Positioning and Segmentation Strategies of Nike

In this blog post, we shall discuss the positioning and segmentation strategies of the genius of marketing Nike. Nike has special marketing tactics and has been dominating the whole sports market already for decades. This severe competition made Nike do its best and be a winner in the vast market.

We are going to look at the brand Nike with different angles and find out the secrets of the genius of marketing. So in order to see closer their positioning tactics we need to look upon the 5 main components of positioning strategy.

• target audience
• marketing strategy
• problem removal
• social approval
• message strategy

1. Target audiences and segmentation.

In order to clearly understand what kind of people are the real target of Nike, we should look upon their commercial examples and here is their first one.

The following commercial is a very popular one and has millions of views. In the video, we see an overweight guy running toward the camera. He did not surrender, he does not find any excuses and he wants to change his life and find his greatness. 

Who is the segment of people that we see in the commercial?

The following segment is called Naysayers. What does it mean?

They are people who are always keen on saying No to new opportunities, they live a calm life and do not want any complicated actions. Good employment is what they dream of in order to earn their living as nothing in life is free.

Nike gives them the ability to struggle and fight for being a new, mighty person. Nike encourages them not to say no to their surroundings, but take a chance and beat themselves, do not afraid and find their greatness.

Naysayers buy mostly local brands and do not like spending a lot of money and here is where Nike could have some problems as their products are mainly high priced. Though during sales they can buy one. 

The following series of adds, “Find your greatness” have different heroes and targeted people and the following segment is just one of the tens.

So let’s discuss another segment of customers and watch a commercial.

The name of the commercial is called “Dream with us”.

During the whole commercial the author thinks and discusses our dreams. I remember when I was a kid participating in a big basketball match was my dream. And here we also see the dreams of children to be leaders to be the winners. So Nike gives the children the sense of an ideal person, a person that is a champion. And here we come to a segment that is called Peacocks. Who are Peacocks?

Many famous characters belong to the following segment like Cristiano Ronaldo or Neymar.

The following segment wants to be a leader in whatever they do, so they practice a few activities where they can really shine. They are very self-focused and constantly like to stand out in the crowd and so they like going to special places, wear special kinds of clothes and are friends with special people.

Peacocks like following a well-organized routine and think that if they do not succeed they must keep trying until the end. So, in reality, they do not like admitting failure and find many excuses to purge it. So this is an ideal personality for Nike for targeting people who like to win and do not admit their failures.

The following segment will buy brands to stand out in the crowd and the brands that fit their personality. They like to dress mostly flashy and Nike clothing and boots are ideal goods for them. Peacocks like finding a brand that is up to date and stick to it for a long period of time and stay loyal to it.

2.The marketing strategy of Nike.

Constant Innovation

Innovation is one of the ways of Nike for going ahead and providing new technologies for all kinds of goods they create. Their latest boots, of course, are made of the most perfect materials. This is how they work, the design is super innovative and this does not only refer to the boots. They create stadiums for running with great lightning systems and so this is their way of doing business.

Socially conscious

Nike likes to do business with companies that care about the planet. But Nike emphasizes the social consciousness, that means saying no to racism and such kind of problems in the world and so they promote Nike’s “Air raid” line to decline racial tension.

Funny and interesting commercials

Sometimes when we watch the Nike commercial our mood becomes very high as they give us unforgettable minutes with their funny cartoons or some interesting celebrity gatherings. Nobody knows what will happen next, the funny way of Nike advertising made us a fan of their brand.

And in the following commercial, we see an animated cartoon with the main football stars. Everybody was surprised, even the main superstars. They were shown in a different way, in a new unique way.

Nike – Just do it

Nike has found their treasure and of course, it is their slogan. Whoever remembers Nike immediately remember their slogan. Just do it. Many commercials are made with the message behind the pictures. What does Nike want us to know about the commercial?

They want to raise our inner heroes, to go for challenges. So this is their way of motivating all the people in the world.

Engaging celebrities

Sports celebrities are the main targets of Nike. We see people from all kinds of sports, from basketball to football. from golf to athletes. Thousands of great celebrities are participating in these fantastic campaigns. Sports celebrities are the heroes of young people. As well as the commercials are full of engaging and funny moments.

3. Problem Removal

Nike is a giant sport wear producing company and selling millions of products worldwide requires genius skills and especially understanding the key characteristics of its customers. So the problems of their customers are the keys that open the doors to the hearts of clients.

So, what are the problems that the potential clients of Nike have?

1. Being a champion

A vast segment of Sport wear users are attending to a sport cub or are a part of a sports team. They want to have a career as well as being a champion and of course, they are a fan of one of the sportsmen as Lebron James. Lebron James convinces millions of young people that if they work hard they can be like the great sportsman. So Nike solves the problem of being a champion and their product gives them the exact same messages.

2. Find your greatness

A lot of people in the world are so timid, they feel that they are very small and can not be a great man. Their commercials “find your greatness”. Here we see ordinary people who are doing and living their lives but there is an ambition in them to be great and to be a great person is their problem and having a Nike product gives them interesting solutions to be a great personality.

3. Nike, girls

A lot of commercials of Nike are made especially for women and girls. The example are “What are the girls made of?” and “better for it”. These are girls’ motivational campaigns that have a goal to make girls believe in themselves. In both commercials we see girls who struggle for every win, they compete with each other, they win each other. So as boys girls are also champions and this is a fact.

4. Social approval

This is a brand and these are products that need a little social approval. But how does Nike make their brand to be approved and messages to be heard? The question has a very simple answer, just engaging top athletes and celebrities. If my idol uses Nike then I also should use Nike. 

This is one of their Instagram posts and we see a celebrity but the tennis player David Nadal. He is an idol like the other sportsmen. And he is one of their main ways to make the social approval to come into reality.

If Nadal uses and likes Nike then all the ordinary people should also like Nike. The following brand was a leader in using celebrities in their commercials and one of the reasons for this is, of course, the need for social approval.

5.Message strategy

Messaging of Nike is clearly based on a particular philosophy. Their main message is “Just do it”. What do they want to tell us? To believe in ourselves and be our ideal person. What kind of messaging does Nike use to appeal to their customers?

The following tactics are called the Hero brand archetype.

• The goal of the brand archetype is to exert mastery in a way that improves the world.
• The strategy of the archetype is becoming strong and competent as able of being.
• The desire of the archetype is proving its worth through courageous actions.

Many brands like Gatorade and Tag Heuer are using the following archetype for their branding purposes.

Here are the 4 main aspects of Hero brand archetype messaging.

• The brand tells us about helping someone in need, o
• The brands tell us to develop mastery and competences expressed through achievements.
• The hero brands tell us about being a soldier and to do duties for a country and organization.
• The fourth step is about using the strength and courage to change something that makes a difference in the world.

The following brand archetype could be a perfect fit for your product if

1. Your product helps people to perform at their upper limits.
2. If you have innovation or invention that will have a major impact on the world.
3. If you have a clear competitor that you want to beat.
4. If you are an underdog and want to beat the competition.

Here is a positioning strategy for the famous brand Nike. Our blog thesocialgrabber.com gives interesting information and researches about the different brand and their positioning targeting and segmentation tactics.