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Table of contents

Introduction Page 4 Athlace Model Page 6 Link to theories Page 11 Application of Model: analysis and evaluation Page 14 Painpoints & Opportunities Page 24 Concepts Page 28 Appendix: Sources Page 39

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Introduction

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Concepting plus, an advanced course with the objective to develop a theoretical model that walks through the process of concept thinking. From start to finish, all stages of the marathon have to be run to take all aspects of a company extensively into account. The first prize of the competition, is to identify the unique selling points and what distinguishes them from competitors. After having reached the finish line, the company will be able to reflect on qualities, weaknesses, painpoints and opportunities. Thereby, the company knows what to adjust after the first round of applying the model. ‘Athlace’ exists to obtain a clear roadmap, from research, identity and the essence of the company to vision and from reflecting values, analysing the targetgroup and a valuefit to the actual concept.

Once the model has been run through, it can be performed multiple times more. By doing that, the company keeps on improving. Hence, a better position in the market can be taken, unregarded if they turn out to be in sports or real estate sectors. As a result of applying the model, brand awareness will rise and if lucky, the concept can even become a lovemark.

Nike was chosen to explain the model for this assignment. The foundation of the model is the construction of Nike’s main product: the shoe. The imaginative footwear consists of multiple layers which get different meanings by adding value to it. From the shoe sole on, ‘Athlace’ adds all crucial parts that are needed to achieve the best valuefit. The model is called after her inspiration. ‘Ath’ stands for the best ‘athlete’ people can (businesswise) be and eventually, everything gets combined in the last step; tying the shoelaces together and the concept is ready to go.

See you at the finish!

Sjoerd Vermaak Kimberly Snoeren Iris Post Pleun Hoofs

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Athlace Model

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Part 1: Research (The foundation of the shoe)

Every concept starts with a good research, a SWOT analysis or trend watching for example. The research is the foundation for a concept, because research is the scholarly pursuit of new knowledge, discovery or creative activity in an area with the goal of advancing that area's frontiers or boundaries.

Without research, there is no foundation and without a foundation you can’t make a sturdy shoe. Research is important for every business and should not be just a one-off activity. Successful businesses conduct research on a continual basis to keep up with market trends and to maintain a competitive edge.

Part 2: Core Values (The shoe sole)

After having done the research, you add the shoe sole. The shoe sole is the essence of the company’s identity, the core values. The core values are those values the company holds, which form the basis on which the company performs work and conducts itself. In an ever-changing world, core values are constant and are not descriptions of the work a company does or the strategies they employ to accomplish their mission. The values underlie the work, how you interact with each other and which strategies you employ to fulfill the mission. These are the practices the company should be using every day, in everything they do.

Summarized, the shoe sole supports the vision, shapes the culture and reflect on what the company values are.

Part 3: Vision (The stability)

After placing the shoe sole, you add stability to the shoe. The vision is what the company really stands for and gives stability to the shoe. A vision is an attitude, view or motivation towards a product, service, human being or the world. When talking about a concept vision, the vision is the reason of existence. A vision is not something that can be obtained, that is why it is not a goal; it is a statement about the reason of existence.

Consumers are looking for the “why” instead of “what”. They are looking for the meaning in life and in products and services. The stability of a vision gives the organization guidance and it distinguishes concepts from each other. (Hens, 2015)

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Part 4: Target Group (The toe box)

After having stabilized the shoe, you look outside your internal box. The external part of the shoe is the toe box. The toe box is the particular group of people, identified as the intended recipient of an advertisement or message. Targeting a specific market does not mean that you are excluding people who do not fit your criteria. Rather, target marketing allows you to spread your message to a specific market that is more likely to buy from you than other markets. This is an efficient, affordable and effective way to reach prospect clients and increase sales. With a target audience clearly defined, it is much easier to determine where and how to market your concept. Here are some tips to help to define the target market:

Look at your current customer base Who are your current customers and why do they come to you? Look for characteristics and interests they share. It is very likely that other people like them could also benefit from your product or service.

Check out your competition Look at competitors’ targeting and who their current customers are. Do not go after the same market, you may find a niche market that they are overlooking.

Analyze your product or service Write down a list of each feature of your product or service and list next to each feature, the benefits they provide and the benefits of those benefits. Once you have the benefits listed, make a list of people who have a need that your benefits fulfil.

Choose specific demographics to target Figure out not only who has a need for your product or service, but also who is most likely to buy it. Think about the following factors: age, career, education level, ethnic background, family status, gender, income level and location. (How to Define Your Target Market, 2010)

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Consider the psychographics of your target Psychographics are personal characteristics of a person, including: attitudes, behaviour, interests/hobbies, lifestyle, personality and values. (How to Define Your Target Market, 2010)

Determine how your product or service will fit into your target's lifestyle and look at how and when your target will use the product or service. Look at what features are most appealing to your target group and what media your target turn to for information. Don’t overly define target audiences in socio-demographical metrics or other buying behaviors that your product could cater too. Create your audience.

