The History of Nike and Key Insights on Branding

History of Nike

Nike Inc. is at the echelon of branding, with worldwide revenue of over $ 46 billion. Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman started business in 1964 using the previous name “Blue Ribbon Sports” and switched to the Nike name (a Greek Goddess of Victory in Mythology) in 1971. Since then, the growth continues to amaze us and offers great lessons to US operating brands. The famous solid black swoosh logo cost was $ 35, and the brand’s value is around $ 32 billion. It employs around 80,000 employees to date.

The business offers a variety of products and services in the shoe, apparel, sportswear, and sports equipment industries. The company owns retail stores in every city that sell its products. It sponsors athletes like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Cristiano Ronaldo to promote its business. The famous tagline “Just Do It” is popular among all types of audiences and is perfectly compatible with the logo.

Nike Swoosh Logo

Carolyn Davidson designed the Nike logo while she was a graphic design student at Portland State University, and it has been modified many times since then. Reviewing the Nike symbol design elements and taking inspiration from one of the most recognizable logo designs is important.

• Memorable and Recognizable even without the name or tagline
• A solo swoosh that’s simple yet attractive to the audience
• Timeless and Adaptable to reach beyond a 50-year mark
• It uses a single color with slight variations over many years
• Versatile enough to be used in products, promotions, and merchandise
• Recently added an orange hue to the swoosh image to add the joy and energy elements

The business adapts its famous brand icon for different campaigns, like the Nike SB logo for skateboarding, the Nike Tennis logo, and multiple color variants. Originally, the logo’s color was red, but it was modified to a black color with a white background and vice versa for white color. The Nike block logo was a reinforcement technique to tap curiosity and strengthen the swoosh.

Key Insights on Branding

Nike’s branding strategies guide many US businesses in achieving their goals. We provide an analysis of the branding techniques that companies may adopt in their marketing campaigns. Following are some key insights to consider starting from the blue ribbon sports rebranding.

Ø Passionate Branding

The company successfully identified and used its target audience interests, such as sporting events and celebrities. The brandmark and the tagline also comply with the audience’s preferences. Many advertisements feature stories of the struggle and dedication of famous players adhering to its symbol and tagline. Passions drive decisions, and the company has been using sports enthusiasm to grow and compete with Adidas and Puma.

Ø Ethnic and Social Diversity

The famous trademark uses a diverse approach catering to multiple sports and players from all social backgrounds. Ethnic, gender, age, and racial diversity also allow the audience to relate to the advertisements and promotions. All types of shoes appear in its campaigns. The swoosh also picked the fitness market with the rising trend of fitness. This diversity increases revenues and worldwide reach.

Ø Reinforcements

The brand attracts billions of audiences by using different variations of the trademark. It uses the Nike SB logo, the Nike Tennis logo, and the Nike block logo to cater to different market segments. It also uses its tagline creatively in advertisements that feature walking, trekking, running, playing, and fitness training. The slogan even acts as a doctrine for winning over life for people from different segments like patients, entrepreneurs, and students.

Ø Influencer Marketing

The most crucial marketing strategy is to use one of the world’s top stars as influencers to promote its products around the world. It sponsors many athletes, sportsmen, and fitness coaches to inspire and influence the target audience. The role of influencers in marketing is vital to a brand, and Nike is the perfect example. Influencers enable a company to achieve the top position in branding, revenue generation, and loyalty in the world.

Conclusion

With the leading position in the footwear and fitness industry, the Nike brand has been competing with Adidas, Puma, FUBU, etc., for many years. The global fame of the Nike logo and tagline allows it to perform branding in multiple segments. It uses different branding and marketing strategies like influencer marketing and Passionate Branding.

Read about the Puma Logo for more branding strategies. Businesses can learn a lot from the ups and downs in Nike’s history and, most importantly, its determination to succeed. A branding and logo design company can empower your brandmark for future endeavors and exponential growth.