Nike's Targeting Strategy

1. Discuss why it may be necessary for an organization to alter its targeting strategy over time.

The characteristics of a market are always evolving, so it can be vital to the success of a company to alter their targeting strategy to meet the changes within the market. According to Lewison & Hawes (2007), “A target marketing approach requires a focus on one or more selected market segments and the development of separate marketing programs for each segment” (p.16). The reasons for alteration in the targeting strategy can include low sales, changing demographics, new competitors, and changes in market research. These variables will have an effect on the targeting strategy deployed by any company, so it is important for a company to change

The positional concept for the first brand will be Nike Inc.; the following will provide functional, experiential, and symbolic positioning for the LeBron James brand of shoes sold by Nike Inc.

Functional: The LeBron James shoe will be marketed as a sneaker that combines comfort and durability. The high top sneaker supports the ankle, and will protect the ankle from suffering sprains. The heavy base of the sneaker provides a solid foundation for basketball players and of ages and body types. The constant jumping and movement requires a solid base. Thus, this would be an example of functional positioning because the basis of the positioning is involved in the function of the sneaker and the basic benefits of the shoe.

Experiential: “The experiential positioning should be tangible enough that we immediately know what to do with it” (Schmitt, 2003, p.99). An example of experiential positioning for this product is making the consumer feel and believe they can perform at the same level as LeBron James when wearing his brand of sneaker. Experiential positioning requires marketing of the obvious functions of the

“Apple Watch also lets you connect with your favorite people in fun, spontaneous ways — like sending a tap, a sketch, or even your heartbeat” (The Watch, 2015). The new communication benefits are a key part of the functional positioning of this product.

Experiential: The Apple watch’s experiential positioning involves the technological advantages it offers the consumers. “If your Apple Watch battery gets too low, Power Reserve is there to keep your watch in a pared-down watch mode that just tells the time, nothing else, and lasts for hours” (Stein,2015). Power Reserve is a new technological advance that is tangible for all consumers to take advantage of. All Apple products offer the best technology available to the customer marketplace, so this watch is another example.

Symbolic: The Apple watch is what we would consider a conversation starter; the symbolic positioning of this product is based on appeal that watch offers its consumer. “A fancy band can be put on an Apple Watch Sport, if you wish: the easily swappable bands work across models, as long as you have the same-sized Apple Watch. 38mm and 42mm bands fit differently” (Stein, 2015). The ability to change the watch band, and customize the appearance of the Apple watch offers a great amount of symbolic positioning. Each customer will be enabled to feel like they own a different watch, which