Evaluate your decision Once you have decided on a target market, be sure to consider these questions:  Are there enough people that fit my criteria?  Will my target really benefit of my product or service and will they have a need for it?  Do I understand what drives my target to make decisions?  Can they afford my product or service?  Can I reach them with my message and are they easily accessible? (How to Define Your Target Market, 2010)

Part 5: Concept Carriers (The framework)

One of the final stages in the process is the execution. The execution is everything that's necessary to carry out the concept. While the formation of the ideas and the development of the concept design were central in the early stages, in the execution phase the focus is on anchoring and monitoring the concept. In particular, it refers to structured writing down the information from the previous phases, which must be made in terms of feasibility.

In the conceptual design that have been chosen in the previous phases, the main features of the concept definition are already visible. The aim in the execution is to define the concept of design in such a way that further realization of the intended product or the service and the carriers can be put into operation.

The concept carriers The concept carriers are all physically observable and tangible manifestations of the concept design that has been selected for exploitation. They are the products and services that represent the concept. In principle, one product or one service is the centre, as part of the design concept, to launch the ideas. This is called the central carrier. Around that, all relevant other carriers are appointed and developed which will support the demonstration of the product or service, which relates to the physical environment, organization, materialization, communication and networking.

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Important is to note that the developed ideas are ultimately going to be represented by multiple concept designs. By finally putting several concept designs in the market, the ideal vision comes to life. The result is a network of products and services that is recognized by the target audience. The connection therein is formed by the values as the basis set out in the ideology. The developed product or service must carry the ideology and the resulting concept design. Therefore, the term concept carrier exists. However, the launch of an ideology goes beyond just launching a new product or a service. Because they respond on values, they must be addressed in width. The consumer should not only want to identify himself with the product alone, but with the whole ideology. (Sutmuller, 2014)

Part 6: USP’s (Brand logo)

After executing all separate phases, the shoe is finished. But to make the shoe personal you have to add a brand logo. The brand logo stands for the Unique Selling Points (USP) of the product or service. An USP could be thought of as ‘’what you have, that competitors don’t have’’. A successful USP promises a clearly articulated benefit to consumers and offers something that competitive brands cannot or do not offer.

Pinpointing your USP requires some creativity and hard soul-searching. One way to start is by analysing how other companies use their USPs to their advantage. This requires careful analysis of other company ads and marketing messages. If you analyze what they say they sell, not just their product or service characteristics, you can learn a great deal about how companies distinguish themselves from competitors.

Here is how to uncover your USP and use it to power up: 1. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes 2. Know what motivates your customers' behaviour and buying decisions 3. Uncover the real reason why customers buy your product instead of a competitor's

Part 7: Strategy (The laces)

To put all the parts together and get the ultimate valuefit, you have to tie the laces of the shoe. You have to do this by writing down a strategy. A strategy is a plan on how an organization is setting out to achieve their goals. It contains a number of key principles that outlines how a company will achieve these goals. For example, it will explain how to deal with your competitors, look at the needs and expectations of customers and will examine the long-term growth and sustainability of the organization. Having a strategy is so important, because it gives companies the time to get a sense of how they are performing, what their capabilities are and how they can help them grow.

So tie your laces and form a strategy by all the knowledge you just acquired!

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Link to theories

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Athlace is a model inspired by several other models such as ‘The golden circle’, ‘Experience mapping’, ‘Built to last’ and ‘Service design’. The main inspiration was the Brand Power Activation Model by Jocasta Boone. This model shows a very clear path that has to be taken in order to activate brand power. As we can see in this model, Jocasta’s first step is to strategize. Followed by inventory, identify and asses, which we call “Research” in the Athlace model (Boone). Overall, Athlace follows a similar structure as the Brand Power Activation model.

Another inspirational model for Athlace, was the Lovemark model. The idea behind the Lovemark model is that consumers are increasingly aware of how advertisements of brands work. This forces brands to work harder in order to win the attention of consumers. Brands that are already more advanced in this and know how to bind consumers to the brand, are Lovemarks. A lovemark gets high love and high respect. The ultimate goal is to connect on a deep emotional level with the target customer by creating real, impactful value which they pay back with loyalty and love (Roberts).

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Application of Model: analysis and evaluation

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In this chapter the model will be filled in with the brand Nike. The application of this model is based on research and knowledge of Nike. Like explained in the explanation of the model, there are several elements and steps based on a strong concept/brand concept according to the ‘Athlace’ model.

Part 1: Research (The foundation of the shoe)

In the year of 1962 the company Nike has started. The founders of Nike are Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. The company started with the name Bleu Ribbon, which in 1978 transformed to Nike. The name Nike refers to the Greek god of victory. It appears to be so that the concept of Nike is derived from baking waffles. Co-founder Bill discovered that the structure of a waffle also could be used as an element of the shoe. This made the shoe lighter and much more comfortable. In 1965 an athlete from Oregon opens a little store where he sells the shoes of Bill and Phil. This was the beginning of their brand. In 1971 the logo was announced which is still being used today: Swoosh.

