Marketing is the science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to
satisfy the needs of a target market at a profit. Marketing identifies unfulfilled needs
and desires. It defines, measures and quantifies the size of the identified market and
the profit potential. It pinpoints which segments the company is capable of serving
best and it designs and promotes the appropriate products and services.


 
    
(1) Opportunity identification,

(2) New product development,

(3) Customer attraction,

(4) Customer retention and loyalty building, and

(5) Order fulfilment.

A company that handles all of these processes well will normally enjoy success. But
when a company fails at any one of these processes, it will not survive.
‘

c
Page
   
!!! " #

3 main processes of marketing are:

!‘   : dividing up the market into distinctive groups

!‘   : selecting a segment to target
!‘  : developing a marketing strategy which positions the product in
relation to rivals in order to appeal to target segments.

ð
Page
 $ !
!‘ ÿividing a market into distinctive groups of buyers on the basis of needs,
characteristics or behaviour who might require separate products or marketing
mixes.
!‘ Œubdividing markets into smaller groups, within which, are broadly
homogeneous patterns of needs.
!‘ A segment is a group of customers who share certain relevant characteristics
and respond in a similar way to a given set of marketing efforts.

$ 
!‘ Ñhe process of evaluating each market segment¶s attractiveness and selecting
one or more segments to enter.
!‘ ÿevelop measures of segment attractiveness.
!‘ Identify which and how many segments should be targeted

$ !!
!‘ Ñhe development of an offer within each segment that is almost likely to
appeal to the target group.
!‘ Arranging for a product to occupy a clear, distinctive and desirable place
relative to competing products in the mind of target consumers.
!‘ A product¶s position is the place the product occupies relative to competitors in
consumer¶s minds.

þ
Page
 %%  &' 
 (
((
Both Nike and Adidas are well known sportswear firms that have become household
names of sorts throughout many parts of the world. Ñhe undisputed giants of the
sportswear and sports equipment industries, consumers can generally expect quality
products from the two brands. Nevertheless, there are instances wherein one may be
the better option over the other, and the factors that go into making such a decision
do not always have anything to do with the quality of the products. Let's take a look
at some of the factors that may influence your purchase decision in the future.

Ä
Page
 $
Nike pays top athletes in many different sports to use their products and
promote/advertise their technology and design. Nike is the official kit sponsor of the
Indian cricket team for 5years, from 2006 till end of 2010. Nike beat Adidas and
Puma by bidding highest. Nike also sponsors some of the leading clubs in world
football, such as Manchester United, arsenal, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus,
Œhakhtar, Porto, Œteaua, Red Œtar, Club America, Aston Villa, Celtic and PŒV
Eindhoven. Nike sponsors several of the world¶s top golf players, Ñiger Woods,
Ñrevor Immelman and Paul Casey.

4
Page
 
Adidas are the main sponsors and kit sponsors of the successful Australian Cricket
Ñeam and the England Cricket Ñeam. Ñhey are also the main sponsors of the Indian
cricketers Œachin Ñendulkar and Virender Œehwag and English cricketers Kevin
Pietersen and Ian Bell. Adidas are the main sponsors of Australian ÿomestic Cricket
Competition ± Pura Cup, KFC, Ñwenty20 Big Bash, Ford Ranger One ÿay Cup and
the Indian Premier League teams ÿelhi ÿaredevils and Mumbai Indians.

For the 2008 Œummer Olympics in Beijing, China, Adidas spent 70 million
sponsoring the event, amid criticisms. Adidas also sponsors events such as the
London Marathon.

m
Page
 
   
Nike remains firmly focused on the domestic market, although it has made inroads
into the lucrative international soccer market fairly recently. Ñhe company is also
considered largely responsible for the frenzy of athlete sponsorship that the industry
is known for today. All of this ties in with Nike's dominance of the advertising and
marketing aspects of the business, a hold that the company will likely retain for the
foreseeable future.
Adidas on the other hand has traditionally focused on the European market, although
it is a formidable name in the rest of the world as well. Ñhis is mainly due to the
company's affiliation with soccer, which is widely considered to be "the"
International sport. Ñhe company has recently taken steps to increase its marketing
and advertising budget, and has even made inroads into the lucrative sports
equipment and sportswear markets.

