“Just Do It”: Nike’s Marketing Strategy
By Samarth Singh
“Just do it” is synonymous with Nike, the famous sports brand. Surprisingly, it was Nike’s first television marketing campaign, and it has remained one of the most effective ones ever. But like almost anything else, it has a past, present and future.
Blue Ribbon Sports (later renamed to Nike) was started by Phil Knight (a former runner at the University of Oregon) and Bill Bowerman (Phil’s coach) in 1962. Their experience in the sport (running) helped them develop some amazing innovations at affordable prices. Bowerman innovated the famous Waffle Sole, which had better cushioning and traction. Jogging, as a part of a daily routine, was popularised by Bill. Its benefits were published in reports and books. After this, the Waffle Shoe was introduced, making it the best-selling training shoe in the USA. Thanks to their contacts, Phill and Bill were able to test their products with real runners and athletes. The 1970s were great for Nike. Among many other achievements, Jimmy Connor wore Nike shoes and then won the Wimbledon and U.S. Open championships. Nike boomed in the running shoe segment.
The 1980s, however, were much more rough. The running shoe giant was struggling in the basketball shoe market. Its share in the basketball market was just 18%. By 1983, 22 million shoes were left unsold in Nike’s inventory. Add to this the dead stocks of other athletic wear. In 1984, Nike’s earnings declined by 29%, the first decline in a decade. Losses were incurred for the first time in 1985. 1987 saw sales drop by $200 million and a layoff of 280 employees.
That is when Nike pivoted its strategy. Nike realized that product wasn’t everything. Initially, it made products for athletes, optimizing shoes as per their needs. However, 60% of their sales were driven by people who weren’t athletes. Nike understood that they had to keep the consumer at their core focus. They started to focus on colour, design and consumer needs, not only on performance and comfort. They also kickstarted their first major ad campaign.
This first campaign was created by Dan Wieden, founder of marketing firm Wieden + Kennedy. First, Dan created separate commercials for different audiences: running, walking, basketball and so on. Each sport, or segment, had a different team with a different sense of creativity. However, all of this needed to be united. So came the phrase, “Just do it”. It was a simple slogan, but most importantly, it related to everyone. From a professional athlete to a casual jogger, everyone could understand the emotion in those three words.
This was not all, however. Nike was looking for basketball’s next big thing, and they zeroed in on Michael Jordan. It was an expensive deal; $500,000 for five years, two Mercedes cars and personalized shoes. Nike got lucky with this one. Michael Jordan had an explosive start. In his debut season in the years 1984-85, he was selected NBA Rookie of the Year. This overwhelmingly positive response from the player boosted Nike’s sales.
The first Air Jordan, released in 1985, was a movement. In its first year, Air Jordan brought sales of $126 million. By 1987, Nike’s share in the basketball shoe market was 43%. Now, Nike wasn’t just a shoe manufacturer, it was a brand. Its position made people associate the brand with an aspirational value.
Nike continued its unique marketing. In the 2000s, Nike incorporated tech with sports by partnering with Apple. Devices that measure the distance run by athletes and smartwatches are some examples. This consumer-centric approach continued with Nike’s “Find Your Greatness” and “Dream Crazy” campaigns.
Needless to say, it worked. In 2023, Nike booked revenues of more than $51 billion. Its market share is around 40%. Even today, Nike’s marketing campaigns are very unique. They found their greatness in marketing and just did it.
Sources:
https://www.creativereview.co.uk/just-do-it-slogan/
https://hashtagpaid.com/banknotes/nikes-approach-to-marketing-then-and-now
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike,_Inc.
https://hbr.org/1992/07/high-performance-marketing-an-interview-with-nikes-phil-knight
