Favorite Brand Paper

MKT/421

June 4, 2014

Nike

Nike Inc. was first founded in 1964 as “Blue Ribbon Sports” by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. It wasn’t until 1971 that it was re-named “Nike” after the Greek winged goddess of victory, strength, speed, glory, and fame. The Nike “swoosh” is meant to represent the wings of the goddess Nike, as she was often depicted in mythology with. The iconic swoosh was created by Caroline Davidson, an advertising student at Portland University. She was a freelancer asked to design a graphic logo that could fit on the side of a shoe by Phil, and she sold him her design for $35. The first interaction between the founders of Nike was in 1959, when track coach Bill Bowerman met Phil Knight; who was a runner at the University of Oregon where he was coaching. The need for the company arose out of Bill’s desire to find lighter, more durable racing shoes for his university track team, and Phil’s desire to find a way to make a living without having to give up his love of sports. The two put their heads together, and the end product was a company that now dominates the market in its sportswear segment, despite having begun as a small distributing outfit from the back of Phil’s car. While Phil was obtaining his MBA degree at Stanford in the 60’s, Professor Frank Shallenberger assigned his students with a project; the goal of which was to devise a small business and a marketing plan for its success. Building on his earlier brainstorms, Phil’s project consisted of the idea that quality running shoes could be produced at low cost in Asian countries like Japan, and shipped to the U.S. for distribution. In 1963, Phil actually traveled to Japan, and scheduled an interview with a Japanese businessman affiliated with Onitsuka Corporation and its subsidiary Tiger; to whom he presented himself as an American