UPDATED FOR 2025
Leading the Sports Pack
With last years revenue over $51 billion (Nike, 2024) Nike are industry leaders in sports footwear, and the highest valued apparel brand Globally ( Statista ,2024)
They remain in the top position due to their mastery of the marketing mix, with promotion being a key part of their continued success.
Nike invests heavily in promotion. This year Nike has spent 4.29 billion U.S. dollars on advertising and promotion (Davies, K (2025), compared to their biggest rival Adidas who’s advertisement investment peaked in 2019 at 3.04 billion dollars (Guttman.A, 2021. Statista).
Nike wasn’t always the well oiled promotion machine it is today. It has evolved over time from product focused to customer-centric, as Philip Knight, founder of Nike explained in 1992 “… we realize that everything spins off the consumer. And while technology is still important, the consumer has to lead innovation. We have to innovate for a specific reason, and that reason comes from the market.” ( Willigan, G 1992. HBR)
Nike’s Storytelling Strategy
In the companies early days Nike’s promotional strategy was entirely sport focused, with ad’s that featured sporting greats of the day and emphasised the innovation and benefits of products. The ‘Just Do It’ campaign in 1988 heralded the beginning of Nike’s transition from featuring products and their benefits to storytelling and emotional benefits.
Since then Nike have continued to tap into emotions and storytelling as their main vehicles for brand messaging, using the personality and stardom of it’s endorsed athletes.
From emotional marketing to cause marketing Nike stay close to the values of their customers and champions their causes. Through their campaigns they have tackled themes of equality, diversity, feminism, ageism and racism, positioning themselves as a morally superior brand that cares about the issues of their market.
Their moral stance on Zeitgeist issues has allowed them to successfully manage brand perception when their company has faced public criticism. When Nike were criticised publicly for lack of diversity in their own workforce, or poor working conditions, low wages and child labour in their supply chain they have used PR campaigns, social media channels and their blog to swiftly react and report changes to their operations and transparency on how they are tackling in-house problems.
Titans of Technology
The pivotal point for Nike to take full advantage of consumer power came to fruition in the digital age. Technology has transformed Nike’s promotional strategy and given them opportunities to create direct relationships with their customers. Through apps like SNKRS Nike offers exclusive releases and insider access, the perfect promotion tool to sneaker heads.
The unexpected market disruption of the Coronavirus pandemic caused Nike to accelerate it’s ‘Consumer Direct Offensive’ (Nike, 2017) . To reach this goal they invested in e-commerce, inbound marketing, mobile apps and social media. With over 64 million followers across their social platforms allows them to listen and respond directly to their customers virtually face to face.
In 2021 Nike reported that digital sales increased 29% (Nike, 2021, Nike News) and John Donahoe, President and CEO of Nike declared “The consumer shift to digital is permanent, and our digital penetration will only increase in years to come,” (Fortune, 2020)
Nike is currently investing in future technologies to stay ahead in the market and protect it’s brand in virtual as well as the physical world, with Nike branded NFT’s and collaborations they can promote in the VR space before their rivals (Golden.J 2021 CNBC). Their numerous branded apps allow them to track data on the customer journey and enhance the customer experience, provide value and increase customer loyalty.
Final Take Away
With Nike’s focus on technological advance and digital marketing they can reach into the lives of their customers, both physically and virtually and create ever stronger relationships and brand loyalty. So long as Nike stay customer-centric and use their brand voice to align with the customers values and practice cause marketing with authenticity they will continue to keep brand perception high and continue to grow.
References/ Bibliography
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Graw, S 2021, Creative Review. Available at How storytelling is at the heart of the Nike brand (creativereview.co.uk) [accessed 21/11/21]
Guttman.A, 2021, Statista. Available at adidas Group marketing spend 2020 | Statista[accessed 13/12/21]
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Sarker, C 2018 Marketing Journal. Available at “The Case for Brand Activism” – A Discussion with Philip Kotler and Christian Sarkar (marketingjournal.org), [accessed 21/11/21]
Statista 2024. Available at Most valuable apparel brands worldwide 2024 | Statista [accessed 27/1/25]
TNW, 2019, Youtube. Available at Michael Martin (Nike) on The Power of Digital Transformation | #TNW2019 – YouTube
Union Room, 2009. Available at The Evolution of Nike Advertising – Union Room [accessed 21/11/21]
Wahba, P 2020 Fortune. Available at How Nike hit its e-commerce goal 3 years early | Fortune [accessed 22/11/21]
Willigan, G 1992. Harvard Business Review. Available at High-Performance Marketing: An Interview with Nike’s Phil Knight (hbr.org) [accessed 23/11/21]
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