Marketing Strategies Of Red Bull And Nike

Marketing Strategies of Red Bull

Discuss about the Marketing strategies of Red Bull and Nike.

The current business scenario is quite challenging for the contemporary business organizations. They have to maintain various aspects in order to stay ahead in the competition. One of the key aspects to be maintained by them is the marketing of their products through different channels. Marketing enables the organizations in increasing the identity and exposure of their brand among the customers (Urde 2013). Majority of the large business houses gained their brand identity and brand image from their Marketing activities. Red Bull and Nike are two such organizations which are known for their innovative marketing activities (Armstrong et al 2015). They have being able to position their products in the mind of the customers more positively due to their effective marketing strategies

This report will analyze the strategies being initiated by these two organizations in order to their competitive advantages. Moreover, the process or steps to garner the competitive advantages will also be discussed. Articles gathered from Business today and Forbes is being used to analyze their marketing activities (Sanusi 2017).

Though Red Bull operates in the market having various others competitors offering energy drinks, however, they possess a unique and distinctive approach which makes them different from their competitors (Pangarkar 2017). Majority of the advertisements of the competitors in this sector comprise of loud and entertaining taglines and show structure. On the other hand, Red Bull advertises their products in a more subtle manner. They even do not provide any information about their products in the advertisement, rather than they just aware the customers about their presence. The more focus area of Red Bull in their marketing activities is the sponsorships of various high octane sporting events which match with their brand identity. They mainly position their products as a youth and sports oriented. Thus, customers get more related with their products with the help of these events.

Nike is one of the prominent and leading footwear and sports accessories brand in the world. In the case of Nike also, they operates in an intensely competitive market having various large competitors offering similar products. Nike is also known for their innovative approach in their marketing activities. Nike is having various products in their portfolio targeted for various sections of the society. Thus, accordingly they market their products to attract the targeted customers. Nike is also more concentrated on outside and event marketing rather than opting for television commercials. They sponsor various large sporting events as well as sponsoring different sports teams (Tuten and Solomon 2014). This helps them in enhancing their brand exposure among the customers. As due to the reason that Nike is operating in sports accessories market, thus the marketing activities with the help of the sporting events helps them to solidify their brand identity among the customers. Moreover, the target segments of them can be collectively attracted by marketing through sporting events.

Marketing Strategies of Nike

Red Bull maintains a specific approach in designing their marketing activities. To evaluate the marketing activities of them, segmentation, targeting and positioning model will be used. According to this model, the first step is to identify the segments of the customers which will be targeted. The customer segments for Red Bull are mainly the higher end customers who are inclined towards adventurous lifestyle. People having orientations towards sports are also target segments for them. In addition, demographically, both genders are the targeted segments of Red Bull. In the recent years, more female customers are attracting towards sports and sports oriented activities. Accordingly, Red Bull has increased their brand presence in the events targeted for the women sections. However, the pricing of their products are being done considering the higher end customers (Ellickson, Misra and Nair 2012). Thus, they have opted for premium pricing. It helps them to maintain a standard and exclusivity among their customers.

The next step in this model is targeting. It refers to the sections of the customers being targeted and having product, price, place and promotional activities to attract them. Red Bull implements their pricing strategies to attract their target customers which consist from the higher end of the pyramid. The product is also being designed to attract the sports people and will act as the complementary in their sporting activities. The advertisements are being aired mainly in the sports channels where the target customers will be present.

The last step in this model is positioning the brand in the mind of the customers. Red Bull designed their advertisements according to the taste and preference pattern of their target customers. The advertisements and events for Red Bull are being designed in such a way that it will position itself as a sports oriented product in the mind of the customers (Shakhshir 2014). The events sponsored by them are mainly the high octane and adventurous sports which helps them in positioning their products accordingly in the mind of the customers.

As discussed earlier, Nike caters to various segments of the customers. They are having diversified product portfolio ranging from footwear to other sports accessories (Kumar, Gaur and Pattnaik 2012). Accordingly they design their advertisements to cater to the targeted customers. Nike promotes extensive marketing strategies involving celebrities from different fields. It helps in increasing their market penetration and enhancing their brand identity among their potential customers. The advertisements of Nike targeted in promoting the utility of the products and the associated innovations with it. Nike mainly promotes their products in terms of their innovations and thus their advertisements also portray the innovative ideas attached with the particular products (Calin 2012). It helps them to aware the customers in having the knowledge about the features that are distinctive from others. Thus, with the help of the marketing activities, their competitive advantages get conveyed effectively to the customers. Moreover, association with the various sports teams helps them to target the customers from the specific regions. The goodwill and reputation associated with the teams helps them in penetrating their products more effectively in the respective markets.

