Marketing Trends

Abstract

This paper aims at identifying various marketing trends in the light of the brand that shall be picked. The brand in focus in this paper will be Nike. A critical evaluation of the marketing trend will be done to reveal how these trends give the fashion brand a competitive advantage in the market. Other aspects to be highlighted will also include promotion, retailing or pricing strategies that would be important for the maximization of the business opportunities of the brand under discussion.

Contents

Introduction

In marketing, it very important for any player to recognize the fact that being the best brand is what count and pays at the end of the day. It is not a question of coming second or third, but being the best brand in the market. The beat brand in the market will command largest market share, thus having competitive advantage over other brands. These advantages will the reflected in the company’s revenues when the annual report is released (Deng, 2009). The image of the market will have a bearing on the consumers’ attitudes with regards to particular products and services. The future growth of the company will therefore be hinged on this aspect-capability to attract customers. The promotion of the image of the product and attractiveness thereof is affected greatly by the marketing strategies adapted by the company. In this discussion, worth noting is the fact that brand name and brand significance is very vital in the identification of future trends. These are tools worth employing in the process of business strategy formulation (Weihrich, 2006). Since the products under brand NIKE are consumer products making the company a consumer company, a number of aspects such as the sports’ popularity and design changes would have an impact on the sales of the products (Constantinides, 2009). Thus, design changes trends and sports popularity trends should be considered while coming up with marketing strategies. In a general sense, branding has become a very important marketing theme that has been examined or researched on by a number of researchers in the field of marketing. In branding, elements such as the value of the brand, the preference of the brand, the valuation of the brand and the management of the brand have been studied and used to map out the marketing trends. These mentioned elements can also be studied under the general theme of branding because of the consistency associated with it (LaBrosse, 2010: 86).

Marketing Trend

As indicated above, the key marketing trends in the fashion brand NIKE are changes in design trends and the popularity of the sports. These two besides others are the trends that have had great impact on the brand NIKE. The popularity of the sports though stable to some extent- a number of sports are either increasingly becoming popular or unpopular. The popularity of the sports varies from one country to another. This fluctuation in popularity can either impact the brand positively or negatively. An increase in popularity would result to high sales of the products under the brand NIKE and a decline in the popularity will lead to a decrease in the sales. Thus often times, this factor has been a determinant of the revenue at the end of the fiscal year (Malhotra, 2008). Despite the fact that NIKE is largest brand of athletic footwear, equipment and apparel, it must come up with marketing strategies that would result to high sale despite the fluctuation of in the popularity of the sports. The brand should not only communicate to the present consumers, but rather the present consumers, the potential consumers and the general public as well. This would play a great role in cushion it in periods where there is a decline in the popularity of a particular sport (Harker & Armstrong, 2009).

Another important marketing trend with regards to the brand NIKE is the change in the design trend. According to NIKE Inc fiscal year report (2013), they have acknowledged the fact that for them to remain relevant in the market, they must respond to these shifts with regards to design and consumer preferences. Through innovation and adjustments the products, they have kind of managed to control this factor. This help in making that they remain competitive in a market that is very dynamic and competitive (Maher, Countryman & Yang, 2004:50). Timely response and extensive marketing is very vital here. This plays a great role of making sure that sales and profits are not reduced. Change in the design trends remains to be a continuous risk of any fashion brand. To be able to have competitive advantage over other players in this industry such as adidas, Puma and Li Ning, NIKE brand must embrace new technologies and ensure that their innovations are driven by the preference of the consumers. This will translate to high consumer demand for the products under Nike brand. With development of sports, more emphasis is being put on efficiency. Thus, the Nike brand products must promise or be associated with efficiency (Maher, Countryman & Yang, 2004:50). In a general sense, the quality, reliability, consumer price and innovation of the new products must be taken into consideration. It is also worth noting that for the purposes of competitive advantage over other players, it is necessary to come up with strategies that will enhance the affinity and connection of the consumers to the products under Nike brand. This can be achieved through thorough promotions and marketing strategies (Magrath, 1992).

