Nike's Shifting Advertising Campaigns

Nike is a master of branding. All of its ad campaigns are specifically designed to associate the brand Nike with winning, intensity, and athleticism. Even the company's name brings with it associations of victory, as Nike is the Greek goddess of victory. But to continue this brand association, Nike has begun to move away from traditional ad campaigns in favor of using new methods to reach consumers.

The "Just Do It" campaign was one of the most memorable advertisement campaigns of my childhood. Every sports magazine or episode of SportsCenter was guaranteed to have one of these ads. This example from above in 2007 is representative of the message Nike is trying to push on us. It's athleticism and intensity for any sport that you do. And filling the ads with famous athletes only bolsters this message. And while these ads have been successful in the past and are still employed to this day Nike has begun to move to different methods.

According to Nielsen Monitor-Plus, Nike spent 70% of its advertising budget on TV commercials in 2006. But that number dropped to 45% for the first half of 2007. Much of the budget in the future has been dedicated to forming to services for consumers, such as the Nike+ website and runner's community. Also, the company will sponsor more local events and competitions. The strategy behind this is to not try to grab someone's attention as they watch TV or walk down the street, but to appeal to the people that are already interested in the products.

Consumers' attention is constantly being divided among different media outlets. The internet, TV, magazines,, video games, movies, etc. Traditional advertising campaigns no longer have the power that they once carried. And to combat this immunization, companies are having to adapt. By sponsoring local athletes and sporting events, Nike is able to grow positive relationships with the average athlete. And by doing that those people will in turn be more likely to wear Nike products. And once you have that: bingo. A living, breathing advertisement.

Works Cited:

The New York Times "The New Advertising Outlet: Your Life"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp5dZZBKTXQ

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