Eric Greer
Nike Brand, Inc
Nike is one of the top American corporations that engage in the design, development, and worldwide marketing of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. Originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), Nike was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Phil Knight and his coach, Bill Bowerman, on January 25, 1964. It started as two guys working together to come up with track shoes but soon grew to something much greater. The companies initial headquarter is near Beaverton, Oregon, and is the world’s largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel, being a major manufacturer of sports equipment. In 1964 during its first year as a business, (BRS) sold 1,300 pairs of Japanese running shoes grossing $8,000. As of today, its new name has become Nike, and its revenue is in excess of more than $24.1 billion dollars. Since the money grew, stores worldwide also expanded increasing employees from the initial 2 creators to a whopping 44,000 all across the world.
A key source of Nike’s income comes from sponsorships and marketing deals to grow stock. Nike was an early adopter of internet marketing and using broadcast and narrowcast communication technologies to create multimedia marketing campaigns, as in 1982 they launched their first 3 ads. As of today, Nike has some of the top world-class athletes across each sport, some of the names include: Lebron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, Serena Williams and many more athletes that help carry the brand. Another key contributor are political contributions, which allow many people who are candidates to donate to big businesses in hopes of their votes and winning campaign favoritism. Campaign donations exceed millions of dollars each year and are a smart way a company should be run if wanting to be successful. Not only do they connect with government officials, but Nike is also big on saving the environment. The company’s vision is to reduce its environmental impact through sustainable use of resources, such as materials, water, and energy to help promote a green society. Up to 75 percent of all Nike shoes and apparel now contain some recycled material and it is known that no one uses more recycled polyester in the industry than Nike. Since people are huge on saving the environment today, it is a clean-cut idea of connecting with government and people who care about the planet to show how creditable they are. This is something key in pushing your brand forward and giving off an authentic feel to those customers worldwide. Since Nike’s values are performance, authenticity, innovation, and sustainability, this is something that solidifies their company by connecting to other big branches and communities, expanding their brand entirely.
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