Analysis Marketing Plays of Nike and Adidas †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Marketing Plays of Nike and Adidas. Answer: Introduction Marketing plays a vital role in every organisation as it has the potential to create an impact on the profitability of the business. Marketing helps in building a link or relationship between the organisation and customers. It is crucial for a business to use marketing function for attracting customers towards the business, developing loyalty among the customers and retaining customers. Organisations need to utilise marketing function in an effective manner for gaining a competitive advantage over its competitors in the market. This assignment is based on the analysis of the effectiveness of the marketing functions of two companies which have acted as a competitive advantage for the company. This assignment will discuss the case study of Nike and Adidas for analysing the role played by marketing function in contributing towards growth and success of the business. Evidence will be provided for explaining the importance of marketing function for both the companies.Marketing strategies adopted by both the companies will be discussed. Case study of Nike: Strategic marketing plan of Nike Nike is a public company operating in the Apparel, Accessories and Sports equipment industry. It was founded by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight in the year 1964 (Nike, 2017). Nike is among the top brands in the world which have utilised its marketing strategies in an effective manner. Nike is focusing on innovations and discoveries for providing better quality products and experience to its customers. It has used a slogan Just Do It for its marketing campaigns so to place its focus on fitness, sportsmanship, and competition (Ros, 2011). Another aspect of the marketing strategy of Nike which has contributed towards its success is the use of e-commerce websites for offering products to the customers through online mode. Its e-commerce website was launched in 1999 which has enhanced the performance of Nike. For spreading awareness among the customers it has entered into contracts with celebrities along with the use of mass media (Ahmed, 2016). Case study of Adidas: Adidas: Sprinting Ahead of Nike Adidas is operating in the Apparel, accessories and sportswear industry and offering its wide range of products all around the globe. It was founded by Adolf Dassler in the year 1924. It stands at the 2nd place when it comes to the largest sportswear manufacturer in the world and largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe (Adidas, 2017). Several strategies have been used by Adidas for the promotion of the products. Big sporting events have been targeted by Adidas for the marketing of the products and it focuses on the acquisition of the official sponsorship rights of the sporting events such as FIFA cup, Olympic Games, and Eurocup. Adidas has produced shoe and phone scheme with the cooperation of Samsung. Samsung and Adidas have launched a phone which works well with the Adidas shoes. For the marketing of its products, it has targeted emerging market of China. Another strategy adopted by Adidas was differentiation strategy by using innovations so as to differentiate its products from the competitors (Dogiamis Vijayashanker, 2009). Marketing success evidence Distribution of the products of Nike is done on a different level basis which has helped in generating satisfaction and loyalty among the customers. Nike is offering high premium products to certain distributors only so as to enhance the sale of high premium products. Nike has placed its focus on producing high-quality products so that its customers are less worried about the price. This aspect has helped Nike in setting higher prices for the products in comparison to its competitors. The focus of Nike is on the athlete group who enjoys sports goods of high quality.Net sales of Nike have increased in the year 2015 in comparison to the year 2013 and 2014. In 2015, Net sales of Nike were$ 31.34 Billion and in 2013, it was $ 25.3Billion and in 2014, it was $ 27.8Billion (Ros, 2011). Nike has gained a competitive advantage due to various aspects and these aspects include technology used by Nike, research and development strengths, economies of scale, the manufacturing cost of the product s and patents. Nike has used effective distribution channel and promotional activities include newspaper advertising, commercials, billboards, and celebrities. This has acted as the strength of Nike which contributed towards the success of the marketing plan of Nike (Mahdi, et. al., 2015). On the other hand, Adidas has focused on the marketing function more rather than on the production as it has outsourced its production function. For the marketing of its products, it has entered into a partnership with the music channels, rock shows, and sporting events. Few parameters have been considered by Adidas for the marketing of its products and these parameters include performance, price, style, comfort, durability, and brand. The multi-brand approach has provided an opportunity to hold a large market share (Ali, et. al., 2017). It has acquired Reebok which has helped in reducing the cost and optimum utilisation of the cost. Broader distribution strategy has been adopted by Adidas which has enhanced the process of close monitoring and enhancing the in-store experience of the products. Most important aspects which have contributed towards the success of Adidas include technological advancements and targeted marketing promotion strategy. Expansion of the distribution system an d use of community connect programs and social media programs have provided a competitive advantage to Adidas. It's multi-brand portfolio and differentiated positioning has provided a competitive advantage. Regular customer feedback strategy has been adopted by Adidas which has helped it in dealing with the competition in a better manner as well as generated