Digital Marketing at Nike

Introduction

Nike Inc. is among the most competitive sports and fitness companies across the world. The business was founded in 1964 by two Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman in Oregon. They launched Blue Ribbon Sports as the initial brand. The business operations started to flourish when the owners formed a partnership in 1966. The company has since continued its business to date when it boasts a variety of leading sports equipment and accessories. Among its notable products include shoes, jersey, shorts, and baselayers for various sports such as ice hockey, tennis, track and field, basketball, football, and cricket among others. With the advent of the technological age and in the face of fierce competition, Nike Inc. has extensively adopted digital marketing strategies. The approaches have enabled the company to achieve extensive brands exposure, which has been coupled with its superior digital campaigns. Many of Nikes digital campaigns are tied to its overarching #Makeitcount initiative. Interests in the Nike Inc. and its successes have motivated this study, which seeks to review the Nike FuelBand as Nikes superior digital product. Also, the paper will consider Nikes digital marketing and the initiatives that can be used to improve the digital marketing strategies.

The Nike FuelBand Dimensions and Its Target Market

The Nike FuelBand is leading digital product by the Nike Inc. It is a product that assists the user in tracking and sharing information on their sporting activities. The wearers can also track the steps taken daily, and the amount of energy burned. The information obtained from the product can then be sent to a Nike online community and phone application thus allowing the users to set their personalized goals. They can also monitor their progress and compare the results with other members of the community. The product is used with an IPad, Apple IPhone, or an Android device. Nike FuelBand was first available from the Nike online store starting 2012.

The Nike FuelBand is a product that resembles a wrist watch. It can be described in various dimensions, and to start with is the size. The product is available in three sizes. These are small, medium, and large, which measure 5.97 inches, 6.77 inches, and 7.76 inches respectively. The product can be customized to fit using 0.32 or 0.63 inches. Secondly is the width. The Nike FuelBand measures 0.63 inches at the LED and 0.75 inches at the latch. Thirdly are the aspects of thickness. The Nike FuelBand measures 0.27 inches at the LED and 0.32 inches at the latch. In the fourth position are the dimensions of weight. The product weighs between 27 and 35 grams. The 35 grams includes inserts.

Further, we look at other aspects and features of the Nike FuelBand. The Nike FuelBand uses the two rechargeable Lithium Polymer batteries with up to 3.7 volts. The batteries can last up to between four hours seven days depending on usability. Another aspect is the display type. The Nike FuelBand display features 20 colors of red or green LED or 100 white LED. The display modes include the time taken for an activity, the energy burned during an activity in calories, all the steps taken, and finally, the NikeFuel earned. Nike FuelBand has a one year warranty effective from the date of purchase. FuelBands appealing features are that it is ambidextrous and water resistant. The product is durable because it is made of a combination of superior materials, which include stainless steel, magnesium, polypropylene, and thermoplastic elastomers. The primary target market for this product encompasses athletics.

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Nike Digital Marketing versus Nike Traditional Marketing Channels

As the times continue to change, so is Nike Inc. The corporation has made a complete shift from a traditional advertising world to interactive dynamic advertising platforms. The company continues to adopt digital marketing approaches, which are aimed at achieving successful brands exposure, as well as an increased interaction with its consumers. Nike Inc. began operating a digital platform in 1996 when it started a website for the Atlanta Olympics games. In 2006, Nike launched a Nike + platform, which was intended to meet the gradually changing customer needs. These developments among others have enabled the company to meet the customers needs adequately. Presently, Nikes interactive digital campaigns have completely replaced Nikes traditional marketing.

Nikes digital marketing can be compared to the earlier traditional marketing channels with respect to advantages and disadvantages. The digital marketing approach proves more useful than the traditional advertising methods in various ways. To start with are reduced advertisement costs. Initially, the commercial ads costs were extremely high because the company sold its products through superstars. However, Nikes advertising costs dropped by 40 percent in television and print ads between 2010 and 2013. These were the outcomes of the adoption of digital publications. Secondly is the advantage of increased interaction with customers. Nike has significantly improved its interaction with customers. Consequently, communication, feedback, and response to complaints has considerably upgraded. The results have been better quality and better response to changing customer needs. The traditional marketing approach did not provide a feature for interacting with the customers.

Thirdly, Nikes digital marketing strategies are associated with less time and effort, which implies more efficiency and productivity. Conversely, the traditional marketing strategies were associated with poor communication and required more time and effort. There was inadequate feedback, which resulted in poor customer services and dissatisfaction. Finally, Nikes digital marketing in comparison to the traditional marketing approach is associated with increased worldwide sales. Nike has been able to capture everything regarding sportsmanship because of the integration of a digital platform. Also, the digital channel allows online shopping, a feature that was not possible with traditional marketing. With the digital approach, the company can now forecast a sales increase of 45 percent by the end of 2017. The ground for this is that the digital platform has allowed a technological innovation and personalized digital marketing effort.

Initiatives That Nike Should Implement To Improve Its Digital Marketing Strategies

Nike Inc. is undertaking various measures in a bid to improve its digital marketing strategies. To begin with, Nike is engaging with its consumers socially. The company has identified the social media as a key to a revenue increase. Nike Inc. is well represented on various social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tagged, and Pinterest among others. The company is a notch higher after realizing the power attached to the social media as a critical enabler of products and services. For Nike to continually improve its digital marketing approaches, it should critically research about its customers and see where they are most active. For instance, Facebook has been recognized as a fan favorite followed by Tagged. The company can evaluate the behaviors of the customers online through the social media. Also, the company should study how the customers needs can be aligned to the companys operations. These studies would help to make the social and digital marketing more efficient and productive.

The second approach is making better moves towards mobile platforms. These provide enormous opportunities to companies in terms of marketing. Today, a significant proportion of the adult population across the world has gone online. Consequently, there has been a momentous rise in the extents of sending and receiving personal emails through the smartphones. As such, the Nike Inc. can adopt this as a fertile ground for attracting and retaining new customers. The company can integrate mobile marketing into its overall strategy where it can use SMS, push notifications, location based functionalities, as well as mobile apps. Moreover, the business can adopt B2B and B2C e-business strategies, which are adaptable to mobile-friendly layouts.

Finally, is creating a compelling customer journey, which implies the experiences that customers have with the companys brand, products, and services. The customers journey should review the customers personality and how they perceive the company and its products. For better digital marketing, the company should prioritize the customers needs and preferences. Also, the company should seek to know the channels that reach the customers best, the metrics that measure the information best, and the events that impact the customers positively. Every aspect of the companys digital communication should be examined from a customers perspective.

Conclusion

This analysis has examined Nike Inc. with respect to its digital product named Nike FuelBand, as well as its digital marketing strategies. The Nike FuelBand is a product primarily targeted at athletics. It helps to track wearers activities, steps, and the amounts of calories burned. The study has noted that Nike Inc. has extensively adopted a digital marketing approach substituting its traditional marketing methods. The digital approach is associated with benefits such as better worldwide sales, better interaction with customers, use of less time and effort, and reduced advertisement costs. These benefits were impossible with the traditional marketing approaches. With the changing market trends, the company can improve its digital marketing by adopting mobile platforms, interacting with customers over social channels, and creating a compelling customer journey. These approaches would make digital marketing more successful.