More and more athletes started wearing the shoes of Nike and after that in 1988 the slogan ‘Just Do It’ was developed. An athlete slowly became an example for everyone who played sports. Out of this thought they came up with a new vision; everybody is an athlete (Ramaswamy, 2008).

Nike has been developing since many years now. They used to do this through research with different experiments. Nowadays, SWOT analyses and trend watching are being used as well, just like the first step of the ‘Athlace’ model.

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SWOT-Analysis

Strengths 1. Strong global sportsbrand; 2. low cost manufacturing outside the USA; 3. strong research and development in design, material and concepts. Weaknesses 1. Ongoing perception of poor labor practices 2. High prices 3. Heavily dependent on footwear market

Opportunities 1. Innovative products 2. Emerging markets 3. Physical information disclosure

Threaths 1. Competition (Puma, Adidas, Asics, Fila) 2. Recession 3. Currency risks

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- Strong global brand: with its 931 stores (Statista) and unique ‘Swoosh’ logo, Nike is the most valuable sports brand in the world. Nike’s continues succesfully by maintaining iconic brands, like the basketball Michael Jordan partnership business. - Low cost manufacturing: all of Nike’s footwear is produced outside of the United States, which boost their financial results. Nike’s manufacturers operate in Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil, India and Mexico. - Strong research and development: Nike’s key factors for succes are its research, design and development efforts. Technical innovation helped the company to produce better products, enhancing athletic performance and reducing injuries. - Perception of poor labor practices: Nike has untaken efforts to improve conditions for labor workers. Still, many factories do not meet Nike’s own standards. If low wages and safety issues become disasters, this would hurt the company’s image. - High prices: the cost of Nike’s footwear is higher than most of its competitors which make its products out of reach for many customers around the globe. - Heavily dependent on footwear market: Nike has a diverse range of sports products, but the income of the business is heavily dependent on its share of the footwear market. This could hurt Nike if the footwear market goes down. - Innovative products: Nike’s strength to focus on research and development in the technology driven economy of today allows Nike to remain on the forefront of product innovation. - Emerging markets: Rapidly growing areas like India, China and Brazil are chances to increase Nike’s share of the footwear market globally. Even though Nike already has a presence in the emerging markets, there is still growth potential there. - Information disclosure: a great share of Nike’s footwear profit comes from sports stores that sell both Nike’s and competitor’s products. To make customers understand Nike’s products and its features, it could be made easier to understand by adjusting the naming of some of their products within certain ranges. - Competition: if competitors create more appealing footwear or apparel, demand for Nike’s products decline. - Recession: consumers have lower interest in spending money for non-necessary items, there is the risk of declining demand when an economy falls into recession. - Currency risks: the majority of Nike’s sales are generated outside of the United States while the company is being exposed to currency fluctuations. (Dalavagas, 2015) (Tech analysis blogger, 2013)

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Trends analysis

1. Monitoring healthy lifestyle Living a healthy life has been a huge trend for the past years in the Western world. With its focus on new techniques and innovations, Nike makes it easier for customers to reach personal goals. With products like Nike+, the Fuelband and matching accessories, Nike adapts to this mega trend. (Leuverink, 2012)

2. Fashion Streetstyle influences fashion more and more. More often, sporty, athletic and wearable looks come by, which is beneficial for the footwear industry. (Monstyle, 2014)

3. Re-use of materials When it comes to sustainability, Nike knows there is no finish line. But, they are contributing to durable design by paying attention on how products are made and what they are made from. Besides, Nike developed an open source app to help designers check their environmental impact and since 1990 they have been running a “reuse-a-shoe scheme”. (Grahame, 2014)

4. Customization Nike was one of the first to offer a ‘build your own shoe’ application on its website. With the highly visual app, Nike’s web sales increased with 25%. (Sloan, 2010)

5. Personalization Over 100,000 Nike+ members have been sent a one-minute film which features content guided by their own Nike+ activity during the past year. Thereby, Nike chooses to use a unique personal approach of its fans. (Hutchings, 2015)

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Part 2: Core Values (The shoe sole)

The Shoe Sole includes the corporate identity and the core values of Nike. The core values are those values the company holds, which form the basis on which the company performs work and conducts itself.

Nike has several core values, which they notice as their company profile. The core values of Nike are: 1. Culture 2. Invention 3. Creations 4. Experiences 5. Importance of the next generation

All embracing, they wrote their own company profile, which included the core values of the company. The company profile of Nike is the following: ‘NIKE, Inc. fosters a culture of invention. We create products, services and experiences for today’s athlete while solving problems for the next generation.’ (Nike, 2015)

Part 3: Vision (The stability)

The stability in this model stands for the vision and mission of a concept. Nike has a very recognizable vision and mission, which is implemented in all of their actions and products. Nike developed a vision and mission, whereby they wrote their vision into a mission. (Nike, 2015)

Nike’s vision: ‘If you have a body, you are an athlete.’