customer involvement and customer loyalty (Dogiamis Vijayashanker, 2009). Analysis and explanation BCG Matrix has been applied for the analysis of the effectiveness of the marketing strategies of both the companies. Nike has been placed in the cash cows category on the BCG matrix. Nike holds a fairly stable market share which has placed it in the category of BCG matrix. Nike has benefited from the economies of scale and is using outsourcing strategies for reducing the cost involved in the manufacturing of the products. The focus on the marketing strategies of Nike is diversification of the market share and providing quality products. Nike is providing high-quality products to its customers and due to the high-quality products; its customers are ready to pay the higher cost. Nike has ensured high-quality products which have enabled it to charge a higher price for its products. The value based pricing strategy has been adopted by Nike. Nike is focusing on the expansion of the distribution channels at the global level so as to make the products available to the customers (Efrimidi, 2015). Technology has been used by Nike for enhancing the quality of the products offered as Nike has entered into col laboration with the companies based on technology. For example, Nike has entered into collaboration with Apple. Sensors have been placed inside the shoes of Nike so that users can connect their iPod with the Nike shoes. For providing a better experience to the customers, it has launched a sub brand named as NikeiD. NikeiD allows the customers to customise the footwear according to their want (Deng, 2009). Adidas group is having four brands which fall in the different category of the BCG matrix. Adidas and Reebok are falling in the star category as both these brands hold a strong market share but it is facing tough competition which is prevailing in the industry. Rockport and Taylor are falling in the question mark category as they hold low market share but these brands of Adidas group have good potential (Ali, et. al., 2017). It has made an analysis of the response of the customers which has made it distribution strategy more successful. For increasing the sales, Adidas has focused on the expansion of the distribution system by using co-brand stores and exclusive stores. It has used community connect programs and social media programs which have contributed towards its success. Constant improvements are made in the products lines for promoting the products. Its multi-brand portfolio has helped in covering the sports and consumer segments which have inspired people (Lagnese, 2017). Cus tomers hold high bargaining power which is a concern for Adidas and availability of the counterfeit products has affected its market share. Changing lifestyle has provided an opportunity for the growth of the sportswear industry. The majority of the customers of Adidas belong from the upper and upper-middle class group. Adidas has analysed that it has to change strategies adopted as mass marketing and mass production strategies are not sufficient for serving the purpose (Alsbiei, 2015). Conclusion This assignment has discussed the marketing strategies adopted by Nike and Adidas which have helped these companies in coping with the increasing competition. The discussion has been made regarding the role of marketing in contributing to the growth and success of the business. Nike and Adidas are performing well and are using various marketing strategies for the purpose of attainment of the objectives set. Nike is facing tough competition and for coping with this increasing competition, various marketing strategies have been applied by Nike. It has adopted different distribution channels for offering its products to the customers with different income level. Nike has used e-commerce websites for attracting the customers and providing better services to the customers. Adidas has adopted a strategy which is to sponsor the famous athlete teams of the soccer industry, basketball teams, and football teams. All these strategies adopted by Adidas have provided competitive advantage to Adid as over the others in the industry. References Adidas, 2017, History, Adidas. Accessed on: 03 August 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.adidas-group.com/en/group/history/. Ahmed, R. R., 2016, Strategic Marketing Plan of Nike, Research gate. Ali, M., Din, N. M.., Jami, M. and Ilyas, P., 2017, Comparative Analysis of Brand Performance and Financial Gains a Case Study of Nike, Adidas and Puma, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention, Volume 6, Issue 1, PP.17-25. Alsbiei, O., 2015, ADIDAS Group Strategy analysis, Research gate. Baroto, M. B., Abdullah, M. M. B. Wan, H. L., 2012, Hybrid Strategy: A New Strategy for Competitive Advantage, International Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 7, No. 20. Deng, T., 2009, Just Done It--- Nikes New Advertising Plan Facing Global Economic Crisis, International Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 4, No. 3. Dogiamis, G. Vijayashanker, N., 2009, Adidas: Sprinting Ahead of Nike, MCAFEE. Efrimidi, K., 2015, Marketing plan of developing and promoting sport shoes online shop LifeShoes, University of Barcelona. Lagnese, M., 2017, How the adidas Group's Corporate Strategy Has Resulted In Growth and Increased Profitability within the Sportswear Industry, Allegheny College DSpace Repository. Mahdi, H. A. A., Abbas, M. Mazar, T. I., 2015, A Comparative Analysis of Strategies and Business Models of Nike, Inc. and Adidas Group with special reference to Competitive Advantage in the context of a Dynamic and Competitive Environment, International Journal of Business Management and Economic Research, Vol 6(3),167-177. Nike, 2017, About Nike, Nike. Accessed on: 02 August 2017. Retrieved from: https://about.nike.com/. Ros, A. A., 2011, NIKE Strategy: Strategy Management, International Journal of Competitive Intelligence, Strategic, Scientific and Technology Watch Sciwatch Journal, vol 4 issue 1.