Õ
Page
   ( 
 )*
Nike has always come in ahead of Adidas in terms of celebrity sponsorships,
although to its credit, Adidas has taken considerable steps to narrow the gap. Nike
still has the edge over its competition in terms of sales however, and it remains to be
seen whether Adidas will catch up any time soon.
In terms of market focus, Nike has a more varied line-up, comprised of basketball
and running shoes, as well as cross -training products. Among the different brands
under the Nike umbrella are Umbro, Converse and Cole Haan.
Adidas for its part currently offers products that are geared primarily towards the
soccer, tennis and general athletics markets. Among the companies in Adidas' roster
are Reebok, Ñaylor Made and Rockport.

§
Page
 !**  +
Nike isn't really a production company á
‘  , and almost all of its products are
outsourced to various countries in Asia, particularly Ñaiwan and Korea, which in
turn outsource production to still other Asian countries, among them China,
Indonesia and Vietnam. Ñhe company does have a home office in Beaverton, and it
is there that Nike products are designed, developed and marketed.
Adidas recently adopted a similar approach, with virtually all the design and
development work being handled in Germany, and production being outsourced to
Asian countries as well. Ñhis move has helped Adidas remain competitive in the
industry.


Page
 !!!

Nike centred their brand equity model on the platforms, the endorsement focus
strategy, creating a dominant media presence, development of Flagship stores,
NikeÑown and sub branding. Ñhe Adidas strategies were based on, endorsement
focus strategy, advertising, sponsorship programs focusing on major global events,
sports associations, and teams, and sub-brands. Ño create brand awareness both
companies have been using endorsement strategies in their brand-building programs.
What differs is that Adidas focuses on sponsorship of teams and events e.g. national
teams and big sport events like Olympic Games and different world championships
events. Ñhis will help them to create awareness with help from different types of
media. In contrast Nike has their focus on individuals like M. Jordan and Ñ. Wood
and their success stories.
Nikes advertising strategy was to create dominant presence in media. Nike created
media presence in several trend setting United Œtates cities. ÑV ads linking Nike to a
city were used, but real drivers were huge oversized billboards and murals on
buildings that blanketed cities with messages featuring key Kike-sponsored athletes,
not products. Adidas took up the competition with Nike through raising their
advertising budget to a level that made it possible to compete with Nike on the same
conditions and the same strength as Nike did to capture the consumer interest.
Adidas did not just spend more money; they made an impact with brilliant
executions. Ñhey made ÑV and other advertising campaigns. Ñhe company
communicate their heritage of innovation, technology and big success sto ries with
personalities like Emil Zatopek and Mohammad Ali.

c,
P a g e
 * 


!‘ More focused on the local market
!‘ More effective advertising and marketing
!‘ Recently updated the look of its line
!‘ Offers custom product lines
!‘ Excellent website support for custom options
!‘ All production is outsourced

((
!‘ More focused on the European market
!‘ Œpecializes in soccer, tennis, and athletics
!‘ Recently expanded its product line to include sports equipment and clothing
!‘ Recently updated its production for increased efficiency and cost effectiveness
!‘ Production is outsourced to Asian countries

cc
P a g e
 -+*
Nike has remained and continues to remain at the top of production and
distribution of sports gear and equipment. However, it should be noted that
competitive pressure cannot allow Nike to µsleep at the top¶. Ñhe recent
Reebok- Adidas merger poses a great challenge to devise new marketing
strategies to continue leading or recede to oblivion. Ñhe following
recommendations are suggested in a situation where marketing
management is competent. Ñhese include: Increased market share through
a new product development, competent pricing strategies, advertisement
and other sound promotional activities. Restructure market dominance by
driving away competitors mainly through fierce promotional strategy
coupled by pricing function that will make the market quite unattractive for
the competitors. Increased social responsibility to strengthen the image of
the company. ÿiversification of market through factoring the Asians and
Black Americans in their product promotion besides doing a research to
establish the tastes of these groups.Venture into new distribution channels
especially in international marketsÿifferent pricing strategy so as to open
up a new market segments.

All the above show a competent marketing management can hoist

organizations top become market leaders and making the market leaders
maintain their competitive edge in the market through adherence to
marketing ethics, marketing plans and well thought out and formulated
marketing strategies.

cð
P a g e
 Bibliography
!‘ www.scribd.com
!‘ http://www.google.co.in/#hl=en&biw=1099&bih=439&q=adidas+vs+nike+ma
rket+strategy&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&fp=99c2c083f69845cd
!‘ http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Promotion-Nike-Vs-Adidas/15160
!‘ http://recomparison.com/comparisons/100305/nike-vs-adidas/
!‘ http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2010-08/30/content_11223459.htm
!‘ Marketing Management by Philip Kotler

cþ
P a g e