Theme 7

Nike has been the face of athletic apparel since it started out as Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964. Its founders were Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. Nike started out producing comfortable and versatile track shoes. What is the key to Nike’s success? Could it be the crafty swoosh logo created by Portland State University graduate, Carolyn Davidson? Nike has become a worldwide phenomenon. They produce variations of clothing/accessories, shoes, and athletic equipment. However, Nike’s success can be attributed to one man. This man is a 5 time NBA MVP, a 6 time NBA champion, and a slam sunk champion, Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan was the greatest thing that ever happened to Nike. Jordan single-handedly turned Nike in to a multimillion dollar corporation. Jordon immediately impacted Nike in a positive manner by getting Nike up and running as a young stud coming out of North Caroline University. Jordan accepted the role as the figurehead of Nike and helped produce a successful shoe/clothing company.
Jordan came out of college as one of the top prospects in the NBA draft. Bowerman and Knight saw Jordan’s NBA potential and gave him a Nike endorsement. Phil Knight hoped that this endorsement would help increase Nike’s popularity. The deal did just that; Revenue increased from $919,806 to $946,371 in the first year alone. By 1986 Nike’s Revenue had reached the 1,000,000 dollar barrier. All of this success helped Nike expand overseas and it became partners with Nike-Japan. Jordan won the rookie of the year award in his first year in the NBA. He averaged over 28 ppg, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists. It was obvious from early on that Michael Jordan was destined for greatness. Nike knew from that point on that Jordan was someone special. As Jordan became more successful in the NBA, Nike became more successful in the market place.
After Jordan’s extraordinary rookie campaign, he became the figure head of Nike. His face was everywhere. Jordan had a great personality and was a very natural actor in all of his commercials. When kids of all ages see someone they idolize on T.V, they want to be just like that person. If Michael Jordan was seen wearing Nike products, everyone wanted to wear Nike products. All good figureheads are idolized by many which helps increase sales. Michael Jordan also appeared in a plethora of commercials for Nike throughout his career. He acted superbly in all of the commercials he appeared in. These commercials were all over T.V at the time. They were as popular as the Geico commercials are today. Nike also sponsored Michael Jordan’s own company known as Jordan.
The Jordan brand first burst onto the scene in 1984. In its first year, Michael Jordan’s brand sold nearly $130 million in merchandise. These numbers are among the highest for any company in its debut selling sportswear. Jordan (the company) started out primarily producing shoes. Jordan’s first shoes were the Jordan 1 which was made in 1985. Twenty one other models of shoes would hit the market from 1985 until present day. After the company tasted great success it began to sell clothing and accessories as well. In 1998 Jordan earned $2.6 billion for Nike. Jennifer Black, a footwear analyst, estimated that the “Jordan Effect” has been valued at around $9.53 billion. These numbers are the largest contribution of any individual endorsement deal in the history of athletic retail. After Jordan’s retirement in 2003, talk arose about the Jordan brand fading because he would no longer be on the court. However, since his retirement, Nike sales have actually doubled around the world and there is no slowdown in sight, says Nike founder Phil Knight. New ideas from the Nike marketing division are arriving each year to keep the Nike brand name fresh. To keep success alive, Nike has developed ways to connect the Jordan name with many young and prominent stars in today’s sports world. Some of these names include Derek Jeter, and Roy Jones Jr., as well as rising basketball stars Carmelo Anthony and Lebron James.21 These athletes have embraced the Jordan name by incorporating its logo on their own personal athletic shoes.
If you flip on you television today, you will most likely find a Jordan advertisement. He is considered by many to be the great NBA player of all time. Jordan’s skills on the court and his personality off the court are what helped Nike become one of the most successful companies of all time. He was able to help Nike build a name for itself when he was a young star coming out of North Carolina, he was a tremendous face for Nike for many years, and he his shoe/clothing company helped skyrocket Nike’s sales.