Nike Air Jordans has 35-years of experience being in the sports footwear market and formed consumers’ brand perception as providers of luxury sneakers. The basis of its marketing strategy is Michael Jordan’s name and authority, however, relation to the celebrity is not enough in the current fashion industry (Childs and Jin, 2018). Interviewing Nike Air Jordans’ buyers revealed that they lack product excellence while other brands produce the same footwear at lower prices and better reviews.
Jordans can improve their competitiveness by integrating prioritizing buyer behavior patterns into their strategies (Childs and Jin, 2018). Based on the consumer interviews, brand research, goals, and knowledge of psychological factors influencing people’s buying decision-making, we developed three key recommendations for Nike Air Jordans.
First, the company can increase the range of firms to collaborate with to broaden the potential buyers’ audience. Nike Air Jordans has recently established a campaign with a limited series of sneakers designed with Dior’s luxury brand (Jordan brand and Dior announce a new collaboration, 2019, para. 1). The same approach can be utilized with more affordable clothes and footwear producers. Moreover, the brand can collaborate with the most influential celebrities and evaluate the demand and prices based on these fans’ traits. This approach is called celebrity branding. Fegade (2020, p. 57) notes that “the use of a celebrity or sports professional can have a huge impact on a brand.” The interviewed Jordans’ consumers stated that becoming more popular instead of keeping the luxury status can harm sales.
However, the limitedness of the shoe lines has always been profitable for Nike, thus, collaborations can include both expensive and affordable brands (Childs and Jin, 2017). Launching a cheaper yet still limited version of Jordans will influence the psychological decision-making of people who want to belong to a particular group but currently are not (Solomon et al., 2016). A celebrity or widespread brand endorsement targets these buyers, and their experience of having a pair of Jordans sneakers might turn them into loyal customers.
Second, Nike Air Jordans is a brand with high cultural identification based on basketball and Michael Jordans’ persona, and the popularization of these factors can help influence the younger generations. More than 70% of interviewed individuals prefer buying shoes at stores, however, most of them are 18-24 years old – the audience whose decisions are being influenced by online ads. In terms of marketing strategy, the advertisement that highlights the historical significance of Jordan’s career, his values, and his wishes for successors can be shown to the targeted audience of basketball world representatives like coaches and players worldwide.
Moreover, the internet and targeted advertisement capabilities can help detect potential buyers’ right to study their traits and brand perceptions (Guan, 2020). The combination of brand identity, Nike’s authority, and the popularity of Michael Jordan are crucial for the sneakers brand to maintain its market position.
Last, a slight update in quality or reminder of unique Jordans’ features like punctured leather toe area crafted for ventilation can increase consumers’ loyalty. The whole interviewed group responded that they would repurchase the sneakers, however, more than 70% percent use the competitors’ products. Although exclusive shoes primarily impact consumers’ sense of sight, awareness of the excellence-based options can increase competitiveness (Solomon et al., 2016). The environment-friendly attitude is the growing consumption trend, and people start being interested in the manufacturing and materials of goods they are about to buy (Guan, 2020).
Jordan’s marketing campaign might include quality updates based on ecology and sustainability. Put differently, they can add green consumption motivators to their strategy to stimulate the green purchase intention of buyers. According to Jain, Gupta, and Verma (2020, p. 98), “green purchase intention facilitates green purchase behavior positively.” Therefore, the implementation of the theory of planned behavior will be beneficial for Jordan.
Reference List
Childs, M. and Jin, B. (2017). ‘Nike: An innovation journey’, in Jin, B. and Cedrola, E. (eds.) Product innovation in the global fashion industry. New York: Palgrave Pivot, pp. 79-111.
Fegade, A. (2020). ‘Celebrity branding and celebrity brand value’, PARIDNYA-The MIBM Research Journal, 7(1), pp. 55-68. Web.
Guan, Z., (2020) ’Irrational consumer behaviors in the sneaker market’, Management Science and Engineering, 14(1), pp. 49-52.
Jain, V. K., Gupta, A. and Verma, H. (2020). ‘Millennials green consumption behavior and its linkage to firms marketing competitiveness: Findings from select study in Uttarakhand’, International Journal of Global Business and Competitiveness, 15(2), pp. 94-105. Web.
Jordan brand and Dior announce new collaboration. (2019). Web.
Solomon, M., Bamossy, G., Askegaard, and Hogg, M. (2016). Consumer behaviour: a European perspective. London: Pearson.