influenced the choice of the topic of this thesis, “the role of marketing communication in recognition of the global brand: a case study of Nike”. It was acknowledged that Integrated Marketing

Communication (IMC) plays a significant role in creating a competitive advantage.

Verification of various definitions of IMC will allow me to asses “how” and “whether” these factors affect brand recognition by consumers on the global market. In addition,

5 there is no agreement on one main definition of a global brand and its positioning in the literature on the subject. No single agreement was proven by closely analyzing the global brand, Nike.

The aim of this work is to verify the significance of the brand’s image and its recognition, the impact of various promotion-mix components on consumer relationship, brand stability, and placement among other brands.

It was assumed that, based on the case study method of global marketing icon Nike, we will find the answers to the following research question: “Which theories concerning the global brand, its positioning, and Integrated Marketing Communication presented in the literature of the subject have been reflected in the communication practices of the selected company?”

For the purpose of the analysis, the following hypothesis was formulated: “A global brand with a high degree of recognition by the consumers achieves a stable and strong market position among the competition.”

Verification of the hypothesis considers the analysis of marketing theories in scientific literature on the subject (chapter 2) and the evaluation of the results from the case study method (chapter 3). Choosing Nike for a case study justifies the long-term presence in the Interbrand Best Global Brands rankings (Interbrand, n.d.-b) and the highest position among sports brands. It was speculated that the so-called “good practices” of the brand

6 in its communication have contributed to its success and can set an example for companies wanting to participate and appear on the global market.

Nike is an American company with the highest recognition in the world. They are offering footwear, clothing, and sports equipment. This global brand was created by

Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman in 1971. They are selling in over 170 countries and their annual revenue for 2018 was 34,365 million United States dollars. Nike is a cultural icon that knows exactly who their audience is and how to communicate their brand’s values.

The thesis is divided into four chapters. The first is the introductory part. The second, theoretical, presents selected definitions related to the topic of the thesis and they are the foundation for the research in the third chapter. The analysis of marketing theories was made in relation to the global market. The global brand is explained, as well as what elements of the brand’s equity have a direct impact on customer recognition. Various definitions of integrated marketing communication are presented by referring to the first communication models. The third, empirical chapter, contains a description of Nike’s brand communication practices, like advertising, sponsorship, social media, etc. The starting point provides information about the company’s beginnings, name, logo, and slogan. It was proven which marketing theory, stated in the theoretical chapter, reflects the strategy of building Nike’s brand and its recognition. The fourth chapter of the thesis, which contains the results of the case study analysis and conclusions, are presented.

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2. Chapter 2: Critical analysis of marketing theories

A global brand and Integrated Marketing Communication are both relatively new concepts in marketing. To this day, many theoreticians and practitioners of marketing have not reached an agreement on what the main definition is. Only a few elements of a brand image are, until now, not changed. In this chapter, I will present selected definitions related to the topic of my work. They form the basis for understanding the promotional strategy that Nike, the largest global brand in the sports industry, has adopted to build its global recognition.

2.1 Definition of a Global Brand

There is no explicit definition of a global brand within literature. Özsomer Aysegul and

Altaras Selin (2008) distinguished two conceptual trends (figure 1). The first is based on marketing standardization, which is used by brands to unify strategies and programs across all markets. However, there is no consensus among theorists regarding unification.

Ted Levitt (2006) opted for full standardization of the brand’s strategy on the global market. However, he stated that unification does not mean ignoring local tastes and that modifications should be made if all the possibilities of standardization are exhausted (p.

136).

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On the other hand, Aaker David and Erich Joachimsthaler (1999) argued that total standardization is impossible because brands differ in their degree of globalization.

Unifying their strategy may cause problems that exceed the potential advantages. For example, the communication campaign may not be understood due to cultural differences or costs associated with advertising that can be cheaper if they are implemented by local entities.

The second trend is based on the customer’s recognition and perception of the brand on global and foreign markets. The most important part is that the customers perception and the strength of the brand matches with the recipient (Alden, Steenkamp, & Batra,

2006).

Figure 1 Trends of a Global Brand. Own figure based on Özsomer and Altaras (2008)

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Research companies present their own definitions. AC Nielsen and Interbrand use their own metrics to determine globality in the Best Global Brand Reports, such as market reach, the percentage of total company sales abroad, and minimum revenues generated globally (Özsomer and Altaras, 2008). The definition of a global brand also includes the

Collins Dictionary of Business.

List of main definitions of Global Brand:

• Levitt T. (2006) - A Global Brand is a brand that applies an integrated marketing

strategy in all markets in which it is present. It is possible to modify the strategy

if all possibilities of standardization are exhausted.

• Aaker D., and Joachimsthaler E. (1999) - A Global Brand is a brand with a high

degree of similarity across countries with respect to brand identity, position,

advertising strategy, personality, product, packaging, looks, and feelings.

• Alden D., Steenkamp J-B., and Batra R. (1999, 2006) – A Global Brand is a

brand highly recognized with prestige and quality by the consumer, thanks to the

brand’s strength and its match with the recipient.

• Özsomer A., and Altaras S. (2008) - Defines Global Brands as those that have

widespread regional/global awareness, availability, acceptance, and demand.

They are often found under the same name with consistent positioning,

personality, looks, and feelings in major markets that are enabled by centrally

coordinated marketing strategies and programs.

• AC Nielsen (2001) - Global brands are those that are present in the four major

regions of the world—North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the

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Middle East, and Africa—with at least 5% of sales coming from outside the

home region and total revenues of at least $1 [billion].

• Interbrand (n.d.-a) – The brand must be truly global, having successfully

transcended geographic and cultural boundaries. It will have expanded across

the established economic centers of the world and entered the major emerging

markets. In measurable terms, this requires that:

o At least 30 percent of revenue must come from outside of the brand’s

home region.

o The brand must have a significant presence in Asia, Europe, and North

America as well as broad geographic coverage in emerging markets.

o There must be enough publicly available data on the brand’s financial

performance.

o Economic profit must be expected to be positive in the longer run,

delivering a return above the brand’s cost of capital.

o The brand must have a public profile and awareness in the major world

economies.

• Collins Dictionary of Business (n.d.) – A Global Brand is a BRAND that is sold

in a very large number of national markets on the basis of a single unique

BRAND NAME, rather than using different brand names for each separate

national market. A prime example would be Coca-Cola. Such global brands

offer considerable economies of scale in marketing and production, though care

must be exercised in developing a brand name that is aligned with the customs

and sentiments of all of the target nations.

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In the light of the above-mentioned definitions, it can be assumed that a global brand is a brand that goes beyond the borders of the country in which it was created. It represents the same name and the same values in all markets, has high recognition by consumers, and its communication messages are integrated. It also shows a high degree of uniqueness but retains the ability to adapt to the individual market. The marketing strategy is determined and coordinated centrally.

2.2 Elements of the Global Brand Equity

The basic terms that have been presented are not enough to explain the idea/concept of brand awareness but they do explain what brand recognition is based on.