Evaluation of the Marketing Strategies of Red Bull

The unique approach of the marketing activities of Red Bull helped them in creating a unique brand image in the mind of the customers. Customers relate Red Bull with adventures and sports. This has been made possible due to the effective and innovative marketing strategies being implemented by them. Porter generic strategies will be used to determine the competitive advantages being gained by them from their marketing activities. According to this model, the first aspect is cost leadership (Valipour, Birjandi and Honarbakhsh 2012). The marketing activities of Red Bull are not targeted for cost leadership in the market rather than the premium pricing of their products is creating a separate entity in the mind of their targeted customers. The second aspect is differentiation strategy. Red Bull maintains an effective differentiation strategy by implementing premium pricing, niche target segments and related marketing activities. It helps them in creating a distinctive image in the crowded market of various other competitors.

The taste of their drinks, choice of sponsored events and design of the marketing campaign helps them to create the distinctive image among the customers (Valipour, Birjandi and Honarbakhsh 2012). Thus, having the close substitutes in the market, Red Bull is maintaining their unique image among their customers. The last aspect is focus. Majority of the competitors of Red Bull operates in the same market segments at the same price levels. However, the marketing activities of Red Bull are being targeted towards the niche market where they are operating (Yang 2012). The utility of their products along with the marketing channels being used are being designed according to the preference pattern of their target segments. This helps them in maintaining the customer loyalty among their targeted segments.

Nike is also one of the most prominent organizations having successful and extensive marketing activities. According to the porter generic strategies, the cost leadership is being maintained by Nike with reducing the cost of production of their products by outsourcing their manufacturing facilities to the countries having low labor cost. Moreover, the forward integration by them also helps in controlling the retail price by their own. It helps them in competing with the competitors in every price levels. The next aspect is differentiation strategy. The main differentiation strategy being implemented by Nike is their innovations in their products (Wagner III and Hollenbeck 2014). The products of Nike are being known for their innovative approach. It helps them in creating a separate image in the mind of the customers. The last aspect is focus strategy. The focus market for Nike is the sports people and people looking for higher end casual shoes. It includes both the genders. The marketing activities of Nike are being designed to target this specific focus market (Baker 2014). Association with the sports teams and events helps them in attracting their targeted customers. Brand identity further increased among them.

Conclusion

Having analyzed the marketing activities of Red Bull and Nike, it can be concluded that they both have implemented an effective marketing strategy which is helping them to maintain their competitive advantages over their competitors. Marketing strategies plays a huge role in making their brand exposed to more number of customers. Moreover, the distinctive features of their products are being properly communicated with the help of their marketing activities. Thus, it can be said that maintaining these activities will help them to maintain their market leadership position in the long run.

References

Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education.

Baker, M.J., 2014. Marketing strategy and management. Palgrave Macmillan.

C?lin, G., 2012. Strategies for increasing marketing flexibility: An application of the service dominant logic. MB School.

Ellickson, P.B., Misra, S. and Nair, H.S., 2012. Repositioning dynamics and pricing strategy. Journal of Marketing Research, 49(6), pp.750-772.

Pangarkar, N. (2017). Forbes Welcome. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesasia/2013/06/24/the-wind-behind-red-bulls-wings/#6161b9e67b79 [Accessed 9 Aug. 2017].

Sanusi, M. (2017). How Nike's marketing strategies helped it become a global brand. [online] Businesstoday.in. Available at: https://www.businesstoday.in/magazine/lbs-case-study/nike-marketing-strategies-global-brand/story/207237.html [Accessed 9 Aug. 2017].

Shakhshir, G., 2014. Positioning strategies development. The Annals Of The University Of Oradea, 977, pp.416-437.

Tuten, T.L. and Solomon, M.R., 2014. Social media marketing. Sage.

Urde, M., 2013. The corporate brand identity matrix. Journal of Brand Management, 20(9), pp.742-761.

Valipour, H., Birjandi, H. and Honarbakhsh, S., 2012. The effects of cost leadership strategy and product differentiation strategy on the performance of firms. Journal of Asian Business Strategy, 2(1), p.14.

Wagner III, J.A. and Hollenbeck, J.R., 2014. Organizational behavior: Securing competitive advantage. Routledge.

Yang, L.R., 2012. Implementation of project strategy to improve new product development performance. International Journal of Project Management, 30(7), pp.760-770.