Introduction To Principles Of Marketing: Camping And Hiking For Nike

Executive Summary

This report aims to present a new product line up to the selected sports-lifestyle organisation Nike. As far as business organisations are concerned, it is always required of them to come up with new products or services that help them to not only fortify their market position for the future, but also provide avenues for growth. Nike has been observed to be somewhat restricted as far as its product line up and image is concerned – sports dominate business planning, product launches and operations of the organisation. In this report a new possibility – investing in an emergent trend which is of product portfolios based entirely on camping and hiking for Nike has been assessed.

An analysis of the prevalent business environmental factors revealed that Nike desperately needs newer avenues of business development if it is sustain its industry position and revenues in the future, thanks to an ever increasing competition in the market. In the backdrop of the same, focus has been given to the development of a new product line or brand (so as to speak) altogether which has been tentatively named as Nike Hike. The plan covering products, price, placement and promotion indicate a positive potential as far as the future is concerned. While this report sets the pace for the development and launch of a new product’s idea, the transition of the concept into reality is of course, based on numerous real-time operational and managerial factors. In this report, the aspects and factors outlined indicates a positive future for Nike Hike, which will further need to be pursued by the organisation actively.

1. Introduction

1.1 Aim of this Presentation

In this report, an analysis of the requirements in terms of marketing has been done for a new product launch for the chosen organisation. This report basically provides a description of the product and the allied marketing activities that need to be performed in accordance to the same. In the following pages a brief description about the organisation and the new proposed product is briefly described. It is then followed in greater details by sections dealing with the analysis of the business environment, the segmentation of the targeted customers and positioning the product and finally the marketing plan presented in the form of a marketing mix.

1.2 Business, Idea and the Product

The organisation which will be discussed in this presentation is Nike, one of the most renowned international brands of Sportswear and equipments (Nike, 2020), and their proposed new addition to their product portfolio, ‘Nike Hike’. Nike has been a testament to companies manufacturing Sportswear and accessories, yet the product portfolio does not feature hiking tents which have emerged to be a very popular product among hikers and adventure lovers. According to Dibb et al. (2016), successful marketing is all about understanding the expectation of consumers in a given market, procurement of resources, implementation of systems and operations to produce a commodity that fulfils these expectations and distribution of the same to the intended market. As far as this study is concerned, the focus is on the analysis of prevalent market factors and marketing planning.

2. Analysis of the Business Environment

2.1 Analysis of External Business Environment

The external business environment of an organisation is composed of factors over which the organisation does not have any control and it does not have any other option but to make amendments to respond to these factors (Blythe, 2013).

Political Factors – the most important one in this case is liberalisation (Smith et al. 2019) and the improvement in trade relations among countries over the years which makes it easy for organisations to enter and operate in overseas market. The same has been the reason behind Nike’s international presence, and so is the case for Nike’s competitors as well. This has not only led to the creation of new opportunities for organisations such as Nike, but at the same time has also made markets all the more competitive. As a result of which, it is very important for Nike to ensure more products are being launched in the market to sustain revenue generation and profitability (Blythe, 2013).

Economic Factors – the most important aspect in terms of the international business operations is that of different value of currency in different countries (Liu et al. 2019). This is equally applicable in case of the international sportswear and sports’ gear market which will make pricing a critical aspect for organisations such as Nike. At the same time, the economic conditions prevalent in different countries will also influence the purchasing power and consumer behaviour also makes it important for Nike to consider different and newer products.

Social Factors – the most important aspect to highlight regarding this is the lifestyle patterns and also the influence of media on the consumers’ behaviour (Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2012). As far as lifestyle patterns are concerned, camping and outdoor hiking has emerged as a very popular form of recreation even in developing countries. Hence, products such as outdoor tents, portable chairs, tables and other accessories are seen to be developed and offered by many sportswear and sports’ accessories manufacturers.

Technological Factors – the emergence of e-commerce and the influence of social media need to be highlighted in this regard. E-Commerce has made it easier for organisations to be able to sell and distribute products right to the doorstep of the customer, while social media, as already mentioned have become a major platform for influencing consumer behaviour (Kim et al. 2013). This is yet another reason, as well as opportunity area for business organisations to enter and develop new markets.

2.2 Analysis of Internal Environment

Here, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the organisation need to be discussed as the organisation can take measures to change the magnitude and impact of these factors on the operations and management of the organisation (Dibb et al. 2016).

Strengths – brand image, popularity and celebrity endorsements of the different Nike products have already created a positive image for the organisation in the global market. Nike products have a different appeal to sports enthusiasts.

Weaknesses – to some extent, product portfolio and market presence are weaknesses of the organisation as not only is the organisation’s portfolio limited to sportswear and a handful of sports accessories, but at the same time Nike does not focus on many other areas such as outdoor hiking which have emerged as highly feasible opportunities.

Opportunities – the opportunities in case of Nike emerge from its weakness itself, which is diversification of its product range and customer segment. It is this very premise behind the idea of the proposed product portfolio of ‘Nike Hike’.

Threats – market saturation and entry of new competitors to the market with many of them working on celebrity endorsements for Sportswear and sports’ accessories is the imminent threat for Nike.

3. Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

As far as marketing for any product or service is concerned, it is imperative for organisations to be able to segment, target and position the proposed value bundle to the market (Kotler and Armstrong, 2016). As far as Nike Hike is concerned, the same are described below:

3.1 Segmentation

The market segment which will be targeted by Nike Hike is the emergent market of outdoor accessories and products. Camping and hiking are being actively pursued by many individuals as well as even travel and tourism organisations. There is potential for Nike Hike on both an individual customer perspective, as well as corporate customers who are engaged in outdoor hiking and camping. Camping and hiking has been a popular activity in America and European countries, now even developing nations have exhibited popularity in this trend.

3.2 Targeting

As far as targeting the customers is concerned, preference, suitability as well as affordability are important factors (Baines et al. 2017). In this regard, the plan is to target those customers who are:

• Highly interested and have a longing for outdoor activities such as camping and hiking
• Who have a preference for branded and trusted products when it comes to purchase of sportswear and accessories
• Individuals who are between the age group of 18-45 years, who maintain a healthy lifestyle, and
• Most importantly individuals who are willing to afford the cost of Nike products that are generally at par or maybe slightly above.

3.3 Positioning

As far as Nike Hike is concerned, the new offering will be marketed as a slightly premium brand to reflect Nike’s reputation and brand image to its customers, nevertheless not at all compromising with the high quality and design which is Nike known for in the global market.

4. Marketing Plan

The 4P’s of Marketing or elements of the Marketing Mix (Kotler and Armstrong, 2015) is the framework on which the marketing plan has been developed.

4.1 Product

The development of the product or service is the most important aspect in case of marketing. As has been highlighted by Edwards et al. (2020), the planned product or service designed for the targeted group of customers has to be viewed as of high value, because only then would the potential buyer consider the other aspects such as price and availability of the same. In this regard it needs to be highlighted here that Nike Hike will be offered as a separate portfolio altogether, which will consist of a bundle of products. These have been planned in consideration of the various items that are needed for outdoor camping and hiking activities. Nike Hike will have the following products:

• Camping Tents
• Outdoor portable folding furniture – chairs and tables
• Hammocks
• Ropes
• Rucksacks
• Fleece Jackets
• Flashlights
• Portable Wood/Charcoal Burning Camp stove
• Foldable Pocket Mats
• Portable Beds
• Sleeping Bags
• Water Bottles
• Solar Lanterns
• Survival Knives

4.2 Price

Selection of the pricing strategy is yet another very important aspect for the planned launch of products for new organisations. This is due to the fact that on one hand, companies need to ensure that the product is affordable, and at the same time the pricing of the products is competitive (Foltean, 2019). It also needs to be kept in mind that the pricing should be done in such a manner that it should never give the implication that the products are of an inferior quality which is why they are priced low. In case Nike Hike, the pricing decision will have to be taken for each individual item which has been mentioned above. The same will take into consideration cost of production and at the same time the prices will also include a substantial profit margin. In case of Nike Hike, competitive pricing is not going to be an absolute necessity.

4.3 Promotion

As far as promotions are concerned, there are a number of aspects that need to be kept in mind while planning the promotion campaign (Jacobson et al. 2020):

• The promotion has to convey to the intended audience the value of the product/service offered
• The promotion has to create a positive impression on the audience and positively influence them towards the brand’s products/services
• The method of promotion should help in gaining maximum visibility for the products/services
• The costs of promotions should be favourable for the organisation

In this regard, the promotion planned for Nike Hike can be summarised as under:

• The advertisements will feature celebrity endorsements and the same need to be preferably done by someone such as Bear Grylls or Hazel Audel who are stars of shows on survival in the outdoors.
• Featuring celebrities such as the above will instantly generate interest in the Nike Hike products, and the targeted customer segment will become immediately aware of the value offered by Nike Hike.
• Advertisements featuring either of the above or their likes will be promoted on television and the print media (billboards, magazine advertisements, etc.) and at the same time a page/profile dedicated to only Nike Hike will be run on different social media platforms.
• Post the promotion, the Nike Hike product lines will either be provided significant foot space in existing Nike showrooms or need to be launched with their own individual outlets.

4.4 Place

As has been already mentioned before, the Nike Hike products will be placed as a slightly premium alternative to existing similar products which are sold by others, such as Quechua in the global market. It needs to be highlighted that there are many other organisations which offer these products – especially Quechua which even sell water rafts, bicycles, etc. However, few have a dedicated outdoor camping or hiking portfolio like the one which has been planned for Nike Hike. It is this particular aspect of the brand which will help in providing a more successful path to the proposed idea.

5. Conclusion

This particular marketing plan has been developed after careful consideration of the product portfolio of Nike which indicated that there is always an opportunity for the organisation to come up with a new line of products for the global market. Nike Hike proved to be the solution for the same and it does align perfectly with the brand image that Nike has crafted for itself over the years. Nike Hike will indicate the organisation’s enthusiasm to further promote an active and healthy lifestyle which is the reason why this plan has been created. As far as the marketing mix and its elements are concerned, it might seem that Nike Hike is asking for one too many major investments/expenditures for its launch into the market – with recommended endorsements such as Bear Grylls or Hazel Audel, or a separate showroom for it altogether. It has been suggested because of the size and capability of Nike. Given the organisation is able to follow through with the idea or concept put forward here, it will be in a better position as far as the industry is concerned in the future.

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