2.2.1 Brand Identity, Visual Brand Identity, and Brand Image

Building the brand image of a global brand is based on its identity, which is where the company communicates with consumers about the brand. According to Kevin Keller

(2008), there are six criteria for brand elements and each one has more specific sub- choices (p. 142).

These six criteria are:

1. Memorable:

• easily recognized

• easily recalled

2. Meaningful:

• Descriptive

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• Persuasive

3. Likable:

• Fun and interesting

• Rich visual and verbal imagery

• Aesthetically pleasing

4. Transferable:

• Within and across product categories

• Across geographic boundaries and cultures

5. Adaptable:

• Flexible

• Updatable

6. Protectible:

• Legally

• Competitively

Brand elements that are part of a brand’s identity are:

• Brand names and URLs

• Logo and Symbols

• Slogan and Jingles

• Characters

• Packaging and Signage

Every point listed above (six criteria and brand elements) helps in identifying the brand and distinguishes it from the competitors on the market.

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On the other hand, John Takamura describes a brand identity by referring to Lynn

Upshaw (1997): “AS LYNN UPSHAW SEES IT, brands are corporate DNA—the essential meaning of an organization, service, or product. In a crowded and skeptical consumer market, it's crucial that these meanings—these brand identities—are understandable, credible, resilient, and well placed.”

For the brand to be clearly positioned in the consumer mind, it should be properly presented and programmed. It is called positioning of the brand and I will describe it in my next subchapter of the thesis.

Brands that care about having a proper image should create standards for a visual brand identity and save them in a so-called visual identity guide. As Business Dictionary explains (2018), the term visual brand identity is understood as “Visible elements of a brand, such as color, form, and shape, which encapsulate and convey the symbolic meanings that cannot be imparted through words alone. In a broader (corporate) sense, it may include elements such as building architecture, color schemes, and dress code.” It is important that all visual aspects of the brand are representing the same core message.

The terms “brand identity” and “visual brand identity" are often used interchangeably.

However, there is a difference between the two, even though both of them relate to each other.

Examples of customer’s contact with the brand:

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• Logo

• Color

• Font

• Trademarks

• Corporate cards

• The appearance of the product and the packaging

• Means of transportation with the logo (trucks, cars, etc.)

• Employee uniforms

• Points of sale

• Graphic layout of the promotional materials, etc.

• Company buildings with the logo

The above-mentioned points have an impact on the so-called brand image. As Keller states (2008), “brand image is consumers’ perceptions about a brand, as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory. In other words, brand associations are the other informational nodes linked to the brand node in memory and contain the meaning of the brand for consumers. Associations come in all forms and may reflect characteristics of the product or aspects independent of the product” (p. 72). The definition of the brand image is also well presented by Prachi Juneja (n.d.), “Brand image develops and conveys the product’s character in a unique manner different from its competitor’s image. The brand image consists of various associations in consumers’ mind - attributes, and benefits. Brand attributes are the functional and mental connections with the brand that the customers have. They can be specific or conceptual.

Benefits are the rationale for the purchase decision. There are three types of benefits:

15 functional benefits - what do you do better (than others), emotional benefits - how do you make me feel better (than others), and rational benefits/support - why do I believe you (more than others). Brand attributes are consumers overall assessment of a brand.”

In conclusion, the visual identity is the fastest link between the brand and the consumer.

A brands identity is the “code” of the brand. We can recognize that the brand image creates recognition among consumers.

2.2.2 Brand Positioning

Strong global brands have a special place in consumer minds and their level of awareness, which is achieved through well-designed positioning of the brand. The goal of positioning is to build an optimal brand image among all competitors. This term appeared for the first time in a 1970’s Advertising Age magazine, thanks to the famous

American theoreticians and marketing practitioners: John Francis Trout and Al Ries. By gaining more knowledge and experience, they have improved the concept of positioning to make it useful and applicable to new marketing discoveries and developments. In their book “Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind” (1981), they defined positioning as:

“how you differentiate yourself in the mind of your prospect” (p. 3).

According to Ries A. and Trout J. (1972), the process of applying the positioning strategies to the company’s brand has six questions that should be answered before the whole process (pp. 18-19), and they are as followed:

1. What position, if any do we already own in the prospect’s mind?

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2. What position do we want to own?

3. What companies must be outgunned if we are to establish that position?

4. Do we have enough marketing money to occupy and hold the position?

5. Do we have the guts to stick with one consistent positioning concept?

6. Does our creative approach match our positioning strategy?

Kevin L. Keller’s book “Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and

Managing Brand Equity” (2008), states the definition that was used in the joint publication with Philip Kotler and describes positioning as “act of designing the company’s offer and image so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the target customer’s minds.” (p. 79). In addition, he also emphasizes that good brand positioning helps in selecting appropriate marketing strategies because it shows everything about the brand, its uniqueness, the similarities with the competition, and why consumers should buy and use this brand. Keller thinks that the choice of the positioning strategy depends on the determination of the target market, its segmentation, the nature of the competition, the points of parity, and the points of difference (similarities and unique aspects of the brand).

There are also critics of the classical brand positioning theory. Byron Sharp, the professor of Marketing Science at the University of South Australia, is considered to be one of the gurus of modern marketing. His book “How Brands Grow: What Marketers

Don’t Know” (2010) was one of the most influential books in recent years. Byron Sharp argues that most marketing textbooks, including Kotler’s, are just fairy tales. He claims that positioning based on a specific consumer group is not working due to the natural

17 monopoly law, which states that brands with larger market shares recruit more light category buyers, making them the first brand they go to because of the higher recognition. According to Sharp (2010), the basis for the brand’s growth is the three pillars:

1. Mental availability – understood as the brand’s tendency to be noticed and

referred to in specific shopping situations. The basis for mental availability is the

quantity and quality of associations built in the memory structures with the

brand’s current and potential consumers

2. Physical availability – physical ease of noticing and buying for as many

consumers as possible in as many shopping situations as possible. This area

includes distribution, shelf visibility, proper packaging, and price.

3. Distinctiveness – The point is to be distinctive to build awareness of these

differences due to having unique brand equity (name, colors, packaging, music,

the tone of communication, shapes, characters, etc.). The goal is to build a

recognizable structure in the minds of consumers that can be recalled in

shopping situations to easily recognize the brand among many others.

Sharp indicates to attract new consumers from the group of a given product or service.

This means to care for the broadest possible range of communication and distribution.

Instead of focusing on brand distinctions, it is worth focusing on the characteristics of branding (logo, colors, style of communication) that attract attention and will create an association with the brand in the mind of the consumer.

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A new approach to the brand positioning theory has also been described by Douglas

Holt. In his article from 2003, “How to build an iconic Brand”, he describes how the

“mind-share” theory, which can be interchangeably used with positioning, has a big problem with its universal approach. Holt believes that for a brand to become an icon, its marketers should follow the “culture share” approach.

In traditionally conceived marketing, the brand is positioned around a specific product.