Nike’s mission: ‘Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.’ (Nike, 2015)

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Part 4: Target Group (The toe box)

The external part of the shoe is the toe box. The toe box is the particular group of people, identified as the intended recipient of an advertisement or message. Targeting a specific market does not mean that you are excluding people who do not fit your criteria.

Nike broadened its target group by defining their mission, vision and where they stand for. In their opinion; everybody with a body is an athlete, so Nike is for everyone. A big part of this group are young athletes. Nowadays, Nike is the market leader in their segment. Competitors are similar companies like Adidas and Asics. They both sell products in the same range and have a lot of the same customers in their target group. (Nike, 2015)

The demographic features of Nike’s target group are very wide. Nike is first focused on athletes, but they also target on families, individuals, each gender, age and career. This also has to do with the fact that Nike is for everybody with a body, which means every human being. This goes together with the analysis of the company’s products and the psychographics of the target group. These are divided in five district brands.

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1. Nike Brand designs, develops and sells high-quality athletic performance gear and sports-inspired lifestyle products, including footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories; 2. Converse, Inc. designs, markets, licenses and sells casual sneakers, apparel and accessories; 3. Hurley International LLC designs, markets and distributes surf and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories; 4. Jordan Brand designs and markets premium footwear, apparel and accessories inspired by the dynamic legacy, vision and direct involvement of Michael Jordan; 5. NIKE Golf designs and markets golf equipment, apparel, balls, footwear, bags and accessories. NIKE golf is the only district, which is focused specifically on one kind of sports. (Nike, 2015)

All this is based on Nike’s mission and vision, which means that every district fits somebody, who is an athlete (Nike, 2015). The promotion of these districts is mainly focussed on runners, football players and basketball players. The popularity of the district NIKE Golf has decreased in the last years. (news, 2014)

Nike’s target group is also easy to evaluate on decisions. Because of the wide dimension of the target group, there are enough people who fit the criteria. Therefore, products and messages are easily accessible. Also the prices for Nike’s products are located in a medium price range. (Ramaswamy, 2008)

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Part 5: Concept Carriers (The framework) The concept carriers are everything that is necessary to carry out the concept. While the formation of the ideas and the development of the concept design were central in the early stages, in the execution phase the focus is on anchoring and monitoring the concept. The most important concept carriers of Nike are the communication, physical environment and materialism. They will be discussed below. (Knittel & Crucq-Toffolo, 2013)

1. Communication; the communication of Nike is very open. Everybody knows where Nike stands for and also customer care is very clear and open. Nike lets their target group know that they are all athletes, so everyone can make use of their products. This kind of communication is a way to ensure customer loyalty. (Knittel & Crucq-Toffolo, 2013) 2. Physical environment; this element is associated with the concept carrier communication. The physical environment of Nike is wide, because of the width of the target group. According to Nike it is everybody with a body, so they focus on the whole physical environment. This means they will not distinguish anyone. 3. Materialism; as in all of the other carriers, an important fact is the availability for everybody. Besides, the products are all of good quality, which ensures a strong and believable brand.

Part 6: USP’s (Brand logo)

The brand logo stands for the Unique Selling Points (USP) of the product/service. A USP could be thought of as ‘’what you have, that competitors don’t have’’. As explained in the foundation, the logo of Nike never changed. They started with the Swoosh and still, Nike’s logo is a Swoosh. This logo makes the brand very recognizable. The Swoosh also makes a difference with a regular product, because customers often buy Nike’s products for the brand and its quality. With the Swoosh they can show people, they are wearing something from Nike. (Hema & Iversen, 2004) ategy is a plan on how an organization is setting out to achieve their goals. Bel

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Part 7: Strategy (The laces)

To put all the parts together and get the ultimate fit, you have to tie the laces of the shoe. You have to do this by writing down a strategy. A strategy is a plan on how an organization is setting out to achieve their goals. Below a conclusion and explanation of Nike’s strategy.

Nike’s strategy exists of the elements; research, corporate identity, vision, mission, external research, concept carriers and the logo of the brand. All together, they form the strategy of the brand. Nike still works with the findings out of their first research and experiments. Nowadays they combine this with the corporate identity, which exists of the core values and the explanation where Nike stands for. The vision and mission reaches a wide target group, where the external research and concept carriers are based on. The target group of Nike is, like mentioned before, everyone with a body, so Nike is for every human being. This belongs to a big part of the strategy.

The most important concept carriers are communication, physical environment and materialism. Nike’s communication is open and transparent and recognizable. The physical environment is wide and versatile, because of the width of the target group. With the materialism the products are always of good quality and available for everyone. The last part of Nike’s strategy concerns the logo. In 1971 the logo was introduced en has never changed, which ensures the recognizability. It is also useful for increasing Nike’s fanbase. People who are lovers of the brand, buy the products especially for the logo and the name Nike.

