Both Adidas and Nike fall under niche
marketing. They have narrowly defined customer group seeking a distinctive mix
of benefits. Their products are mainly aimed at both at men and women looking
for sport apparel. Adidas and Nike promise their customers comforts, reliability,
style and performance. Both the companies have lived up to their reputation in
the world of sports.
“Niche marketers aim to understand their
customers needs so well that the customers are willing to pay a premium”. This
is very true in the case of these two companies. Adidas and Nike sports goods
are priced high. But customers are willing to spend the extra money for the
quality and service they receive.
NIKE
Nike pays top athletes in many different sports
to use their products and promote/advertise their technology and design. Nike
is the official kit sponsor for Indian cricket team for 5 years, from 2006 to
till end of 2010. Nike beats Adidas and Puma by bidding highest. Nike also
sponsors some of the leading clubs in the world of Football, such as Manchester
united, Arsenal, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan and Red Star etc. Nike sponsor
several of the Worlds top golf player, including Tiger woods, and Paul Casey.
Baseball has also recently increased its Nike roster with names like Adam
Jones, Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen. The Nike collaboration with the
famous basketball superstar proved to be the so successful that they lunched
the Air Jordan brand which continuo’s to release new shoes every year even
though Jordan has been retired from NBA since 2003.
Another success story of Nike is that in 1996 they signed Tiger Woods. Since Nike was new to golf scene many believed that brand would failed but Nike has been tremendously successful with Nike Golf brand.
ADIDAS
Adidas
are the main sponsors and the kit sponsor of the successful Australian and the
England Cricket team. They are also the main sponsor of the Indian cricketers
Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. Adidas are the main sponsors of Australian
Cricket League and some teams of Indian Premier League teams like Mumbai
Indians and Delhi Daredevils.
For the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing,
china, Adidas spent 70 million us dollars sponsoring the event, amid
criticisms. Adidas also sponsors events such as the London Marathon.
The Adidas Group strives to be the global
leader in the sporting goods industry with brands built on a passion for sport
and a sporting lifestyle. They are innovating and design leaders who seek to
help athletes of all skill levels achieve peak performance with every product
they bring to market.
Adidas are consumer focused and therefore
continuously improve the quality, look, feel and image of our products and our
organizational structure to match and exceed consumer expectations and provide
them with the highest value.
Lionel Messi and Devid Beckham is the famous football
superstar who signed agreement with Adidas. Beckham was probably the first
footballer from Europe to take his brand name to next level. Beckham signed a
160 million dollar worth Life time agreement with Adidas back in 2003. Messi
signed agreement of 20 million dollar yearly. Recently Adidas group has
launched its”all Adidas” global brand campaign using a collection of Adidas
game faces.
SEGMENTS TARGETED
Both Nike and Adidas target Aspiring athletes
in the age group of 15-35. In the lifestyle and the apparel market target
consumers who identify with sport as a way of life and are brand conscious.
NIKE
Here are the three consumers Nike is focusing
on the most.
ü
Women
Nike is
expanding women’s apparel especially sports bras and tights. Sales of Nikes
training and running apparel for women grew by double digits in the last
quarter, outpacing the men’s business.
Nike
says the women’s line could add 2 billion dollar in additional sales by 2017.
ü
Young athletes
Kids
who play sports are a growing part of Nike Business, acting to parker.
Nike
gets young athletes to wear its products through sponsorships with local
leagues, clubs, and federations.
All NFL
teams currently wear Nike gear. The brand also has partnerships with scores of
famous athletes, including basketball star Kobe Bryant and tennis champion
Roger Federer.
Under
Armour has also started signing famous athletes as a way to attract young
customers.
ü
Runner
Much of
Nikes innovation efforts are focused in the running category. New running shoes
include the Lunar Tempo, which is designed for distance runners. Nike is also
innovating running apparel to better compete with Lululemon, under Armour, and
Adidas.
The
company also revamped its Nike+ running app. Its help them to track their
route, distance, pace, time, and calories. It also let them to share photos and
compare progress with friends.
Nike
sponsors grass root running events around the world to recruit new customers.
The running app provided by Nike is very unique you will get measurement and
motivation you need to run farther and faster than ever before.
ADIDAS
The
Adidas as compared to other sports brands cover the largest market. Adidas
mainly focuses on men and women who are brand conscious or are looking for
comforts in the area of sport. Adidas has more than 200 verities of men footwear’s
and more than 150 women footwear’s. The company also makes sports shirts and
other sport related goods. It has entire line of products devoted to sports
like Football, cricket and Basketball.
The
company officially became the no 1 driver in Golf in 2005 and in 2008 Adidas
made their first major move in cricket market.
ü
Running
Adidas
currently manufactures several running shoes, including the adiStar control 5,
the adiStar ride, the supemova sequence and the Supemova Cushion 7 among the
others. In addition their performance Apparel is widely used by runners. Adidas
also use kangaroo leather to make their more expensive shoes.
ü
Athletes
Adidas
strongest consumer market is with the 20 to 29 year old age group who are
athlete our passionate about spots. The company is focused on targeting and
strengthening its brand with the next generation of athletes in the 14 to 19
year old age group.
Adidas
believes this target group is the most influential consumer group in the world.
Adidas
plans to sharply ramp up endorsement deals with U.S. pro footballer and
baseball players, as the German sportswear maker tries to gain traction in
American market.
ü
Basketball
Adidas
has been a long time basketball shoe manufacturer and is one of the leading
basketball brands in the world. They are most famous for their iconic superstar
and pro model shoes.
