{"id":3644,"date":"2021-06-25T01:40:19","date_gmt":"2021-06-25T05:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplifiedblog.wpengine.com\/?p=3644"},"modified":"2025-11-19T02:49:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T07:49:48","slug":"nike-marketing-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplified.com\/blog\/marketing\/nike-marketing-strategy","title":{"rendered":"Nike Marketing Strategy: How They Do It And You Can Too!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Simon Sinek, a British-American author, and inspirational speaker, once said: “People don’t buy what you do; people buy why you do it.” Unquestionably, this idea is a perfect summation for our case study today, the Nike marketing strategy. A tagline that checks all boxes (literally) of brand recognition, “Just do it,” became three words that shifted storytelling paradigms in ads. So, how do they do it? Also, how did they turn a humble shoe store in Oregon into a multi-billion dollar company with global recognition?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it the famous athletes, sponsoring sports teams, large-scale advertising, or just the magic of their distinguished swoosh logo? In this blog, we’ll go through the essential elements of this success story with a complete breakdown of their marketing tactics!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Nike’s Brand Overview<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"Nike
(Source: Highsnobiety<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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<\/span>History<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n
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(Source: Business Insider<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Nike was founded in the year 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports<\/em> by the University of Oregon coach, Bill Bowerman, and his student, Phil Knight. But, from their first retail outlet in 1966 to their first Nike brand shoe in 1972, their story was not an overnight success. Eventually, they expanded their business through numerous brand acquisitions – namely Converse, Inc. (2003) and Cole Haan (2012).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Brand Mission and Values<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n
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(Source: Purpose.Nike.com<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Related: Secrets Behind Famous Brand Logos You Didn’t Know<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their own words, Nike aims to “bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world”. In fact, in the true spirit of fair sportsmanship, they believe in delivering their products to a diverse and inclusive community. Moreover, they aim to design for comfort while stepping towards a more sustainable future, in addition to their global community outreach initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>The Result?<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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“As of June 2021, Nike has a market cap of $207.54 B. This makes Nike the world’s 51st most valuable company by market cap”<\/em> – CompaniesMarketCap<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>What is Nike’s Marketing Strategy?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n
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(Source: The Slice)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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As a matter of fact, what people most often miss with any Nike advertisement is their intentional avoiding of direct product focus. Despite their branding being the core element of their marketing, they seek to connect with their audience using impactful visual experiences. Moreover, Nike advertising is known to have high-budget video production scales, a dramatic background score, and socially conscious concepts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Powerful Brand Imagery in Nike Advertising<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This shows the impact of COVID-19, through an inclusive lens of disability, racial justice, LGBTQ+ lives, and most importantly, sports. Indeed, Nike has constantly set the standards for socially aware advertising, and they’ve hit the mark yet again with their latest campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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