The laces can also act as the conclusion of the filled in model. It summarizes the separate elements of a concept. In this case, the strategy is the outcome and the conclusion of the foundation, the shoe sole, stability, toe box, execution and brand logo, which is a summary of the complete concept.

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Painpoints & Opportunities

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Even though a brand can be a lovemark, most markets will have to deal with some issues that can harm the image of companies. These can either be internal or external. However, opportunities can also be found. Nike is a leading brand in the sports- and footwear market, which makes it a very profittable company. Still, some points of concern were found during the application of the Athlace model. These are the basis of the advices given in the last part of this report. For that, the Athlace team comes up with new concept carriers to improve Nike as a brand, which will be extensively described after the painpoints in short.

Painpoints

Ungoing perception of child labor With a total footprint of more than 2.5 million people across Nike’s value chain and 1 million people in the 785 contract factories they source from, labor remains one of the greatest areas of human impact and opportunities. Nike believes that a factory can achieve success through more active engagement with workers, where they can benefit from. As there was a lot of criticism on the working conditions in contract factories in the past, Nike has been working on a manufacturing revolution, but still many factories do not meet Nike’s own standards and the bad perception of child labor goes on. (Nike, 2015)

The decrease of Nike Golf’s popularity As stated before Nike Golf is one of Nike’s five so called districts. Nike Golf designs and markets golf equipment, apparel, balls, footwear, bags and accessories. Unfortunately most promotion by Nike is focused on runners, football players and basketball players. The popularity of Nike Golf (and golfing in general) has decreased a lot in the last few years. (Oregon Live, 2015)

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Opportunities

Sport VS. Fashion Streetstyle influences fashion more and more. More often, sporty, athletic and wearable looks come by, which is beneficial for the sportswear market. Nike is a sports brand and does not promote itself as being a fashion brand. They listen to the needs of athletes and they solve their problems with innovative solutions. But they do acknowledge the fashion side of (women’s) experience with sport. They see functionality blend with fashion. ‘’One of the things that we recognize, certainly in the women’s business, is that there is no performance without style.” says Trevor Edwards, president of Nike.

Customer information disclosure Nike’s values are a very important element of there corporate identity. It is important to carry out the values to customers, also called ‘the customer information disclosure’. A great share of Nike’s footwear profit comes from sports stores that sell both Nike’s and competitor’s products. To make customers understand Nike’s products and its features, it could be made easier to understand by training shoe store employees or empowering the shoe store visit experience.

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Ungoing perception of child labor Concept by Iris

With a total footprint of more than 2.5 million people across Nike’s value chain and 1 million people in the 785 contract factories they source from, labor remains one of the greatest areas of human impact and opportunities. Nike believes that a factory can achieve success through more active engagement with workers, where they can benefit from. As there was a lot of criticism on the working conditions in contract factories in the past, Nike has been working on a manufacturing revolution, but still many factories do not meet Nike’s regulations so the bad perception of child labor goes on. (Nike, 2015) The damage got cultivated many years ago and this is how it started..

In 1992, a report comes out documenting low wages and poor working conditions in the so called ’sweatshops’ in Eastern countries. From there on, media attention rises and people start to protest, which makes it a national issue. It is no option for Nike to stop trade agreements with third world countries, because that would mean to limit the improvements of living standards of low skilled workers as well. On the other hand Nike knows, workers should both benefit of increased trade and be sure that their basic rights are respected. Nike takes a shot on turning its image around and as the company still grows bigger, it expands with a new department to improve the lives of factory laborers. Nike’s former CEO Phil Knight admits slave wages, forced overtime and abuse. He promises to raise the minimum age of workers, increase monitoring and adapt clean air standards. Besides, Nike starts a foundation to collaborate with other companies dealing with this issue: the Fair Labor Association. While managing the worst problems, ’smaller’ issues like locked factory doors and toxic chemicals still have not been solved. To communicate openly about the conditions and issues, a list of collaborating factories in South Asia gets published in 2005. (Washington Post, 2015)

Nowadays, a lot has changed and promised in terms of commitments, standards and audit data as part of its corporate social responsibility report. Still, not all factories meet Nike’s expextations and the bad perception of child labor goes on.

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Concept: “Pop-up factory“

Since Nike has already paid a lot of attention to being open and transparant about the measurements they took to improve work conditions in third world countries, there is not much more to communicate about that. In fact, Nike could even make it worse for itself, because the audience could easily turn the message from positive into something negative. Because of the bad perception of child labor that a lot of people still have, Nike can better focus on the positive aspects or opportunities that the issue brings with it.

As former Nike CEO Phil Knight got confronted with the bad working conditions in collaborating countries, he had to face a group of unemployed Western people, who were willing to work in order to get an income. Why not starting factories in Nike’s own surroundings? But Phil was convinced that Americans would not be happy with making shoes for a living. Yet, he got proved wrong. In America, almost 8 million people are unemployed, which is 5% of the total population. (Dept of numbers, 2015) These people do everything to get any job and Nike can give it to them.

