In the initial days of the company being established, Nike relied on conventional marketing strategies to promote its products. The company’s staff took care of all its advertising activities. Until 1976, Nike did not hire an advertising agency. Other than print ads, it also focused on sponsorships and celebrity endorsements of its products. However, in 1982, Nike hired the services of American advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy (Wieden) for the first time. In partnership with Wieden, Nike started airing television ads of its products. The sports giant also emphasized the technical superiority of its products in its ads and positioned itself as a brand for serious athletes. Nike also promoted its products as fashion accessories for young customers...

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‘VAI NA BRASILEIRAGEM’ CAMPAIGN

In November 2017, FIFA announced that the 2018 football World Cup would be broadcast to more than 200 countries. Nike felt that the event offered it a huge opportunity to gain brand recognition and market its products to consumers worldwide. According to FIFA, the tournament would attract 3.2 billion viewers. However, a £100 million-a-year partnership fee for being an official sponsor was too expensive for some brands , while others were elbowed out by their rival already clinching the exclusive deal. ..

THE RESULTS

Both Nike and Adidas made money by selling footwear, apparel, and sporting equipment. Before the FIFA World Cup 2018 had started, a comparison between Nike and Adidas revealed that while Nike cornered a major part of its sales from the footwear segment, Adidas generated most of its revenues by selling apparel followed by footwear and other sports equipment. They also pointed out that while North America was the major market for Nike, Western Europe was a huge market for Adidas for the year ended May 2017..

CRITICISM

While the Nike 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign received appreciation from several quarters, some critics felt that the campaign focused only on Brazil and that its performance outside Brazil was lackluster. According to Graham Page, Managing Director Offer and Innovation at UK-based data insights and consulting company Kantar Millward Brown, the 2018 FIFA World Cup Nike campaign lacked a narrative...

LOOKING AHEAD

Some critics pointed out that for the year 2018, Adidas’s expenditure stood at US$3.5 billion, representing around 14% of its revenues whereas Nike spent US$3.8 billion on marketing, which represented 10% of its revenues. They felt that Nike could increase its marketing spent in future since its revenues stood at US$39.1 billion for the FY ended 2019. On the other hand, Adidas recorded revenues of US$26.4 billion or €23.64 billion for the same period...

EXHIBITS

Exhibit I Nike’s Consolidated Statements of Income
Exhibit II:Companies Sponsoring 2018 FIFA World Cup Teams
Exhibit III: Nike Vs Adidas – Contribution of Revenue by Product Category and Region
Exhibit IV: Revenue from Global Footwear Segment of Nike, Adidas and Puma from 2010 to 2018
Exhibit V: Global Revenue of Adidas, Nike and Puma from 2006 to 2018 (in billion euros)
Exhibit VI: Top Ten Most Engaging Brands during the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Exhibit VII: Top 15 Most Influential Soccer Players Sponsored by Nike