Since Nike is majorly a sport brand, bring on board athletes, teams, coaches and having association with various sports leagues would play a great in marketing the brand thus making the brand to have competitive advantage over other brands (Israel & Nagano, 1997). According to NIKE Inc annual report (2013), they have a very effective product distribution, merchandise which is attractive and retail level presentation both in store and online. Because of this, they enjoy competitive advantage over other companies. In planning for marketing of Nike brand, it is important to come up with a marketing plan which is coherent. As observed by Kotler (1991), such marketing planning is very vital in the expansion of the market opportunities. Marketing planning which is efficient will help the Nike brand in the determination of where to focus on and in the identification of the target market. Because of the fact that Nike brand is an international brand, there is a need to for the company to consider having a distribution channel which is extensive (deep and wide) as stated by Jobber (1998). A promotion approach which would ensure better communication with the customers should be adopted. The promotion mix should be very specific to the target market segment. The promotion strategy should ensure that the customers are engaged and well informed by the brand. This is done, the customers will becoming the marketing agents for the brand. This only happens when the customers are so convinced about the quality and the efficiency of the brand (Ottman & Books, 1998). When this happen, then all the products under the brand will enjoy huge command of the market share. There must be a sense of persuasion and stimulation triggered by the promotion strategy. The strategy must be able to communicate the quality of the brand and make customers to be loyal to brand. This will only happen if the customers have the image of the brand in their mind.

The focus of the promotion should not just be for purpose of making the customers to stick to the brand, rather, there should be a deliberate effort to ensure that the promotion strategy employed would help in building the relationship between the brand and the customers. This should be more sustainable (Hennessey, 2005: 86). An Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) should be employed. ICM is more appropriate because of its richness. It brings together a number of components such as sales promotion, advertising, direct marketing, word of mouth marketing etc making it cost effective. For instance, Nike brand can employ sales promotion through competitions. This is very compatible with the kind of product line of the brand-athletes footwear, equipment and apparel. To achieve customer loyalty, there must be customer satisfaction. Specialty store would be the most appropriate for the Nike brand products more so athletes apparel. This kind of specialty would help in avoiding competition with luxury apparel. The adoption of these strategies would play a great role in the maximization of the business opportunity. There will be enhanced sales and consequently, revenue (Auger, 2011: 29). It should be noted that proper marketing strategy is vital for the success of any company. In addition to research and development which are the major driving force of innovation, a company will be able to overcome the shift in the product design (Smith, 2007: 57). Nike as a brand will only be able to remain relevant if it meets the preference of the consumers which changes from time. This is the reason why it is important to invest in research and development.

According to NIKE Inc annual report (2013), they are very keen on the trademarks and they do make use of their trademarks in all their products. This plays a great role in bringing about distinctiveness in the market. It has played a great role in creating market for their products. Because of this, customers are able to distinguish Nike brand from other brands. Thus the trademark has been a very vital tool for marketing their products over the years. Every single effort must be made to ensure that Nike brand identity is maintained. Failure to maintain the brand identity would give opportunity to other players in the market who would easily take the chance to topple Nike as a brand (Constantinides & Fountain, 2008: 239). It is not only a question of maintaining the image of the brand, but also improving it since the consumer preference changes day by day. Since Nike is sports brand, it is affected by seasonality. The marketing strategy adopted should be result to maximum sales during pick periods. This will also lead maximum revenue at the end of the fiscal year. It is important to come up with advertisement strategy which is unique as a marketing strategy. This will play a great role in the elimination of some of the competition needs. Advertisement is one of the best ways of getting the attention of the customers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010). By utilizing the free advertisement space and innovation, one company will have competitive advantage over its competitors.

Recommendation

There is a need for the NIKE Inc to continue carrying out extensive research and development to come with new products that will meet the preference of consumers. This is because of the fact that it is a consumer industry. This will also help in dealing with the challenge of shift in design trends (Kim et al., 2006: 279).
There should be more effort to market the brand as this will help to make the brand to remain competitive (Schmitt, 1999: 60). New technologies should be employed in doing marketing and marketing research. Marketing research is very crucial for the success of any brand. It is only through market research that you get to know the consumer behavior and preference.
Because of the change in popularity of various sports and seasonality, ways of enhancing forecasting should be devised for maximum production during the peak seasons. According to Kotler (2009), this would ensure increased sales and profit maximization.
The effort to promote the brand by focusing on building the customer loyalty and confidentiality should be accompanied brand quality. It is through enhanced brand quality and affordability that the consumers can be loyal to the brand. Without this, the consumers will not develop loyalty to the brand.

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Conclusion

The marketing trend is a great determinant of the success of any brand. Each and every single company must continue to work on their brand image and invest in research and development. Through this, it will be possible to continue to be relevant in a particular market segment (Achrol, 1991: 90). With regards to Nike as brand, the challenge changing design trends must be responded to at the right time. Any delay can lead to low sales and consequently, low profit. To maximize profit therefore, it is important to know how to handle the challenges associated with changes in the design trends.

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