Midterm BOC: Nike

When people think about sports in the United States they think about football, baseball, basketball and so on, but when we think about a sports brand we think about Nike.  Nike is all around us all the time.  We grow up playing sports and think that Nike is the only thing that we can wear when we play these sports.  How did Nike get like this and where did they come from.  Blue Ribbon Sports was created by Phillip Knight and Bill Bowerman in 1964.  In 1978 the name was changed to Nike from the Greek God word victory. The SWOOSH logo is a graphic design created by Caroline Davidson in 1971. It represents the wing of the Greek Goddess NIKE. Caroline Davidson was a student at Portland State University in advertising. She met Phil Knight while he was teaching accounting classes and she started doing some freelance work for his company. Phil Knight asked Caroline to design a logo that could be placed on the side of a shoe. She handed him the SWOOSH, he handed her $35.00. In spring of 1972, the first shoe with the NIKE SWOOSH was introduced.....the rest is history! http://xroads.virginia.edu/~class/am483_97/projects/hincker/nikhist.html.

The first things that they made were running shoes for their track team at The University of Oregon.  They wanted to make a shoe lighter and could make the runners run even faster.  Nike still has its headquarters in Oregon. “Basketball star Michael Jordan signed an endorsement deal with Nike in 1984. In 1985, his shoe, the "Air Jordan," was released, and profits from its sales exceeded a billion dollars by 1986. Nike expanded into sports apparel in 1987.” http://www.ehow.com/facts_5002826_history-nike-shoe-company.html.

This was the first time Nike expanded into sports apparel.  I think that this is the best move that Nike has ever made.  They saw this young star out of North Carolina College and I think it paid off for them.  

“The Nike slogan, "Just Do It" was created in 1988. A store called NikeTown opened in Oregon in 1990.”  http://www.ehow.com/facts_5002826_history-nike-shoe-company.html.  The saying “Just Do It” has to be one of the best sayings ever created.  Because no one knew what it meant.  Just do what?  Nike said whatever you want to do, and the saying just blew up and is still used today!  Nike is a company that people not only have to have, but they have made it so you seem like you cant live without them.  You can think of any major sport in the world and Nike has the best or the highest paid player on their payroll.  As far as competitors go you can say Adidas and Puma, but they have always been in second place because Nike is in first.  Nike has gone from running shoes in Oregon to a lifestyle all over the world, and there is much more to come.