NIKE: A DREAM THAT BECAME A REALITY

Nike project| AD Discovery and Creativity Course| AD&PR Lab

Nowadays, digital marketing, advertising and the social media corner the market. Through high competition, great challenges and many opportunities, creativity and innovative marketing ideas could improve the world. In the purposes of our course “Ad Discovery and Creativity Lab”, we , as students of AD&PR Lab of Panteion University, research the latest trends in advertising and communication as well as work on and create some really interesting projects as brand ambassadors of PR digital media company.

The brand which we decided to research was NIKE as it has had a long and interesting development in the sports industry. Without any financial backing and just an idea that came to him in College, Phil Knight travelled to Japan and stumbled upon a sports shoe (Tiger shoes) he believed was an improvement to what was available in America in the early 1960s. He went into business with Tiger shoes and upon the first shipment in the USA a small profit was made. Since Phil Knight’s inception of the idea to bring Japanese shoes to the American market, and his partnership with the famous Olympic trainer Bill Bowerman and the renaming of the company from Blue Ribbon Sports shoes to NIKE in 1978 the company skyrocketed throughout the world.

Though mostly famous for the sports shoes which have been altered to suit most types of sports, NIKE has branched out in the sports world including sports apparel. It is not limited to people in sports as people of all ages are seen wearing NIKE products as the company provides for most consumer preferences. The focus is on how consumers feel when wearing NIKE products. It is a brand which has a vision, values and a purpose. It’s a company which works hard to “do everything possible to expand human potential”. This vision is to experience the emotion of competition, winning and crushing competitors. As far as their values are concerned, the company believes in performance, originality, sustainability and innovation. The organizational culture of NIKE is centered around creativity and “novelty” so as to provide only the very best to its wide variety of consumers.

The consumers are mainly the target group aged 15–40 but it does not stop there. It targets individuals with specific lifestyles and personalities. NIKE fosters an attitude, it develops a lifestyle. It has come a long way from catering just to athletes. As people change and develop, so does the company.

Nike has had a steady to skyrocketing course. The advertising campaigns that boosted sales were not only due to the products advertised but to the inspiring messages like “ Find your Greatness”, “Equality” and “ Just do it”. NIKE is undoubtedly a brand that has had a great deal of criticism but has remained in the forefront of people’s choice.

Team: Antonis Katsis, Eva Fouska, Antzela Golikai, Alexia Stavropoulou

Professor: Betty Tsakarestou