To
target the young youth Adidas signed different famous Basketball players which
are highly followed by young youth and also these Basketball player have huge
fan following in countries like America, U k and Australia. So in this way
Adidas easily target the youth.
POSITIONING AND DIFFERNTATION
The
core of Nike brand positioning is the “just do it” slogan. It means being what
you are and concentrating on what is important to you.
Adidas
represents passion, elegance and durability.
EVOLUTION AS A BRAND
•
NIKE
It was
only 36 years ago that we had a world without Nike, and in that period Nike has
gone from the brash newcomer, to the no 1 mass-market leader. The Nike story
begins with the meeting of its co-founders at University of Oregon
In
1965, after a period of selling Onitsuka shoes from the back of their van at
athletics meets, the company grew.
The company went from strength, but after
heated disagreements between BRS and Onitsuka, the new boss at BRS decided to
split from tiger in 1971 and create their own company. It is said that Jeff
Johnson came with the idea for the new name, deciding to honor the Greek
goddess of victory, and thus Nike was born. The company managed to decide the
logo of its own.
Nike took off virtually in the U.S, and
within a year company sales were at almost 2 million pairs. In 1981 Nike
decided to took another major step to open its new office in U K.
However in 1985 Nike become a major player in
the field of sports. When Nike sign an agreement with the basketball player
Michael Jordan. The new Jordan endorsed range transported Nike and trainers in
general to a completely new level of popularity,
In 2006 Nike entered into the cricket market
with the 5 year of sponsorship of the Indian cricket team for US 43 million
dollar.
Nike has continuously pushed back the
boundaries of the trainer design, sports shirts design and sports bat design,
staying focused under Phil Knight’s guidance.
Developing the
swoosh
Back in 1971, the newly created Nike Company
was ready to hit the market with its sports goods and a logo to represent the
brand was urgently needed.
Phil Knight turned to an associate from his
teaching life and commissioned graphic-design student Carolyn Davison to work
with this new brand. Knight wanted a design that would represent movements.
Davidson was the one who design the Logo of the Nike. For this work Davidson
paid 35 million dollar for design.
Knight also gave Davidson an envelope which
contains Nike ring and Nike stock.
•
Adidas
When Adidas entered the marketplace some 50
year ago, its focus was to produce shoes crafted specifically for soccer and
running.
The brand has steadily regained market share
over the past five years to become the world no 2 athletic sports goods
manufacturing company.
The brand positioning of Adidas is simple:
cutting edge soccer. In order to strengthen the position, they focus on the
field. Adidas has the best lightweight material available for their footwear
products, but so does their competition. Adidas has innovative benefit for
their footwear products such as lethal spins
In 2012 Adidas, the sports equipment giant,
in partnership with Major League Soccer, become the first company to incorporate
live microanalysis technology to soccer game.
A tiny chip placed into the Adidas TECHFIT
compression top captured live data such as speed, distance, field, position,
and heart bit. The chip then beamed the data to base station on the sideline
allowing coaches and managers the ability to track and follow their player
during the match.
To keep up with the competition, Adidas
generates close to 60 new foot friendly designs each year. As the result
products have been repositioned in higher-end sports specialty stores.
In 2004 “Impossible is nothing” become the
central message of the global campaign that Adidas lunched.
It appears that teams Adidas honed its
strategy to become revitalized contender in today’s competitive sporting goods
market and is know duly recognized as the sneaker of yesterday and today.
Adidas Target Audience
According to Adidas Group,
Adidas is primarily targeting sports participants, including those at the
highest level of their sport, as well as non-athletes who are inspired by or
really love sports. Adidas has a long history of providing athletic footwear
and apparel for athletes at all levels of sport. There are also some other type
of audience that are attacked by Adidas the list of those targeted audience is
as follow.
•
Fashion lovers
•
Trend followers and setters
•
Supporters of street culture
•
Sports lover
•
Music lover
•
Working middle class families
These all are the target audience of Adidas.
As detailed in its strategic positioning
statement, Adidas' strongest consumer market is with the 20- to 29-year-old age
group who are athletes or is passionate about sports. The company is focused on
targeting and strengthening its brand with the next generation of athletes in
the 14- to 19-year-old age group. Adidas believes this target group is the most
influential consumer group in the world.
Nike Target Audience
Nike's primary target
audience for its products is athletes, according to the company's 2014 letter
to its shareholders. In its 2014 business overview, Nike lists serving athletes
as one of its key goals for innovation.
According to the company's business overview, Nike brands
each have distinct target audiences. The main Nike brand is most targeted
towards athletes, selling related products such as shoes, sporting equipment
and clothes. The Converse, Inc. brand markets more casual goods and is
described as targeting premium customers. The Jordan Brand is also a premium
brand, but it is targeted more broadly at athletes. The Hurley International LLC
brand also targets athletes but focuses more on activities associated with
young people, such as skateboarding and surfing. The Nike Golf brand is focused
on golfers. As of 2014, the company has plans to more aggressively target
different groups of consumers, including female consumers and consumers in
China and in Western Europe. Nike specifically targets sports viewers, with
initiatives correlated with the Sochi Winter Games, the Super Bowl in New York
City, the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, and the World Cup in Brazil,
as detailed in the letter to shareholders. The company also targets basketball
fans with a campaign involving player Kobe Bryant.
Nike mainly target 3 kinds of the categories.
•
Women’s
•
Runners
•
Young athlete
Adidas target audience
overview