Meanwhile, cultural branding formulates the cultural mission of an iconic brand, which should be authentic, charismatic, and flexible. After identifying the target group, it should be embedded in a natural environment and engage the consumer in the life of the brand. In contrast to ordinary brands, iconic brands do not refer to material products, but to legends and stories corresponding to the cultural needs of consumers.

Holt’s recommendations:

1. Target a cultural contradiction – The brand should focus on the most important

cultural tensions that are currently occurring in the society that the brand

operates in.

2. Act as a cultural activist – The role of an icon is to encourage people to act and

think differently through ads or any other marketing activity. They are so-called

“cultural leaders”.

3. Create original and expressive culture as an artist – Iconic branding is an art.

They invent a new culture and do not follow trends or use already existing

cultural developments.

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4. Develop an authentic populist voice – Lastly, for a brand to be an icon, it must

create credibility. The brand needs the trust of its customers and must have a

deep understanding of the brand’s views and commitment.

The presented positioning concept is an interesting proposition to build a story about the brand based on legends, emotions, social, and cultural contexts. However, a good quality product should be behind the story in order for consumers to experience the narration created by the brand.

Brand positioning can be defined as the process of creating and maintaining the desired brand image in the mind of target consumers to clearly and positively differentiate the brand from the competition. The essence of this process requires creating specific and unique links with the brand in the minds of consumers. Brand positioning is a strong concept due to the “openness”. One should not be guided by one theory. Depending on the circumstances, the most fitting elements from each theory can be applied.

Global brands are brands that grow from already functioning domestic enterprises. They have experience in positioning that can be used in the global market. However, brands should consider the social, cultural, and legal conditions of particular markets, that is:

• Language issues: the sound and the meaning of the brand name, logo, and the

content of advertising slogans.

• Differences in lifestyle, values, and consumer preferences.

Legal barriers for content in certain advertising campaigns.

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2.2.3 Marketing communication – historical models, one-way and two- way

Marketing communication is an important part of building global brand recognition.

According to Philip Kotler and Kevin Lane Keller (2012), “Marketing communications are the means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade, and remind consumers— directly or indirectly—about the products and brands they sell. In a sense, marketing communications represent the voice of the company and its brands; they are a means by which the firm can establish a dialogue and build relationships with consumers.” (p.

476).

In the book Integrated Marketing Communications, written by David Pickton and

Amanda Broderick (2005), it’s stated that what is “Fundamental to the understanding of marketing communications is an understanding of the marketing communications process, i.e. how marketing communications work from the sender of the communication to the receiver of it.” (p. 6).

The “Mother of all models” in communication is from the 1948 linear model by mathematician, Claude E. Shannon. According to Shannon (1948, July), the linear model is a one-way process where there is no feedback or response from the receiver of the message.

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Figure 2 C. E. Shannon, Schematic diagram of a general communication system (Shannon 1948, p. 380)

As Shannon states in “A Mathematical Theory of Communication” (1948, July), the information from a source produces a message to be communicated and is where the transmitter operates on the message to produce a proper signal that goes over the channel to the receiver. The receiver reconstructs (decodes) the message and the destination is the person, or thing, that the message is intended for. (p. 380). The information is encoded and converted to be understood by the receiver. The communication process is disrupted by noise, which can make the message difficult to understand for the receiver. It is important to use a proper channel of communication for the message to be delivered and properly decoded. In this model, there is no feedback from the receiver, it is one-way communication.

The next model of communication is Schramm’s model and is to be considered the

“father of all models” of communication. He introduced the field of experience aspect into the model. According to Schramm (1954), “The source can encode, and the destination can decode, only in terms of the experience each has had. If we have never learned any Russian, we can neither code nor decode in that language.” (p. 6). It means

22 that for the message to be clearly decoded or understood, both sender and receiver need to have shared experiences (figure 3 shows the Schramm’s model of communication).

Figure 3 Schramm's model of communication (Schramm 1954, p. 6)

It is now worth to mention some of the criticism of the linear model of communication from the Businesstopia:

• There is no feedback from the receiver (it is applicable only to mass

communication like television, newspapers, etc.).

• The model assumes that communication has a beginning and an end so it is not

continuous.

• Because human communication is mostly circular, rather than linear, there is

always feedback from the receiver.

• Both the sender and receiver must have the ability to encode the message

(shared field of experience).

• The model has become less relevant to electronic communication and the

internet, where it’s not clear who the senders and receivers are.

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In conclusion, the linear model of communication is a good representation of one-way communication but it is not suitable for human interaction, where feedback (helpful information or criticism to our statement or action) is necessary for circular communication (two-way process).

Another model is the De Fleur Model of Communication (figure 4). The “De Fleur

Model of communication” (n.d.) is an expansion of the Shannon and Weaver model of communication and the Westley and Maclean model of communication. This model inserts a mass media device, which suggests that communication is now circular (two- way) with possible feedback. At any time, it’s always a possible for noise to occur that distorts the message. Another important addition to this model is the Feedback Device, which helps with identifying and analyzing the target audience. This model is a two- way communication process that introduces two important new aspects: two-way feedback and a target audience.

Figure 4 De Fleur Model of Mass Communication System

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The historical models mentioned above are important because they form the basis for many other marketing communication models. It should be noted that in the 1980s, in literature and in practice, the concept of marketing communication was used interchangeably with the term promotion. During that time, attention was drawn to the fact that promotion was a one-sided message from the seller to the buyer. Marketing communication is a wider phenomenon – a two-way process of mutual relations between the sender and the receiver, so the promotion has become one of the elements of marketing communication.

2.2.4 Integrated Marketing Communication – new concepts of communication, definitions, and tools

In their book, Pickton and Broderick (2005) use a statement from DeLozier in 1990 that perfectly describes the relationship between promotional and other communicational efforts of the firm. “The promotional mix has long been viewed as the company’s sole communications link with the consumer. However, this kind of provincialism can often lead to sub-optimization of the firm’s total communications effort. Because if viewed in isolation, promotion can actually work against other elements in the marketing communications mix." (p. 5). A company’s communication efforts should be integrated and have the same communication goal in order to not work against each other.

Different platforms should complement each other to create a stronger message for the consumer.

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Advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling are the main elements of “The Promotion Mix: The Fourth P” (or Communications Mix), similar to the marketing mix. Each one of them has many detailed elements.

Considering the topic of this work, I will skip the analysis of the communication combinations that are available in the literature and focus on the one that is the most important for the global brand recognition, which is the Integration Marketing

Communications.

At the end of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century, due to the technological progress and social development, the possibilities for providing information increased. Mobile phones, personal computers, televisions, and the internet have changed the approach to traditional promotion, and together with the product, price, place, and promotion (marketing mix – 4P) it served as the implementation of the marketing strategy. As a result, new concepts of brand communication with consumers have been created. Marketing theorists have noted that the promotion mix, marketing mix, and brand strategy should be integrated. According to Kitchen P. J. and Burgmann

I. (2010, December 15), one of the main theorists of IMC is Schultz D. E., who

“proposed a new and revised version of IMC, adopted by the American Marketing

Association (2007)” (p. 15).

