Nike New Product Marketing

Nike

Target Markets

The target market for the headscarves consists of Muslim women. In general, the product will appeal mostly to those aged 12-40, as that is the prime demographic for athletic wear, and as well that demographic may be more liberal with respect to things like exercise. It is important to note that there are significant differences between types of Muslims, so there is no one universal headscarf style that will appeal to all groups, or even be acceptable to all groups. A variety of designs will be needed in order to meet the needs of the target market. The target market is otherwise the same as for Nike's regular client base. This means younger, fairly well-educated, in the case of Muslims more liberal, and with a reasonable income that allows them to purchase Nike's premium-priced products.

The market is a niche market. In the United States, there are approximately 1.9 million Muslims, or around 950,000 Muslim women (CIA World Factbook, 2015). In the UK, 2.8 million; in Canada 1.1 million. In the EU, there are approximately 10.2 million, including those in the UK. If women are 50% of these populations, there are 6.6 million Muslim women. The market is arguably bigger in Muslim majority countries, in particular ones that are more liberal such as Malaysia or Turkey. Thus the market is fairly scattered around the world, and generally small. But this is also a market that is not very well served, and there are opportunities with respect to sponsorship of Muslim female athletes, many of whom participate in high profile events such as the Olympic games.

It should also be investigated in the same production facilities can be used to make similar garments that appeal to non-Muslims. For example, head coverings also have a functional role in that they can keep hair out of women's eyes, and they can defend against adverse weather as well. Test marketing can make to determine if these uses are plausible, which would open up secondary markets for this product innovation.

Marketing Mix

Nike relies heavily on marketing, but usually focuses this marketing on its specific target audiences. The company makes a number of niche products for smaller sports, and has traditionally targeted its marketing where niche products are concerned. The budget is not expected to be large, but Nike will need to communicate the existence of the product in a way that allows it to reach the target market (Harb, 2013). The use of niche sponsorship is effective means of reaching niche markets, who usually know their own heroes, even if the mainstream audience does not. Nike should find the right sponsorship targets, from Olympic teams preferably, to use to help bring this product to the masses.

The marketing mix will also involve pricing. This should be in line with Nike's usual premium pricing strategy. The company relies on premium pricing to support its extensive marketing efforts and its research and development. The premium brand image tends to be something that Nike pursues across all of its product lines, and the headscarves should not be any different.

The distribution will be in two ways. Because this is a niche product, there might not be much demand for the product in partner stores, but Nike can sell the product in its own stores. This is especially true in areas with high concentrations of Muslims in the West, and in the giant malls of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. The company can find space in its stores as a means of promoting the new innovation. There are two other potential channels as well. One is through stores that sell clothing to Muslims. These are niche stores outside of the normal distribution channels for Nike, but they represent an interesting possibility. The other option is the Internet. Nike has a strong web presence and can use their online distribution channel as another means of reaching this disparate market.

The four element of the marketing mix is the product itself. This should be produced out of the same sort of premium athletic materials as all athletic apparel, but it must be able to hold its shape while its wearer is conducting athletic activity. Furthermore, it is important that the different types of headwear worn by Muslim women are taken into consideration, as not all Muslim cultures are alike with respect to the norms of headwear. Nike will need to be sensitive to the local norms when marketing this product, in order to ensure that it will sell.

Relations

This product can be a Nike public relations success story, since it meets an untapped market need, and helps sell the Nike narrative of helping people to get into exercise. The Nike publicity machine should be fully activated for the product launch, working the media. There should be one or two feature athletes who can play the role of spokespeople, even providing soundbites for the press. The product can be featured pretty much any press outlet where Nike is a major advertiser, as that usually helps companies seeking publicity, and Nike supports a lot of media outlets.

Implementation

Nike will need to first understand the parameters of the product, and incorporate those into the designs. Then, Nike will need to identify the suppliers who can deliver this product to Nike. The next stage of the implementation will be the marketing rollout. Nike needs both a marketing budget and a marketing time frame for this product. The budget will likely be small, since this is a niche product, but not too small, because the product has tremendous public relations values. It is also worth considering that the design of the product should not take more than a few months, so Nike can get this product into stores within six months. This should be accompanied by significant launch publicity and marketing for three months, before settling into a more normal level of marketing expenditure. The rollout of the product can take place over the course on many months if necessary, but should occur around the world.