Brand positioning of Nike

Brand Positioning: Nike

The Positioning statement of Nike is “For serious athletes, Nike gives confidence that provides the perfect shoe for every sport”. In today’s competitive environment, Nike, one of the global leaders in sporting goods industry, has established a strong position for enhancing athletic life style. It’s the number one sports manufacturer in the world. It is the leading sporting goods Company in the United States and hundred and ten countries. However, it has become the passion for everyone to use its brand products that create the

The consumer’s perception of brand influences their buying decision in sports industry, so Nike always has been able to position to customer’s expectation and athletic fantasy that is endorsed by real athletes.

Its Products offer a wide range of choices for the individuals; from sports equipment, athletic shoes, to clothes. It has continuously tried to target the world’s youth population through basketball and many more popular games around the world. Nike partnered with Michael Jordan to have his name Jordan shoes for basketball and designed Jordan I, Jordan II and followed by many more. Nike's marketing strategy is accepted to be an important component of the company's success. Nike is positioned as a premium-brand, selling well-designed and very expensive products.

The Nike’s effective Marketing Mix Program supports the brand positioning in the target market. Its product is considered to be highly effective and comfortable to the athletes. It has dominated United States sports market. It is recognized for the quality of its shoes and has gained the reputation all over the world. Due to its higher quality shoes, its Prices are usually higher than the normal brand. So, the customers perceive it as high-end product.

Nike truly focuses on its athletic products, rather than concentrating on fashionable outfitters. It has engaged in the cultural phenomenon in the world with its world’s most watched events like Basketball and Soccer. Also, it’s successful in gaining the attention of the United States athletes with its most watched sporting event-NFL.

The Brand essence of Nike means a unique way of expressing sport in forms of performance, whereas its Brand personality is seriousness of athletes and global representations. For example, Nike + I pod sport kit changed the way people run and created better running experience. Nike chooses independent distributors. NIKE sells its products through about 22,000 retail accounts in the U.S and licensees in other countries.

Improvements:

Nike is a well-known and well established brand around the world and it is doing all its work accordingly. However, it's pricing has always been high, as a result, many people cherish to buy them but most often they find it difficult to afford. Nike should focus more on reducing its prices without hampering its quality and grand appearance.

References:

http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2013/03/brand-positioning-the-art-science.html#.VXs-O1K3tag

http://nikebrandanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/05/brand-product-company-positioning.html

http://www.slideshare.net/PareshAshara/nike-12906460

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike,_Inc 

Apple's branding

Apple’s branding:

Apple Inc. uses the Apple brand to compete across several highly competitive markets.  Apple's brand has evolved as it has expanded its range of products and services. Originally starting in the late 1970s with desktop computers and then laptops in the 1990s, it took over 20 years before the company expanded into its first major new product area with the launch of the iPod in 2001, followed by iPhone in 2007, iPad in 2010, and now Apple Pay and Apple Watch in 2014.

                                

In the early decades, Apple's brand was very much that of a challenger, bringing  easy to use computers to consumers and small businesses in a way that as focused on the needs, individuality, and style of ordinary people, rather than the conformity and technical mandates of big business. Apple's brand position has evolved, but today's brand is still consistent with these early promises.

Apple position itself in ever growing electronic devices market as a grand and reliable brand. Apple protected its unique features and made the products different from others all the time. They believe in always moving a stead ahead. Apple has built strong customer loyalty through its communities.

Apple's core competence remains delivering exceptional experience through superb user interfaces. The company's product strategy is based around this, with the iPhone , Mac, iCloud, iTunes, and the Applications Store all playing key roles.  The distinctive feature of each of Apple Pay and Apple Watch remains their ease of use and elegantly simple use.

The company is now defining itself more broadly than being just a devices company.  It has blended its digital content services like iTunes, iBooks and App Store and so on. To be a key part of the value proposition to Apple device owners, Apple is making many services and functionality which consumers use accessible on whatever Apple device they happen to be using at the time.

Apple has a branding strategy that focuses on the emotions. The starting point is how an Apple product experience makes you feel. The Apple brand personality is about lifestyle, imagination, liberty regained, innovation, passion, hopes, dreams and aspirations; and power-to-the-people through technology.

The Apple brand personality is also about simplicity and the removal of complexity from people's lives; people-driven product design; and about being a really humanistic company with a heartfelt connection with its customers.

Apple fully understands that all aspects of the customer experience are important and that all brand touch-points must reinforce the Apple brand. Apple has expanded and improved its distribution capabilities by opening hundreds of its own retail stores in key cities around the world, usually in up-market, quality shopping venues.

The business market has been important to Apple from before. Apple had a strong market share in large companies. In recent years a large part of Apple's strategy seems focused on the corporate marketplace. The company is careful to maintain its brand values as it engages with corporations. It positions itself as facilitating the use of the individual's devices of choice in the corporate world so that businesses can innovate and develop new ways of doing business and improving the world around them.

Improvements:

Apple is a well-known and well established brand around the world and it is doing all its work accordingly. However, it's pricing has always been high, as a result, many people cherish to buy them but most often they find it difficult to afford. Apple should focus more on reducing its prices without hampering its quality and grand appearance.

References: 

http://beloved-brands.com/tag/brand-positioning-statement/

http://switchtoamac.com/site/understanding-apples-positioning-part-1-a-premium-brand-at-a-premium-price.html

http://www.slideshare.net/sweetNsourr/dissertation-25988438