Marketing Brief Vol. Three - Nike

In developing this idea, I thought about why it is unique for Nike as opposed to something Adidas could produce. Granted, if Adidas developed this idea, it could work, but considering Nike Basketball’s strategy, it is more of a fit for the Swoosh. Nike Basketball’s strategy - similar to its other categories - has always been geared toward the individual whereas the Adidas strategy centers on the team. Since Nike is the market leader by a considerable margin, this strategy has seemingly worked. It was to my surprise when I found that Nike has altered its strategy to lend more to a team. With the recent Family campaign, Nike has moved away from the individual strategy and is focusing more on the team concept. I believe that this idea is tied more into the individual strategy and would “move the needle” with the Nike Basketball audience. As gaming continues to increase in popularity, it only seems fitting to have a branded game that would allow Nike’s individual players to increase their own brand awareness as well as provide Nike with a new distribution opportunity.

Nike’s Knockout

Dr. J and Larry Bird Go One-on-One meets Mike Tyson’s Punch-out



This multi-level interactive game will allow a player to assume the role of one of Nike’s athletes to take on other Nike athletes in a modern version of the One-on-One video game from 1983.
In this game, the player can either challenge another player or challenge the computer. The games can either be played to a certain score or be timed games. There will be a limited number of moves each player can perform with the elite players having a unique move at his disposal. The goal of the game is to complete the Challenge by knocking out members of the Nike Family.
Each level will be represented by a specific Nike family member with the difficulty increasing as each level is completed. In an effort to further grow the Nike brand as a whole, there could be opportunities to unlock secret characters as well as purchase Nike products for the player.

The Players:
Level One -- K. Durant | A. Igoudala | M. Redd
Level Two -- B. Roy | R. Lewis | R. Wallace
Level Three -- A. Stoudemire | M. Ginobli | T. Parker
Level Four -- C. Anthony | D. Nowitski | S. Nash
Level Five -- C. Bosh | P. Pierce | D. Williams
Level Six -- C. Paul | L. James | K. Bryant
Final Level -- M. Jordan

Strategic Partners:
Leveraging Nike’s strategic partnerships would keep the costs to a minimum. At the same time, it would lower revenue expectations but considering how profitable games are, I believe that Nike would bring in a significant amount of revenue with Nike Knockout.

While it was not the original developer of One-on-One it is a leading sports video game publisher. Take-Two Interactive has deep partnerships with distributors and would give the game credibility among consumers as its Basketball games are favorably reviewed.


The leading sports news and information company, Nike can leverage ESPN’s assets to promote the game. Nike could also produce programming that would run on ESPN, similar to the EA SPORTS Madden Challenge.

In-Game Advertising:
According to Massive Incorporated, in-game advertising is expected to become a billion dollar industry in two years and companies and brands have begun to experiment with this new medium. A recent study examined which brands are recalled the most in video games by consumers and Nike was, not surprisingly, one of them. In the UK market, just last year, Nike was involved in the biggest in-game advertising trial ever.

The fact that Nike has entrenched itself in video games already compliments the partnership it agreed to with video game developer, Take-Two Interactive. The agreement was an innovative way to deliver new experiences for the Nike consumer as well as reach potentially new customers for the brand. Nike Knockout would establish a new precedent for athletic apparel brands, evolving from in-game advertising to branded entertainment via gaming. A review of the Burger King BKGAMER.com website proves that this could be successful.

Distribution:
• WWW.NIKE.COM
• Xbox Live
• Nike Stores across the country
• Player websites

Results:
Obviously, results would be measured mainly by sales. It would be interesting to conduct a pre and post campaign study on Nike’s overall brand awareness as well as the individual players brand awareness.

**I have a job interview tomorrow and will be flying down to Florida so I will be unable to produce a Marketing Brief. I will resume on Monday but would greatly appreciate any ideas for next week. Hope you all enjoy!