Introduction
The company Brand Jordan is a large shoe and apparel goods producer. Its main market is the high-end consumer segment with its main product being Air Jordan a shoe that fetches a price of more than 120 dollars a pair. The company was founded on the success of Michael Jordan who dazzled the world with his sporting talent in basketball. In 1984 when Jordan was just out of university, Nike signed him to an endorsement deal.
The year 1985 marks a significant place in the history of Brand Jordan as this was the year the Nike first produced Air Jordan shoes. This shoe brought a big debate in the sporting industry. Following Jordan’s appearance on the court with the shoe, the NBA at the first prohibited wearing of it on the court. This they based on the current league dress codes rule. After the ban, a lot of debate was started and this helped the shoe get national coverage. Eventually, the shoe was admitted into the sporting industry and after a long successful sporting career in the year 1998 Brand Jordan was born as a subsidiary company of the larger Nike Inc. (Sarah 176)
Questions
What is the key-brand attribute of Brand Jordan?
Brand Jordan is attributed to the jump man logo that is printed on all their products both shoes and apparel. In 1998, Michael Jordan retired from professional basketball following his earlier retirement in 1993 to try his hand in playing baseball. It was in this year that Brand Jordan was born. Having replaced Nike Swoosh™ on Air Jordan shoes with the new logo Jumpman in 1991, the company now also produced apparel with the Jumpman logo.
The Brand since its beginnings has had famous athletes endorse it. The brand has seen many great sportsmen endorse it such as Ray Allen who is a basketball player, Derek Jeter a baseball player, and Roy Jones a professional boxer. By the year 2006, the list of athlete endorsee included thirteen individuals and was known as Team Jordan. The team consisted of two footballers, one musician, a boxer, and seven professional basketball players. Besides this list of professional athletes endorsee, the brand has had some celebrities endorse its products unofficially and unpaid. These celebrities include Eminem, Fat Joe, and Mike Epps.
The use of famous athletes to endorse the brand has not only seen the company’s sales increase but has helped in creating loyal customers.
After learning from the previous mistake of producing a large number of shoes, the company in 1986 began producing limited quantities. This strategy was an original business model and very successful. This can be seen even after the passage of 20 years where fans anticipate the release of new Air Jordan. The fans pitch tents outside the retailing shop’s world and eagerly buy them despite their high prices.
Brand Jordan has remained relevant in the shoe market in product design and both innovative packaging and technical features. This is another attribute of the brand producing limited quantities of their products especially shoes. Another attribute of the brand is its marketing model that caters not only high-end consumers but also to teams. They also expanded to the women market and other sports have introduced more than 933 exclusive styles to push into the lifestyle markets (David & Steven 298).
How well does each Team Jordan candidate match up with these brand attributes?
Every candidate in Team Jordan matches up with the brand’s attributes and may be seen in various ways. Each candidate has a worldwide reckoning in their fields the same as the Brand. These persons stand out of the rest through their achievements in their careers be it sport or music same with which stands out through its innovations and quality products. Just like Brand Jordan’s logo the Jumpman these persons are a brand in themselves with their logos being their outstanding performance (David & Steven 153).
Why are celebrity endorsers such an important part of Brand Jordan’s brand strategy?
In marketing a product, the best deals are the ones that can equate the product with the application of the celebrity or famous person. Examples in this case given include the one of Newman Own who besides being an actor has managed to own his brand of organic food products. Using both his acting and the food company, he has been able to prosper both financially and career-wise. This has not only brought out his philanthropic lifestyle but has also made him a household name making him immensely famous.
When famous people endorse a product, they help to give genuineness to it and also craft a connection with the customer. Brand Jordan being a subsidiary of Nike Inc was no exception to this business model of having athletes endorse their products. Research has also pointed out that consumers tend to buy endorsed products more than those not endorsed. This is especially true for goods endorsed by famous people who the public love and respect.