Next, the authors of the same publications emphasize the existence of many definitions of integrated marketing communication and the lack of one main and agreed version. To present the IMC definitions used in marketing, I will present the table of well-known

26 researchers Kerr et al. (2008, January) that Kliatchko J. uses in his paper “IMC 20

Years After: A Second Look at IMC Definition” (2009, January).

Figure 5 Definitions of IMC, Source: Kerr et al (2008, January)

For the sake of clarity, I will provide the definition that the American Marketing

Association is using, as was mentioned above. IMC is defined as “a planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or organization are relevant to that person and consistent over time”

(Kotler & Keller, 2012, p. 495).

Kliatchko J., in the article “IMC 20 years after: A second look at IMC definitions”

(2009, January), analyzed the previously mentioned definitions and distinguished the common IMC characteristics: coordination and synergy of marketing communication

27 disciplines, messages, understanding and building profitable relationships with multiple audiences or stakeholders, evaluation and measurement of IMC programs of behavioral and financial results, strategic management of marketing communications, planning, and the overall business process. (p. 8).

After critically analyzing integrated marketing communication theories, it seems that the last definition of IMC was created by Kliatchko J. in 2008. He improved his previous version from 2005 by adding content to the three pillars (consumers, channels, and results). According to Kliatchko (2009, January), “IMC is an audience-driven business process of strategically managing stakeholders, content, channels, and results of brand communication programs” (p. 9). The author states that the definition above, due to the lack of details, is suitable for use in new and changing market conditions.

According to Kotler P. and Keller K. L. (2012), IMC uses eight main communication tools, which are: advertising, sales promotion, events and experiences, public relations and publicity, direct marketing, interactive marketing, word-of-mouth marketing, and personal selling (p. 478).

Coordination and integration of marketing communication seems to be complex. It requires interdisciplinary and systemic preparation. It is needed in the era of globalization and due to the development of new technologies, including the internet.

As a reference point, the brand should be taken as a whole for the organization, not focusing solely on the promotion. It is important to ensure the integration of all

28 communication elements actively monitor what consumers (receivers of our communication) say and think about the brand.

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3. Chapter 3: Analysis of building the global brand recognition on the example of Nike – case study

3.1 The history of building the brand’s capital

Nike is an American company offering footwear, clothing, and sports equipment.

In 1964, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight asked his old running coach, Bill

Bowerman, to join forces to create Blue Ribbon Sports, a company that imports and sells low-cost but high-tech running shoes from the Japanese shoemaker Onitsuka Tiger

(Knight, 2016). Knight and Bowerman decided to split their share to 51-49 respectively.

The sales from 1964 were growing and Blue Ribbon Sports was importing more shoes from Onitsuka. The company opened its first retail store in California in 1966 (Nike,

Inc., n.d.-a). The relationship with Onitsuka Tiger was finished in 1971. There were many problems with the Japanese shoemaker. There were many delayed shipments and no space for improvements that were suggested by Bowerman. Onitsuka’s attempt at looking for another prospective seller in the United States of America made Blue

Ribbon Sports create their own shoe line (brand) in 1971. Independence obviously required drastic changes like a new name, a new symbol, and, above all, a new unique footwear. The name Nike was invented by one of the company’s employees, Jeff

Johnson. He dreamed about the goddess of victory, Nike, which perfectly corresponded with the company’s message – motivating players to never give up and to overcome their weaknesses. Carolyn Davidson came up with the logo. Her designs were not

30 particularly liked by Knight and Bowerman but they did not have time to come up with others so they chose the simplest and most similar to the wings of the goddess, Nike.

For the logo that many people around the world know today, and not just the athletes, they paid $35 (Knight, 2016).

The first Nike shoes were patented in 1974. The idea came to Bowerman during breakfast when he noticed a pattern on his wife’s waffle iron. He borrowed it and started to experiment, and in 1971 the first sample of waffle-soled shoes came to existence (Knight, 2016, p. 197). The new shoe was light and had a good grip on a track. The first shoe line of Nike was represented by Moon Shoes (waffle-soled) and

Cortes shoes.

In 1978, Nike revealed their invention, which was the Air Tailwind. It was based on the technology developed by a former NASA engineer, M. Frank Rudy (Estes, 2015,

November 19). Nike Air Max was represented by Michael Jordan and was signed in

1984. The strategy was clever because Michael Jordan was wearing them during basketball games and they did not meet the color guidelines of the NBA. Nike actually paid Jordan’s fines for him to keep wearing them. Because of that, the spotlight was even stronger on Michael Jordan and his shoes.

Nike was having trouble in 1987. Their annual report stated that sales dropped 18 percent and earnings declined 40 percent (Kessler, 2018, November 23). Their major competitor, Reebok, targeted their market. The company needed a change, which is why

Nike’s advertising executive, Dan Wieden, and his firm, Wieden + Kenedy, wanted to

31 use a tagline. Nike introduced the “Just Do It” slogan in 1988. Its origins are from a mix of two statements. First, was the last statement of a murderer, Gary Gilmore, before his death sentence, which was “Let’s do it”. The second one was from Nancy Reagan’s

“Just Say No” campaign (Kessler, 2018, November 23). In the end, the tagline presented by Dan Wieden was a spectacular success.

In 1994, Nike initiated other endorsements to strengthen the brand’s position, like signing a long-term partnership with the Brazilian national football team and signing

Eldrick “Tiger” Woods in 1996. According to Carroll, Schrifin, and Brady (2013), in the 1990s, Nike faced problems with public protests regarding slave wages, working conditions, and environmental impacts. This was a big threat to the brand’s image. Phil

Knight (Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board at the time) acknowledged the issues and committed Nike to stricter standards. It resulted in the creation of the Sustainable Business & Innovation (SB&I) to oversee Nike’s projects, increased wages, and helped the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to work towards improving labor conditions.

In 2003, Nike developed into a truly global company. Their international sales for the first time in the brand’s history exceed sales in the United States. (Nike, 2003, p. 4).

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3.2 Nike as a Global Brand

For many years, Nike has been on the list of the most valuable global brands.

(Interbrand (n.d.-b). It meets the three most important features identified by this research company:

1. It is present in many markets.

2. At least 30 percent of revenue comes from outside of the brand’s home region.

3. Despite local differences of brand’s positioning, marketing message and

recognition of basic brand features are identical in all the markets.

According to Nike’s 10-K form (2018), their international branch offices and subsidiaries are located in 52 countries and selling in over 170 countries. Nike has approximately 73,100 employees worldwide, including retail and part-time workers

(Nike, 2018, p. 59). The number of brand factory stores and in-line stores in the United

States is 251 (or 392 if we count Converse and Hurley stores, which are part of Nike), and on the international market the number of stores is 729 (or 790 if we count

Converse stores). Sales from the international market accounted for 58 percent of total revenues (Nike, 2018, p. 56). Nike’s total revenue in 2018 (in millions) was $34,365.

