Ch. 4 -The Marketing Environment

The year 1985 started with a shoe that would become a phenom for generations to come.  The Jordan Brands Air Jordan shoe has been in every major shoe retailer like Foot Locker, Foot Action and local stores ever since.  But its what Michael Jordan brought to the game of basketball that attracted people to the shoe.  The popular 90's phrase "Be Like Mike" starred Michael Jordan in a .59 second Gatorade commercial doing all sorts of slam dunks in his Air Jordan shoes.  The commercial also feature children and adults of all ethnicity's emulating the NBA superstars moves down to the sneakers, come on if you wanted to "Be Like Mike" you of course had to have a pair of his shoes to start the journey.  The Jordan Brands target audience for there products as you can see in the photo above start from infants all the way up to adults and everyone in between.  That's because the company is gearing everyone to "Be Like Mike" right out of the womb.  The Jordan Brands marketing environment is also very diverse.  Its not about what color or how tall or how much you weight.  The Jordan Brand is marketed so everyone can try to "Be Like Mike".

After doing basic research on the internet from different sneaker blogs a popular tool the Jordan Brand added to there marketing environment was the release of retro Air Jordan's which are the Air Jordan's of the past.  With these releases fan's of the Air Jordan sneaker young and old get a chance to purchase the shoes that help build the brand to what it is today.  These releases are done periodically and with the use of the internet pictures, release information and discussions about the shoe add more hype and promotion to what ever shoe may be released at that time.  A big problem that fan of the Jordan Brand have with the company is the continuous  inflating price of the sneaker.  Most people don't expect the retro sneakers to be as expensive as they are but none the less fans of the popular shoe continue to purchase them.      

Ch. 3 - Ethics & Social Responsibility

The Jordan Brand has a program for the youth called "Wings for the Future" program.  The program is designed to help the youth with different programs for education, sports, creativity.  The professional athletes and youth that are apart of "Wings for the Future" program helps to rebuild refurbished basketball courts, classrooms and computer labs.  They also visit children's hospitals and put together basketball clinics for elementary students.  Students who are apart of the art and creativity program are given a chance to make murals for their school and they also get design tips from other artist. The "Wings for the Future" program is conducted all around the world throughout the year.

The Jordan Brand awards grants to teachers who teach grades 1-12 at disadvantaged schools.  The name of the grant is called "The Jordan Brand Fundamentals Program".  It awards $1 million dollars in grants to these schools.  Since 1999 "The Jordan Brand Fundamentals Program" has awarded more than $8 million in financial aid to public secondary school teachers.  Every winner of "The Jordan Brand Fundamentals Program" prove there worth everyday by being devoted to helping children succeed with a strong educational background.

The Jordan Brands code of ethics are deeply routed in Nike's tradition of bring about positive, systemic change for workers within there supply chain in the industry.  The cover workers protections as well as the companies environmental impact which there internal team enforces.

Ch. 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

The Jordan Brand's strongest aspect in there strategic planning first is that the brands owner is the greatest basketball player ever.  This inspires buyers to want to buy the shoes because it gives them a connection that they are becoming more "Like Mike".  The second part of there strategic planning is thee other NBA players who are endorsed by the Jordan Brand.  The picture above shoes Michael Jordan (on the left) and Miami Heat superstar Dwayne Wade (on the right). Now with this it opens up a marker for Dwayne Wade's fans to purchase the Air Jordan shoe and the shoe that Dwayne Wade puts out under the Jordan Brand. With the Jordan Brand endorsing superstar players it gives them the upper hand over competitor's such as Adidas and Reebok because the fans of the superstar players want to wear the same shoes the superstars are wearing.

A weakness that the Jordan Brand has it the limited amount of sneaker it produces and its bizarre prices that continue to rise every year. Also they release a new sneaker every week which for most consumers doesn't fit in there weekly budget .

The Jordan Brand gives away free sneakers at basketball tournaments during the summer which attracts more fans to the phenomenal shoe because now they actually get a pair of sneakers for "FREE"

A major threat to the Jordan brand is of course it competitors who's prices are lower and quantities are higher.  The competitors are also endorsing big name athletes to there brand to promote more shoes to a wider variety of fans.  This leaves the Jordan Brand with a more reason to tighten up there belt to continue to have dominance over the sneaker market

Ch. 1- Overview of Marketing (Brief History and Mission Statement)

Air Jordan

Since 1984 Michael Jordan has been a global phenom.  He took the NBA by storm with his outrageous dunks but he took the world of sneakers by storm with the release of the Air Jordan's.  The Jordan Brand is a shoe and athletic apparel company designed by Nike.  The company's market orientation style personifies that buying this sneaker will make you more like Michael Jordan.  This has led to billions of dollars in sales in revenue for the NBA legend.  The Jordan Brand was the first sneaker brand to sell a sneaker for $100 dollars and 28 years later the pricey shoe goes for $160 plus tax.  The sneaker is very popular among basketball fans and also fans of the sneaker culture.  The Jordan Brand is Nike's most successful sneaker brand. The Jordan Brands mission statement "One Shoe. Three Flights" represents Michael Jordan himself as the shoes main endorser, the Jordan Brand as a business, and finally the legacy behind the shoe itself.