To create goodwill to the people living on this world, Nike should also pay attention to unemployment in areas different from third world countries. Nike is leading the footwear market and could even grow bigger if they tackle their bad reputation on child labor. This growth can be managed by expanding its production. This time, not in South Asian, but Western countries. Obviously, this cannot happen all at once, but it can be managed step by step.

This concept is about trying out a new way of working and creating goodwill from Nike to ’a better world’, which is an existing campaign that blends in here perfectly. By focussing on the opportunity beneath the issue, Nike will also be providing unemployed Western people with work. Not anymore is the attention on third world countries, but on changing the issue into something positive by bringing it closer to local communities. What happend in Eastern countries can never be compensated, but at least Nike can meet needs of citizen communities here.

In this win-win-situation, workspots or small factories will pop up in Western areas. Here, people can get to know more about the process of shoemaking and there will be workshops on customizing shoes. Unemployed participants get an insight look in the process of making a shoe and they can make their first money through Nike. Namely, the self-made customized shoes, will be available in Nike’s online shop. A fair share will go to the person who created the shoe. This way, Nike shows how much fun it is to make money by selling shoes you have created yourself. This will be the real start of the manufacturing revolution.

In short; to finally be able to weaken the ungoing bad perception of child labor, the focus shifts from Asian countries to helping new groups of people on the other side of the world. This concept fits the brand perfectly, because... “Nike is for everyone; everyone who owns a body. Workers have bodies, so working for Nike is for everyone.“

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Persona “I live in a small village, called Flint. A lot of people need jobs, but especially here in this area. And, I’m one of those people.“ Georgina is a 21- year-old girl who did not finish high school. Because of her mental disorder, it’s hard for her to focus on new studies or to find a proper job.

“I love Nike shoes, but I cannot afford them at the moment. Instead, I would love to make them“

Georgina met her boyfriend during a weekly activity with the association she is member of. He recently started to work and earns enough money to live on his own. Georgina is happy for him, but she would love to have the same to happen herself. The problem is that there are not much jobs to apply for without having a school degree.

After Louis (Georgina’s boyfriend) saw a video about the pop-up factories coming to their neighbourhood, he immediately told Georgina about it. Before the rumours started, Georgina had always had high respect and high love for the brand. That feeling got weaker after she got to know about the horrible working conditions and child labor in third world countries. Despite these thoughts, Louis made her curious about the measurements Nike took on working conditions in its factories and she would like to give it a shot.

Together with Louis, Georgina created three pairs of shoes and sold them on the online Nike platform. She even gets another pair to wear herself. At first, she was in doubt whether she wanted to work for a company which is known for bad working circumstances, but now that she has seen what Nike has to offer to people who live in a Western society as well, she has gotten enthusiastic enough to apply for working in the pop-up Nike factory for the upcoming months. “I love Nike shoes, but I cannot afford them at the moment. Instead, I would love to make them.“

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Sport VS. Fashion Concept by Kimberly

For Nike, a critical factor is the growth of its women’s business and the women’s sportswear market overall, to which fashion and style are key. Nike sees a growth in the performance segments (running and training) and in terms of the style and look that comes with that. Tights are the new denim. They have seen that women interact more seamlessly across running, workout, fitness and lifestyle. They see all those things blend. ‘’One of the things that we recognize, certainly in the women’s business, is that there is no performance without style.” says Trevor Edwards, president of Nike.

‘’One of the things that we recognize, certainly in the women’s business, is that there is no performance without style.’’

Streetstyle influences fashion more and more. Frequently, sporty, athletic and wearable looks come by, which is beneficial for the sportswear market. Nike is a sports brand and does not promote itself as being a fashion brand at the moment. They listen to the needs of athletes and they solve their problems with innovative solutions. But they do acknowledge the fashion side of (women’s) experience with sport. ‘’Women do not have to choose between highly functional, technical and fashionable products.’’ says Julie Igarashi, Nike’s vice president of global design for women's training.

Nike does not only have to focus on sportswear but can also be part of the fashion industry without losing its vision. This is not a pain point, but an opportunity. The solution for this chance is to use a well known (high) fashion model for their major sportswear campaign.

Concept: “the role model” Nike has worked with a number of fashion models in its 50-year history, but never with a well known (high) fashion model who fronts the Nike campaign. By working with a high fashion model on a major marketing campaign, Nike combines sport with fashion. Nike will always work with the amazing athletes, first and foremost, but they also work with women who are connected to sports and fitness. So by using a famous high fashion model who has a strong connection to sport and fitness, they still value their corporate identity and most of all; their vision about everyone being an athlete.