This includes $14,855 in North America, $9,242 (in millions) in Europe, the Middle

East, and Africa, $5,134 (in millions) in Greater China, and $5,166 (in millions) in Asia

Pacific and Latin America (Nike, 2018, pp. 79-82). With so many factories, stores, and sales around the world, Nike’s global recognition and footprint is enormous.

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In addition, according to Nembhard Candice (2018, March 27), “Nike has managed to maintain its position as the world’s most valuable apparel brand in 2018.” Nike came out on top with brands such as H&M, Zara, Adidas, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci. Nike has widespread global awareness and demand across the globe.

Previously stated definitions of the global brand have many similarities and can be applied to Nike’s brand to a certain degree. As Levitt (2006) states, “Global Brand is a brand that applies an integrated marketing strategy in all markets in which it is present.

It is possible to modify the strategy if all possibilities of standardization are exhausted”, and this definition is applicable in the case of Nike. They are presenting the same message across many platforms like social media, products, point-of-sale, web, media relations, events, endorsements, and many more. The message is embedded in their most successful and leading campaign, “Just Do It”, which pushes athletes (in Nike’s dictionary, if you have a body, you are an athlete) to not just reach their limits, but to be the best in the world, to dream crazier, and to be victorious. Although the campaign message of “Just Do It” is the same, the promotions or advertisements are adapted to the local markets. The genius of Nike is hidden in the details. They managed to promote their brand image across many diverse cultures by adapting the cultural code into their advertisements. For example, different ads in the United States, China, India, and Great

Britain are based on their own cultural code (Mills, n.d.). To maintain a favorable brand image, Nike sponsors many popular and high-profile athletes and sports team around the world and invests a lot of money into their promotion. It’s about inspiring the athletes. They are successfully creating an emotional connection with consumers. The brand’s values are clear and consistent. A more in-depth focus and analysis of Nike’s integrated marketing communication will be explained later.

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Nike is the leader of sports footwear brands in the world. Their perfect marketing actions to create consumer brand awareness and brand recognition helped Nike win on the global market. The main competitors of Nike are Adidas and Reebok, which was later purchased by Adidas in 2005. The main reason why Nike is still on the top is due to their long lasting integration into the world’s culture, the “Just Do It” campaign, and the “Swoosh” logo on every product. It is important to create this connection in the consumer’s mind with the brand. It requires time, careful consideration, and constant market penetration. According to Deng T. (2009), “Few companies have such a recognizable image and the resources to promote their company identity as Nike do. For decades, by associating star athletes and motivational slogans like, "Just Do It," with marketing campaigns that emphasize fitness, competition, and sportsmanship, consumers have come to associate the Nike image with high-quality products, and a spirit of achieving courage, greatness where younger consumers especially benefit from this positive influence” (p. 103). Figure 6 shows the growth of both Nike and Adidas from 2000 to 2018 and it points out how Nike’s growth is much bigger than Adidas.

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Figure 6 Growth history of Nike vs. Adidas, source: Interbrand (n.d.-b)

In conclusion, Nike reached a global level as a brand and holds the top position in sports footwear, as well as the most valuable apparel brand. How Nike fulfills the third condition of Interbrand will be explained in the following subsections of this work.

3.3 Elements of the Global Brand Equity

3.3.1 Brand Identity, Visual Brand Identity, and Brand Image

Nike is one of the brands with the highest recognition in the world. The elements of the brand that determine its identity have a significant impact here:

• Brand name – Nike (figure 7). Nike’s name is the same worldwide. According to

Knight (2016), all iconic brands are short, have a strong sound in the name, and

stick in the mind of the consumer, which all describe Nike (p. 184). The name of

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the brand comes from the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, and represents the

pursuit to be the best and to be victorious.

Figure 7 Nike's name

• Brand logo – Swoosh (figure 8). Nike’s Swoosh logo is simple, likable, and easy

to remember. Due to the simplicity of the logo, it can be easily applied to

products and marketing materials. It was presented for the first time at the

National Sporting Goods Association Show in Chicago in 1972. When Phil

Knight was asked about the logo, he said that it represents “the sound of

someone going past you” (Knight, 2016, p. 202), which implies speed.

Nowadays, due to their global awareness, Nike is only using a logo and the

slogan “Just Do It” in their advertisements, without the name Nike (figure 8 and

9). According to Casella (2017, February 15), “Complex magazine rated the

Nike swoosh as the most iconic brand logo of all time. This simple shape is

associated worldwide with the shoe company and high-quality athletic apparel.”

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Figure 8 Nike's logo

• Slogan – “Just do it.” (figure 9). Nike’s slogan is empowering. It makes people

follow their dreams and to have no excuses. The slogan can be applied to any

action a consumer might want to take. It is easy to remember and it plays with

positive emotions. It was created in 1988 and Nike still uses it. Nowadays, Nike

combines their slogan, “Just do it.”, with their new one, “It’s only crazy until

you do it.”. This represents that crazy dreams are valuable and people should

pursue them, even if others think it’s crazy.

Figure 9 Nike's slogan

• Packaging – In 1972, shoe boxes were either white or blue. Phil Knight wanted

something to stand out at the National Sporting Goods Association Show in

Chicago. Later on, he asked the manufacturer, Nippon Rubber, for boxes in

bright neon orange, which was the boldest color in the rainbow (Knight, 2016, p.

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200). The packaging is simple, sustainable (recyclable cardboard material), and has the logo on top (figure 10). Nike sometimes uses different colors, like black, when they have to adapt to their new marketing strategies. Either way, they maintain their simple and clean approach. On the other hand, Nike sometimes creates creative and original packaging for special edition Nike shoes to push the boundaries of fashion and to create a viral situation. For example, Nike’s special edition shoes like Kyrie 2 “Ky-Rispy Kreme” iD (Figure 11) (Nike, Inc., n.d.-b), and Kyrie 2 Inferno (Figure 12) (Nike, Inc., n.d.-c).

Figure 10 Nike’s packaging

Figure 11 Nike’s packaging Kyrie 2 “Ky-Rispy Kreme” iD special edition, source: Nike, Inc. (n.d.-b)

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Figure 12 Nike’s packaging Kyrie 2 Inferno special edition, source: Nike, Inc. (n.d.-c)

In conclusion, Nike’s attributes, like brand name, logo, slogan, and packaging, fit into

Keller’s theory. They are memorable, meaningful, likable, transferable, adaptable, and protectable. They are representing Nike’s brand image and core values that are communicated to the consumers.

3.3.2 Brand Positioning

Nike built its positioning based on the group of athletes. They used one of the greatest names in the field in their advertisements to persuade a broader group of consumers in order to inspire them to be more active physically while using their company’s innovative products. Nike was aware that consumers, while admiring a certain group of people, would like to be at least a little bit like them. So, while positioning was based on one group, brand messages were supposed to “stay in the head” of a wider group of people.