Celebrities among them athletes are revered in society as role models. They also appeal to consumers and the consumers try to ape their lifestyles. This, however, does not make advertisement for a product to be based on celebrities only. The celebrity or athlete has to fit the company’s image, be of good morals, and above all be charismatic enough to appeal to the consumers (Janet & Jordan 159).
What are the opportunities and risks of expanding Brand Jordan internationally?
When companies plan or decide to take, their businesses internationally there are some things they need to bear in mind. There are both benefits associated with this undertaking as well as challenges. Brand Jordan in their undertaking should brace itself for both benefits and challenges. Advantages associated with this venture include reaching a wider market, this would also reduce marketing costs as a marketing strategy would be replicated across all markets and also the company stands to attract a solid and reliable workforce.
It would also help the company is taking advantage of the economics of scales associated with large companies. The risks associated with the decision of going international includes legal issues, high costs in promoting the product, a difference in consumer buying practices, and also high costs in setting up their business in new locations (Tom, 198)
How can Brand Jordan ensure the long-term viability of a business built around a retired athlete, no longer dominating the public eye?
In his career, Michael Jordan gained a lot of acclaim as an athlete. He won and was awarded five times the title of Most Valuable player and at some time he won ten NBA titles becoming one of the most revered athletes of all time. At one time in his career, he retired from professional basketball to compete in a baseball sport. After joining the baseball league and having a rather unsuccessful career, he returned to playing basketball by joining his former team the Chicago Bulls.
Following his earlier accomplishment in basketball, it was not long before he won 3 consecutive championships before he once again retired after the 1997-98 season. People from all diversity, classes, gender, races, and ages were awed by his performance and could identify with him. Jordan became a hero and a mentor in the eyes of the people symbolizing respect, dominance, and excellence (Janet & Jordan 198).
The success of Jordan in his sporting career has made it easy for consumers to identify with the brand. The strategy the company applies to portray Jordan as more of a mentor rather than a former basketball player has made helped make him relevant to the brand as well as improves sales.
Using the list of candidates presented in the case, which athlete would you recommend joining Team Jordan. Why?
The list of candidates is composed of successful persons, and each deserves to join Team Jordan. My recommendation would behave Michelle Wie join the brand. She is a young talented golfer and at only seventeen, she is a professional golfer. Though she is young she has accomplished much and her future seems bright. At the age of 13, she played in the LPGA major and at 14 she attained 47th place out of 97 missing the cut for PGA by only one stroke. This youngster has been compared to another sporting great Tiger Woods and her potential is seemingly limitless (Mary & Franklin, 2004).
Wie would be instrumental in promoting Brand Jordan to young people and also help it in entering the women market.
An athlete not on the list
Many athletes deserve to be on Team Jordan but the one who stands out the most is Michael Fred Phelps. He is an American swimmer who has achieved worldwide acclamation for achievements. He has won 16 Olympic medals and is ranked as the most successful athlete of both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics Games editions. In total, he has won 66 medals in international competitions. Besides his sporting success, Phelps’s runs a foundation that focuses on popularizing swimming as a sport (Bob & Gaines 252). I would recommend him as a candidate as he fits the quality of former Team Jordan members. His achievements together with his philanthropic ways are a rare quality in most successful athletes and this would make him an asset to the brand.
Works cited
Bob, Schaller & Gaines, Rowdy. Michael Phelps: The Untold Story of a Champion. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2008. Print.
David, Andrew & Steven, Jackson. Sport Stars: The Cultural Politics of Sporting Celebrity. Rutledge: Routledge, 2002. Print.
Janet, Lowe & Jordan, Michael. Michael Jordan Speaks: Lessons from the World’s Greatest Champion. New York: Wiley, 2001. Print.
Sarah, Houghton. Michael Jordan: The Best Ever. Mankato, Minn.: Capstone Press, 2002. Print.
Tom, Travis. Doing business anywhere: the essential guide to going global. Hoboken: J.Wiley & Sons, cop., 2007. Print.
Mary, Danico, Franklin, Ng. Contemporary American ethnic issues. Westport, Conn : Greenwood, 2004. Print.