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The well known high fashion model that is going to be the face of the major sportswear campaign, has got to have a strong connection to sport and fitness and not only have to be thin but also fit. She has got to do fitness not only for her model diet, but also as an exercise fitness for strength. The model has got to be authentic and has populated her own Instagram feed with many sport shots with sport (Nike) clothes on. The perfect model for the major sportswear campaign is Victoria Secret model Romee Strijd. She is a well known model who studied ballet when she was younger and practices it still, besides ballet she also practises ModelFit classes, yoga, running and Nike Training Club workouts. Romee is not only classy and famous in the high fashion scene but also athletic and very popular among ‘the normal’ people, with an Instagram account with almost 1,5 million followers.

The high fashion model will be the face of the campaign, harmonized with a new sportswear line from Nike. The pictures and the videos that are going to be used for the campaign will be fashionable and classy, similar as a high fashion campaign. Imagine a simple background with Victoria Secret model Romee Strijd being her beautiful herself, doing a sports exercise like yoga or fitness. The pictures and videos are fashionable and classy by its simplicity. When seeing the campaign, the customer has got to have the feeling it contains a fashion campaign. But the focus retains on the Nike sport clothes and its function.

Traditionally, Nike aligned with athletes, but by using a well known high fashion model for their new major sportswear campaign, Nike profiles themselves not only in the sports market but also in the fashion scene.

Persona

Anne is a 20-year-young girl, born and raised in Amsterdam. She is a student at Amsterdam Fashion Institute (AMFI) and is living together with her three girlfriends Tara, Carlijn and Maan in the centre of Amsterdam since she started the study one year ago. Because her mother owned a clothing shop, Anne has always had a great affinity with fashion and the additional marks. From early on, she knew that she wanted to study at AMFI. In addition,

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Anne is also a big sports enthusiast and, next to her studies, works out a lot. Before school, she likes to go for a run in the park. Besides that, she also practices fitness and yoga several times a week. The combination of fashion and sports results into her favourite brands; Hermes, Zara, Victoria Secret and Nike.

Anne admires the Victoria Secret models and to be up-to-date about their activities, she follows almost all of them on Instagram. So when Nike posted the first picture of the new major campaign on Instagram, she immediately saw that the model was one of her favorite Dutch Victoria Secret models, Romee Strijd! The first thing Anne did was to call her flatmate Maan, because she also admires Romee Strijd. Maan is also a student at the AMFI and has got her own successful fashion brand. Just like Anne, Maan admires the Victoria Secret models and is a big sports enthusiast. But unlike Anne, Maan thinks Nike is a sport brand for lower class people and finds it is not very fashionable to wear, she prefers Prada sportswear because it is from a fashion brand and therefore more fashionable.

After Maan saw the pictures and video’s from the new major sportswear campaign from Nike, she was impressed and in love with the vibe the campaign spread out. The pictures were looking really classy and almost as if it was a fashion campaign and not a sportswear campaign. Her favourite Victoria Secret model, Romee Strijd, was performing different kinds of sports and was looking beautiful as always! Maan admitted to Anne she was in love with the new sportswear line of Nike and was not ashamed to wear Nike while running at the park anymore. All of that, because of the classy model Romee was the face of fashion wearing beautiful sportswear. The next day, Anne and Maan went running an extra mile, looking absolutely fabulous in their Nike sportswear!

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Customer information disclosure Concept by Pleun

Nike’s values are a very important element of there corporate identity. It is important to carry out the values to customers, also called ‘the customer information disclosure’. A great share of Nike’s footwear profit comes from sports stores that sell both Nike’s and competitor’s products. To make customers understand Nike’s products and its features, it could be made easier to understand by training shoe store employees or empowering the shoe store visit experience.

An example is the experience store in California, which is specially designed for women. Amy Montagne, vice president of Nike Women said: “In this store all the employees carry out our values, whereby women feel a strong connection.’’ (Nike, 2015)

Besides directly targeted shoe stores, there are a lot of shoe stores, which sell shoe fashion from different brands. Therefore Nike risks his credibility and the importance of their values. Often, employees in general shoe stores are not aware of Nike’s corporate identity and where they stand for. An opportunity is to come up with a concept, which ensures an employee’s good help and knowledge about Nike. This has to lead to both much more involved employees and customers.

Concept: “The corner experience”

This concept is inspired by an existing concept of Nike. Nike has several experience stores, which are furnished by the ideas of Nike’s corporate identity. In these experience stores, there is the possibility to put on shoes and watch yourself surrounded by special glasses, which show you a soccer stadium. This way you get the feeling that you are a professional athlete.

Because this concept is focused on the shoe stores in general it will be an expansion of the existing concept. Based on this, the bigger stores like Footlocker and Coach will be the first stores to try the new concept. Their stores get a special corner with only Nike products. Also the example above will be expanded in this corner. The corner will be furnished like a typical Nike store and also the whole collection is in this specific corner. The corner has to stand out and has to be noticeable for the customer.

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Another important element of this concept is the store employee. To make the best of the opportunity, a clear explanation of Nike’s corporate identity is important. Footlocker and Coach’s will hire employees, who will be trained by Nike. This training teaches employees how to carry out Nike’s values. Without this training it is not allowed to work in the Nike corner.