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Considering social crises, unequal treatment, etc., the target market has become the basis for expanding the positioning. Nike decided to appear in the minds of consumers as a socially engaged brand. Although there are many brands in the world based in the same segment, the advantage of Nike lies in the fact that it goes beyond communication to reach their target market. What helps Nike is their well-designed logo, a short name, and other unique brand’s equity, which confirms the theory of Byron Sharp (2010) and is presented in the second chapter. In addition, Nike also refers to Holt’s positioning theory (2003). Because it uses sports legends, their narrative is full of emotions and focused on social and cultural aspects.

How Nike communicates its positioning in order to achieve the highest possible global recognition is explained in the next chapter.

3.3.3 Integrated Marketing Communication

3.3.3.1 Advertising

Nike’s co-creator, Phil Knight, was never a big believer in advertising and didn’t see the point of it (Knight, 2016, p. 90). This didn’t change until Nike reached a point where the scale of the business required some investment into the promotion of the brand.

Nike didn’t engage in TV advertising until 1988. The brand’s very first television commercial, the “Just Do It” campaign, featured Walt Stack, an 80 years old San

Francisco marathoner. In the commercial, the hero is running across the Golden Gate

Bridge while telling the audience that he runs 17 miles every morning. He followed up by joking that he kept his teeth from chattering in the winter by leaving them in his

41 locker (tv commercials, 2017). The advertisement makes no promises, only shows what you can achieve with the proper mindset to “Just Do It”. It was the first time when the world saw the slogan “Just Do It”. Today, it seems that it was the right decision to hire the Wieden + Kennedy agency that came up with this slogan. In 2018, Nike’s advertising and promotion cost was 3.58 billion U.S. dollars, which is 9.8 percent of total revenues (“Nike’s advertising”, n.d.).

To maintain an iconic position, Nike targets cultural contradictions. They focus on the most important cultural tensions in society and act as a cultural activist. In 2018, they released their new advertisement, “Dream Crazy”, against police brutality. This was narrated by Colin Kaepernick, a famous American football player and civil rights activist. It was a controversial advertisement because he refused to stand during the

American national anthem and instead kneeled as a sign of protest to draw attention to police brutality against African Americans in the United States. The advertisement divided people on those that think what Kaepernick and other athletes did was disrespectful to the American flag. Meanwhile, the second group defended their First

Amendment right to express themselves peacefully. It not only boosted the sales of

Nike, but also strengthen the loyalty of consumers (Dudharejia, 2018, October 22).

According to Novy-Williams (2018, September 4), “in less than 24 hours since

Kaepernick first revealed the spot-on Twitter, Nike received more than $43 million worth of media exposure, the vast majority of it neutral to positive, according to Apex

Marketing Group.” In addition, another inspiring advertisement that increased brand loyalty and recognition came out in the beginning of 2019. Nike’s new campaign,

“Dream Crazier”, was narrated by Serena Williams and is about fighting for women’s rights in the face of adversity. “The advertisement highlights all the accomplishments of

42 women athletes like Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first woman Olympian fencer who wore a hijab during the Olympics.” (Binlot, 2019, February 28). It is the most recent campaign that focuses on women’s rights and showing that being called crazy is something to be proud of. As a cultural activist, Nike is trying to make a positive change in society and strengthen their brand’s position on the market.

Nike’s advertisements for the “Just Do It” campaign is truly a global phenomenon.

They managed to communicate “its single-minded brand thought across extremely diverse cultures” (Mills, n.d.). The brand did it by adapting the advertisements to the local tastes but still maintaining their core brand message in countries like the United

States, the United Kingdom, India, and China. Figure 13 shows different cultural aspects of each of the mentioned countries and how Nike used that knowledge to adapt their advertisements.

Figure 13 Cultural Codes, source: Mills (n.d.)

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In the United States, Nike created an advertisement titled “Nike Snow Day,

#GetOutHere”, which is just a different way of expressing the “Just Do It” mentality in a video form in their target market (Commercials, 2016). The advertisement features famous sports players like Rob Gronkowski, Ndamukong Suh, Paula Findlay,

Draymond Green, and many others. It’s about athletes waking up happy to find out it is their first day of snow. Each one of the iconic athletes is getting out of the house in a humorous and optimistic way, but also pointing out their strong physique. It is implied that they are gathering to play a football game in the local neighborhood. At the end of the advertisement, the other team shows up to play against them. Each team is representing an honest will to play seriously while, at the same time, being optimistic and laughing it off. Behind each captain, there is support from the whole team.

According to Mills (n.d.), “The Rugged Romantic' code comes in the way of the brute musculature of the men that sits in contrast to the svelte athleticism of the women, one of whom does the kick off.” Nike is communicating “Just Do It” in their own way to just get out there, play with friends, and don’t hold back.

Another one of Nike’s advertisement for the Champion’s League was adapted to the

United Kingdom cultural code. The ad has six world famous players like Rooney,

Ronaldinho, Bryant, Federer, Ribery, and Ronaldo (The Ad Show, 2010). The clip where Rooney is featured shows a situation where he loses the ball and the opponent is rushing towards his goal. Rooney starts to imagine his life after losing the game. He is living in poorly in a caravan with a huge beard. Then, he snaps back and sprints to steal the ball with a beautiful tackle and wins the game. His life after winning the game changes as he is mentioned in the newspapers and babies are named after him. Overall, his dreams come true. In the British cultural code, the ultimate purpose is to live a good

44 life, which represents what Rooney achieved. In addition, the video has the “banter” elements to complete with the British “Just Do It” ad in a humorous way.

Nike launched an advertisement for the “Just Do It” campaign in India. The ad feature

1440 young Indian cricketers from across India (nikeindia, 2014). It shows how the

Indians come up with a solution for the lack of space and how each one of them is fighting for every yard to push forward and fight for their dreams. The cultural code in this advertisement uses Indian male egotism and a macho trait, a feeling that boys will be boys. In addition, there are no woman in the video. The advertisement feels like an authentic Indian commercial but still maintains the core of the “Just Do It” message.

The last advertisement that was successfully adapted to the cultural code is Nike’s “Just

Do It” campaign in China. This case was particularly difficult because Nike’s campaign is originally from the United States, where the culture is rather individualistic. It was the same in other countries where it was easier to translate, like in the United Kingdom.

They had to communicate the Chinese way of “Just Do It”. The advertisement features many athletes performing most of the sports in a sequence video format, with some hidden sports stars like national hurdler Liu Xian, or marathon runner Mr. Sun (Hamid

Fathi, 2016). According to Diaz (2016, August 26), “A voiceover throughout urges them not to "do it" for any reason -- whether it's for the glory, the fame or the attention.

"Just do it," it says.” The film is representing the new wave of youth filled with optimism and a lot of energy for sports.

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In conclusion, Nike is doing exceptional work with advertising their campaign in different cultures. Their big budget enables them to adapt to the local codes of culture.

Each one of the advertisements is communicating the core message of the “Just Do It” campaign by reaching out and understanding what particular society is portraying an ultimate goal that they wish to strive for and using it in their videos to increase the global brand awareness and recognition.

