The Nike Brand

THE NIKE BRAND

Background/ Origin

Nike, originally known as "Blue Ribbon Sports", was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger (now ASICS), making most sales at track meets out of Knight's automobile. The relationship between BRS and Onitsuka Tiger was nearing an end. BRS prepared to launch its own line of footwear, which would bear the newly designed Swoosh by Carolyn Davidson.  In 1978, BRS, Inc. officially renamed itself to Nike, Inc. The company takes its name from Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.  Nike sponsors many high profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized trademarks of "Just do it" and the Swoosh logo.

Logo

The Swoosh was first used by Nike on June 18, 1971, and was registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 22, 1974. The Nike swoosh was inspired by the Greek goddess Nike, the winged goddess of victory. The swoosh symbolizes her flight.  The Swoosh was first used by Nike on June 18, 1971, and was registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 22, 1974. Throughout the 1980s, Nike expanded its product line to include many other sports and regions throughout the world.

Marketing Schemes

By 1980, Nike had reached a 50% market share in the U.S. athletic shoe market, and the company went public in December of that year. Its growth was due largely to 'word-of-foot' advertising (to quote a Nike print ad from the late 1970s), rather than television ads. Nike's first national television commercials ran in October 1982 during the broadcast of the New York Marathon. The ads were created by Portland-based advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, which had formed several months earlier in April 1982. Together, Nike and Wieden+Kennedy have created many print and television advertisements and the agency continues to be Nike's primary today.

Sponsorship

Nike pays top athletes in many different sports to use their products and promote/advertise their technology and design. Beginning with Ilie Nastase, the first professional athlete to sign with BRS/Nike, the sponsorship of athletes became a key marketing tool for the rapidly growing company. Nike's first professional athlete endorser was Romanian tennis player Ilie Nastase, and the company's first track endorser was distance running legend Steve Prefontaine. Prefontaine was the prized pupil of the company's co-founder Bill Bowerman while he coached at the University of Oregon.

Slogan

 It was agency co-founder Dan Wieden who coined the now-famous slogan "Just Do It" for a 1988 Nike ad campaign, which was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of the 20th century, and the campaign has been enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution San Franciscan Walt Stack was featured in Nike's first "Just Do It" advertisement that debuted on July 1, 1988. Wieden credits the inspiration for the slogan to "Let’s do it", the last words spoken by Gary Gilmore before he was executed.