Persona

Frank is a 19-year-old guy, born in Amsterdam and raised in Utrecht. He is a student at the University of Utrecht and studies Sports and Media. He is a member of the student association of Utrecht, which is called USC. Frank lives together with 6 friends who are also members of the student association. He has always been a big fan of sports, especially soccer. Frank plays soccer for 10 years now. Besides that, he is a big fan of FC Utrecht and visits all the games they play in the Galgenwaard stadium. The gym is also a place where he loves to be. Frank visits the gym 2 times a week.

Because he is a fanatic sportsman, he needs good sport clothes. Frank is a big fan of Nike, because he thinks Nike’s stuff is really fashionable and has good quality. In order to be able to buy Nike equipment and to pay his bills for the gym and soccer club, he really needs to make money. Frank saw a vacancy in the Footlocker, when he was looking for new shoes. He applied at the function sales man Nike corner and got the job. He followed the Nike training especially for this function. Nowadays, Frank knows everything about the corporate identity and values of Nike. He is an ambassador of Nike and carries out all important knowledge to his customers.

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The decrease of Nike Golf’s popularity Concept by Sjoerd

As stated before Nike Golf is one of NIKE’s 5 so called districts. Nike Golf designs and markets golf equipment, apparel, balls, footwear, bags and accessories. Unfortunately most promotion by Nike is focused on runners, football players and basketball players. The popularity of Nike Golf (and golfing in general) has decreased a lot in the last few years. (Oregon Live, 2015)

According to the National Golf Foundation, about 400.000 players have left the sport last year. The sport is suffering a lot from the lack of millennials interested, and the closure of lots of courses. It has taken a toll on companies that produce and sell golf equipment, of which one is Nike.

In order to revive the sport and make it more “sexy” again, we’d have to look for a way to bring the sport under the attention of people. We need to show them that Golf actually is a sport, and that it is actually a very nice and social activity for anyone, not just for rich people.

Concept: “Nike Golf Festival” Every year in May, Golf Day takes place. ("Golf Day", n.d.). This would most likely be the best day to have Nike organizing a so called Golf Festival, which is basically a festival purely organized with the intention to generate awareness and to take a way barriers. People will be able to experience Golf on a very easy and approachable way.

The mission statement of the concept is: “Giving each and every attendee the feeling of scoring a hole-in-one”

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In order to make the event very approachable for a large audience it would be impossible to organize it on a golf course. It should be organized somewhere more central, like a big park in the capital of a city anywhere in the world. Small golf courses should be set out in the park, music and drinks should be widely available.

Kids and golf Of course it would be silly to completely forget that we live in the digital era and that kids nowadays are more and more interested in (online) games than playing outside. Kids under 18 would get access to a special area containing tablets or computers to get introduced to Golf on a digital way. The tablets or computers should run the immensely popular online golfing game: Pangya.

Adults and golf The adults would be able to participate (and of course kids under 18 under supervision of someone above 18), in a Golf contest. In order to make Golfing more sexy and interesting some kind of gamification would have to be added to the concept. Therefore it would be a good idea to connect prices to amount of shots given before you managed to putt the ball into the hole.

Hole in one €2500 1 year golfing subscription Free Nike Golf equipment

2 shots 1 year golfing subscription or Free Nike Golf equipment

3 shots 1 month golfing subscription

4 shots or more 1 entrance ticket for you, and 1 for a friend to a Golf course

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Golf Cafè For those not interested in actually golfing themselves, there is a Golf Cafè to have a nice drink with friends. This pop-up cafè contains a lot of golfing elements such as golf clubs attached to the walls, one or several golf carts converted into seats and tables and golf balls everywhere. Just everywhere.

Live music To improve the atmosphere there will be several local bands performing on a stage outside near the golf courses.

Persona

Peter is a 21-year-old guy AMFI student from Amsterdam. He lives with his girlfriend in an apartment in the city centre and doesn’t do any sports. He is very musical, and strives for a career as a singer. His friends have been telling him to start fitness but he says he really doesn’t like that as it is too ‘’masculine” for him. A few weeks ago he heard about Nike Golf Festival and that had gotten his interest as his favorite local band is performing there. He decides to go with some friends and finds himself in a great atmosphere with lots of friendly people around. When he sees he could actually win a big sum of money when he’d make a hole-in-one he queues up to try. After 4 shots he manages to putt the ball in the hole and sees he won an entrance ticket for him and one of his friends.

The week after Peter and his friend Marco decide to go golfing at a golf course nearby, something they would have never done without visiting the Nike Golf Festival. After a great day out with his friend, meeting lots of golfers and experiencing that golf actually requires lots of tactics, and strength he decided he was going to subscribe at his local golfing club. He was very happy as he finally found out the sport he had been looking for! He even bought an entire Nike Golf outfit due to his newly found favorite sport!

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