3.3.3.2 Public Relations

Nike has a long history of supporting important social causes. In this particular case, the brand used its platforms to raise awareness about equality. Nike launched a new advertisement, with help from the Wieden + Kenedy agency, featuring LeBron, Durant,

Williams, and others. The video tells a story and encourages people to take action and make the world a better place, to respect each other, and promote equality regardless of your sex, nationality, skin color, and religion (Campaigns of the World, 2017).

According to Nike (2018, January 14), “The EQUALITY initiative is centered on using the power of sport to inspire people to take action in their communities, with Nike leading by example with its partnerships with world-class organizations dedicated to advancing this work.” In addition, Nike donated $5 million to many organizations that promote equality. (Nike Inc., 2018, January 14). Every brand wants to be associated with the best. With this public relation activity, Nike united people of every class, skin color, and religion. The topic of the campaign is something that everyone can relate to.

Nike wanted to lead by example and be associated with a positive change.

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One of the riskiest PR actions was the launch of Nike’s controversial advertising campaign, “Just Do It”, featuring Colin Kaepernick. The overall campaign, and some of its outcomes, were explained before. However, it is crucial to understand why brands are switching their neutral stance to be more proactive in society. Social media changed how brands communicate and how consumers portray them. They become more human in the eyes of customers. According to Yablonski (2018, September 17), the public agency Waber Shandwick states that “millennials would feel more loyalty towards their

CEO if he or she took a stand on hotly debated issues versus 19% who said they would not.” In addition, "We know from APCO’s research among hyper-aware and engaged consumers that they have high expectations for companies to take a stand on the social issues that impact them personally” (Joffe, 2018, April 9). Nike knew their customers, due to their market research and customer analysis, and predicted that this campaign would create more positive reactions than negative. The gains outweigh the losses. It increased brand loyalty among their customers and made the brand more engaged in societal problems that people can relate to. People expected the brand to be a leader that they can follow and relate to. They want to have shared values, which creates loyalty.

Nike’s controversial campaign was a success. They managed to combine values of the

“Just Do It” campaign and Kaepernick with expectations of customers and created something that people wanted to follow and support. When customers look at Nike’s products, they don’t just see shoes or t-shirts, they see the values behind Nike’s products and good causes that consumers want to support.

Our society is celebrity oriented, which means that a lot of people are looking up to celebrities and try to imitate their lifestyle. The brand should always carefully examine the celebrity’s lifestyle, audience, and their values before endorsing them. Proper

47 celebrities can influence their audience to become loyal customers of that particular brand. In the case of Nike, they have managed to select proper group of athletes.

According to Nike’s 10-K form, the cost of an endorsement contracts is $1,391 million for the year 2019 (Nike Inc., 2018). With that enormous cost comes great publicity and recognition. Nike is sponsoring the biggest sports stars around the world, like Michael

Jordan (U.S.), LeBron James (U.S.), Kyrie Irving (U.S.), Wayne Rooney (England),

Kylian Mbappe (France), Eden Hazard (Belgium), Gerard Pique (Spain), Zlatan

Ibrahimović (Sweden), and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal). In addition to sponsoring, the brand created special products that use the name of a selected group of athletes. For example, Michael Jordan has his own line of products at Nike, which contains anything that the brand produces, and it is the most unique line at Nike, which is represented by an individual athlete. Jordan became a sports and fashion icon. Daily Edgar (2018,

December 9) states that “By 2012, the Jordan brand was selling $2.5bn of shoes a year, with Air Jordans comprising 58 percent of all basketball shoes bought in the US.”

Athletes like Irving, LeBron, and Ronaldo have their own lines of products, which are premium products but are smaller in comparison to Jordan’s. Nike is often making limited edition sales of, for example, shoes like Kyrie Irving, presented in figure 11 and figure 12. In conclusion, celebrity endorsement is a powerful channel to communicate your brand to consumers. If it is properly implemented, it has the potential to become an icon in the fashion and sports industry. For example, Michael Jordan had his own line of the brand’s products.

Nike’s public relations team addressed social issues that help their consumers and potential consumers develop a better perception and image of the brand and its products. In addition, the brand combined their efforts of taking a political stance with

48 proper celebrity endorsement to make them more credible and trustworthy. Based on the outcomes of different campaigns and sponsorship, it is fair to say that they have managed to properly integrate their values in different channels of communication and increased not only the sales and number of consumers, but also gained a more loyal audience and credibility on a global scale.

3.3.3.3 Digital Marketing

Nike uses many social media platforms to communicate with its diverse audience and with effective digital marketing strategies they have managed to successfully shape their global brand. They started to use digital platforms in 1996 with the launch of Nike.com for the Olympics in Atlanta. This move began Nike’s digital expansion. It wasn’t until

2005-2006 when they began a partnership with Google and joined Myspace and

YouTube. By the year 2008-2009, Nike focused on growing social soccer communities through Facebook. (Swallow, 2011). After that, the expansion took over Instagram and

Twitter.

Facebook

It is fair to say that most global brands are using the Facebook platform to communicate with their consumers. Nike has many Facebook pages that are dedicated to different groups of consumers. There are pages of Nike like the main page, Nike Basketball,

Football, Skateboarding, Sportswear, Air Max, Gold, BMX, and so on. The brand’s biggest account on Facebook is Nike Football, with 44 million followers, and then the main page, with 32 million followers. This kind of situation is most likely due to a

49 bigger consumer group that is focused on football. The brand uses Facebook to promote bigger campaigns rather than sharing more posts like in case of Instagram, Twitter, and

YouTube. They put more emphasis on quality over quantity. One of the most engaging posts in 2017 was the “Breaking2” campaign. According to Kavya Ravi (2018, April

25), “Their ambitious ‘Breaking2’ project brought a huge amount of social media attention for the brand. World-class marathon runners Eliud Kipchoge, Lelisa Desisa, and Zersenay Tadese attempted to run 26.219 miles in under two hours, a feat that has never been done before in the history of the sport”. In addition, the runners were wearing customized Nike’s. The video posted on Facebook received over 6.6 million views.

Twitter

Another social media platform that Nike is using is Twitter. The brand’s account has

7.73 million followers and over 35,000 tweets. They are also mentioned in many influencer’s tweets like, for example, Kevin Hart, Cristiano Ronaldo, and others. In addition, many other users are using #Nike, which makes their post visible to others when they browse through Twitter posts with Nike mentioned. The last great thing that the brand is doing, with the help of Twitter, is customer service. Since anyone can make a tweet and mention Nike, the brand can easily respond to a customer’s problem and resolve it. It not only it creates a positive feeling, since the tweets are public, but it also shows the authenticity of Nike’s customer service and willingness to help. In return, users of Twitter can reply to them and express their gratitude for their help.

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YouTube

YouTube is by far the smallest platform in terms of the number of subscribers for Nike.

The brand has only 954,217 subscribers but the views are much bigger. Their major rival, Adidas, is close to Nike’s number of subscribers but, according to Ravi (2018,

April 25), Nike videos had more engagement and responses when it comes to likes and comments. They are uploading videos of their products, “behind the scenes” shots, and for their major campaigns like, “Dream Crazier” (figure 14), which is starring many famous female athletes like Serena Williams. The video received over 8.5 million views. In addition, Nike created a campaign in 2012 called “Find Your Greatness” where they featured a young overweight boy running on an empty road and hustling for improvement (Figure 15). By featuring ordinary people, the video is more relatable to the consumers. Overall, this platform is a great tool to present Nike’s products and promoting major campaigns.

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Figure 14 YouTube Nike's Video "Dream Crazier", Source: Nike (2019, February 24)

Figure 15 YouTube Nike's Video "Find Your Greatness", Source: Nike France (2012, August 3)

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Instagram

Instagram is one of the social media platforms where Nike not only uploads more regularly but also has the most followers. According to Social Blade, Nike has

85,697,226 followers and has the sixth rank amongst all of the brands on Instagram. In comparison, their main rival, which is Adidas, has only 23,321,727 followers. The brand is uploading posts about their athletes and artists during special moments with a clear message and tone. For example, figure 16 shows one of Nike’s posts about Serena

Williams with a caption about her returning to the sport after having a child. In addition to regular posts, Nike uses the Instagram feature called “IGTV”, which enables them to upload longer videos than a normal post would. Their recent IGTV posts are about ordinary people that are trying to do something “crazy”. For example, Nike’s recent video was about Ayesha McGowan. She was just an ordinary pre-school music teacher and one day she decided she wanted to become the first professional black female bike racer. By featuring non-famous athletes, Nike is making their brand’s values and goals more authentic. It creates a more personal touch with consumers. Right now, Instagram is the most used social media platform and it is a perfect channel to communicate with the fans.

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Figure 16 Nike's Instagram post of Serena Williams, Source: Nike (2018, July 14)

What makes Nike successful on social media is the simplicity and the emotions behind each of their posts. Everything revolves around their simple and globally recognized logo and slogan, “Just Do It”. Each post and campaign tell a story that takes the consumer on an inspiring journey. By featuring ordinary people, the brand is making an emotional connection with the consumer that everyone can relate to. Nike is selling this emotional benefit that comes from their products. The posts are simple and inspiring.

In addition to social media, Nike has done successful advertisements for their digital marketing strategies.

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Nike aimed to promote their new shoes, “Epic React”. They were looking for something that will show the innovative features of their new shoes, which are bouncy, light, durable, and soft. For this, the Wieden + Kennedy agency created an experience called

Nike: Reactland, which combines customer engagement, social media, immersive marketing, and gaming. The consumers can immerse themselves in the gaming world as the program creates their 8-bit avatar. While wearing new pair of Epic React shoes, the consumer jumps on the treadmill and can run and jump through Nike’s universe, which is presented on the big screen in front of the runner (figure 17). In addition, after the gaming experience, consumers can download a ten-second video of their run and upload it onto social media. According to the Wieden + Kennedy agency (2018), “Once experiencing the game, 48% of players bought the shoes”, which shows the effectiveness of the interactive digital marketing strategy for the sales and promotion of a new product. It not only promotes the product, but also builds the recognition of the brand.

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Figure 17 Nike: Reactland, Source: Wieden + Kennedy (2018)

Another good example of an interactive campaign that supports Nike’s digital marketing is the world’s first full size LED racing track in Manila, Philippines (figure

18). The track was built for the purpose of promoting new shoe called LunarEpic, which is designed for runners. As Arica states (2017, May 11), " up to 30 runners can partake in a virtual race against themselves. After setting an initial lap time, a sensor is attached to each athlete’s shoe and they can compete with their own digital selves running alongside them on the continuous LED screen.” In an interactive way, consumers can try and enjoy the new product.

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Figure 18 Nike Unlimited Stadium, Source: Arica (2017, May 11)

This method of promoting new products is an innovative way of creating interactions and engaging consumers. Each of the campaigns are a new adventure. The campaigns are building meaningful stories. It is always important for the brand to focus on the experience that comes with the product rather than showing the product as the final destination. Any brand that wants to build a loyal group of consumers needs to think about different forms of engaging with the consumers.

Nike+

Nike+ is a successful branding strategy that connects Nike’s products and features. It has a membership site that provides its members with many applications that continue to motivate them to commit to a healthy lifestyle (Nike, n.d.-d). It is Nike’s way of bringing its customers to join Nike’s large and still expanding community.

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There are a variety of ways users can access Nike’s features. Many applications of

Nike+ like run club, training club, etc. target different demographics. This allows them to cover more customers than only the Nike+ application would. Diversity in creation was the key to success. Each of the applications allow users to track their statistics and also compare it with other members to see their calories burned, track distance, see progress in golf games, and so on. The tracking system is done by simply having the

Nike+ application on a smartphone, iPod, a sport watch with a GPS, or Nike’s

FuelBand, which is the most effective tool to measure members activity. In addition, the results can be shared on social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, which creates another important form of engagement between customers.

Nike has succeeded in creating an engaged community through a well-designed Nike+ branding campaign. It appeals to different demographics and is integrated with many products and features. In addition, the collection of data enables the brand to predict customers behaviors, resulting in a meaningful connection between their brand and the consumers.

In conclusion, Nike understands that in today’s age the brand should not just present a monologue through TV advertisements, etc. but should focus on the dialogue with consumers. Their marketing strategy embraces key digital strategies, like social engagement, storytelling, and collecting data that proved to be key in achieving successful market penetration and recognition among customers.

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4. Conclusion

A condition for the company to experience development in the global market is determined by its ability to compete. The most important element in building the advantage is the brand, its positive image that is created in the minds of the target consumers, and having clear distinction from competitors. In recent years, the concept of Integrated Marketing Communication has become more popular. It is believed that the IMC is a foundation for building a strong brand, thanks to the effects of high recognition. To confirmation this statement, here are the results of the analysis of the data presented in the thesis:

1. Attributes of a visual brand identity (logo, colors, packaging) must be integrated

into all markets on the condition that they do not cause bad associations in a

specific market.

2. The communication should be tailored as best as possible to the consumer in

order to build an emotional bond and ensure proper two-way interaction (with

feedback) between the sender and recipient.

3. Clear communication goals, properly conducted positioning in all markets,

effective responses to cultural differences, and social tensions are necessary

conditions for the development of the global brand to become an icon.

4. A clear strategy of integrated marketing communication and proper selection of

communication tools will positively shape the global brand recognition.

5. Integrated marketing communication ensures complexity in the selection of

communication channels: traditional media (television, press, radio) and the

internet (social media, YouTube, company website).

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6. Well-planned integrated marketing communication creates strong brand

recognition of the global brand. It brings more value to the company than

individually using each of the communication channels.

The analysis of the global brand Nike confirms the synergy created from a properly integrated marketing communication strategy. Its recognition is considered to be the highest in the world, alongside brands like Coca-Cola, Apple, Starbucks, and others.

Nike is a perfect source for inspirational communication strategies, how to differentiate a brand from the competition, and gain the trust of customers to achieve success through brand recognition.

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