INVENTION / DISCOVERY
NIKE.
SPORTSWEAR
ME AT THE GYM
Because of my love for working out, keeping fit and going to the gym I some how wanted to incorporate this in to my project. At first i thought about having this subject as a hobby/interest entry however I feel that working out and exercising is a very individual thing as it depends on who you are and what you want to achieve. Because of this I feel that this would be a difficult subject to research into.
I decided to focus my attention on possibilities that surround the health and fitness as well as sports. This took me through different sports that had influenced me throughout my life such as Football, Swimming, Rugby, Basketball etc. I also thought about equipment that these sports require for example:
Football = A football, chin pads, shirt, shorts, socks, sports bra, undershorts, boots, water bottle, chin straps, tape etc.
While thinking about all these possibilities there was one thing that remained a constant presence through out and this was the brands that are involved in the retail of such pieces of equipment and sporting apparel.
I think that these brands are a very good representative of the spirit that fitness freaks and sports people share as this is what they are built upon.
I came by the idea of focussing on the nike brand after looking through all the sports clothing I had with me at the time. This includes accessories as well as clothing and footwear.
NIKE
REEBOK
UMBRO
ADIDAS
GOLA / SPEEDO / MITRE / PUMA
(Please note that during the summer i have been living and working away from home so these garments are by no means the only sporting goods I have. I a lot of them are at home and if I get chance I will photograph and uploads more when i am home.)
Because most of my sports clothing is Nike, I thought that this would be the most appropriate brand to focus on. I also do really like the products that Nike produce and the last sporting garment I bought was the grey and black dry fit training top and the one before this was the black running shorts. I feel that I lean more toward buying from Nike not only because of the stylish/new reputation but I know personally from past purchases that this sportswear is high quality, long lasting, comfortable and stylish.
THE ORIGINS OF NIKE
(I have highlighted bits of information that I found interesting.)
Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger (now ASICS), making most sales at track meets out of Knight's automobile.
According to Otis Davis, a student athlete whom Bowerman coached at the University of Oregon, who later went on to win two gold medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics, Bowerman made the first pair of Nike shoes for him, contradicting a claim that they were made for Phil Knight. Says Davis, "I told Tom Brokaw that I was the first. I don't care what all the billionaires say. Bill Bowerman made the first pair of shoes for me. People don't believe me. In fact, I didn't like the way they felt on my feet. There was no support and they were too tight. But I saw Bowerman make them from the waffle iron, and they were mine."
In 1964, in its first year in business, BRS sold 1,300 pairs of Japanese running shoes grossing $8,000. By 1965 the fledgling company had acquired a full-time employee and sales had reached $20,000. In 1966, BRS opened its first retail store, located at 3107 Pico Boulevard inSanta Monica, California next to a beauty salon, so its employees no longer needed to sell inventory from the back of their cars. In 1967, due to rapidly increasing sales, BRS expanded retail and distribution operations on the East Coast, in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
By 1971, the relationship between BRS and Onitsuka Tiger was nearing an end. BRS prepared to launch its own line of footwear, which would bear the Swoosh newly designed by Carolyn Davidson. The Swoosh was first used by Nike on June 18, 1971, and was registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 22, 1974.
ORIGINAL DESIGNS AND COPYRIGHT AGREEMENTS ON SWOOSH LOGO
In 1976, the company hired John Brown and Partners, based in Seattle, as its first advertising agency. The following year, the agency created the first "brand ad" for Nike, called "There is no finish line," in which no Nike product was shown. By 1980, Nike had attained a 50% market share in the U.S. athletic shoe market, and the company went public in December of that year.
THE FIRST BRAND ADVERTISING / SLOGAN
JOHN BROWN & PARTNERS
POSTER READS - "running holds a never-ending series of lifelong challenges, creating the immense joy and satisfaction that comes from competing with yourself and defeating the limitations of your own mind. One statement included: “Beating the competition is relatively easy; But beating yourself is a never ending commitment.”
Together, Nike and Wieden+Kennedy have created many print and television advertisements, and Wieden+Kennedy remains Nike's primary ad agency. It was agency co-founderDan Wieden who coined the now-famous slogan "Just Do It" for a 1988 Nike ad campaign, which was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of the 20th century and enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution. Walt Stack was featured in Nike's first "Just Do It" advertisement, which debuted on July 1, 1988. Wieden credits the inspiration for the slogan to "Let’s do it," the last words spoken by Gary Gilmore before he was executed.
Throughout the 1980s, Nike expanded its product line to encompass many sports and regions throughout the world. In 1990, Nike moved into its eight-building World Headquarters campus in Beaverton, Oregon.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT NIKE
- Nike’s footwear has a 38% share of the sports footwear market, making it the most successful sports footwear manufacturer in the world!
- Nike has a net worth of £83 billion.
- Nike’s best ever selling shoe is the “Nike Air Force 1 Mid”.
- Michael Jordan is Nike’s highest paid endorser, earning a cool $40 million annually from his Nike ‘Jordan’ brand.
- The name “Nike” was chosen in reference to the Greek Goddess of victory.
- Nike’s most expensive shoe will be an addition to their LeBron James range, called the “LeBron X’s”which are soon to be launched, costing approximately $315 per pair!!
- As of 2011, Nike employed over 38,000 people worldwide.
BILL BOWERMAN.
Bill Bowerman was a nationally respected track and field coach at the University of Oregon, who was constantly seeking ways to give his athletes a competitive advantage. He experimented with different track surfaces, re-hydration drinks and – most importantly – innovations in running shoes. But the established footwear manufacturers of the 1950s ignored the ideas he tried to offer them, so Bowerman began cobbling shoes for his runners.
One particular pair of shoes made a very different impression – literally – on the dozen or so runners who tried them. They featured a new innovation that Bowerman drew from his wife’s waffle iron – an outsole that had waffle-type nubs for traction but were lighter than traditional training shoes.
This is a short video that briefly explains and tells the story of Bill Bowerman, one of the co-founders of the Nike company.
I found the video very interesting and confirmed my feeling on how sports in general can connect people even though the sport in world has such a wide range of activities. It is that characteristic of wanting to be active, exerting ourselves and succeeding because of it that gives a universal commonality.
While looking further into the life and influence of Bill Bowerman, I found a lot of inspirational quotes that, as a sporty person myself, found inspiring and relatable. Many of these quote were not only generated on the actual sport but from his processes of making and improving sporting equipment.
This individual is most obviously still the main inspiration for the Nike company at present as they still push to create apparel and equipment that aid athletes of all levels to become the best sporting person they can and want to be.
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SPONSERSHIP.
As well as independently creating sporting apparel, Nike is a brand that is involved in a lot of sponsorships for many sporting associations, teams and individual athletes. As well as Nike using this publicity through well known sporting ventures, The Teams and associations adorned in Nike attire is seen as a mark of high quality not only in the sporting world but the fashion world.
PRODUCTS.
Because of the wide range in sports that the Nike company are associated in I decided to look into the equipment, clothing and other gear that is required for the sport and what Nike sells.
Nike are best known for there footwear and i think that this is due to trainers/running shoes being the first product the company specialised in early on in their establishment.
Because of the fact that Nike is in partnership with many different sports, I decided to look into what is available for each sport and how it is specialised.
These are some of the sporting categories that are available to look at and purchase on the official nike website.
. Running . Basketball . American football . Soccer . Training/Men . Training/Woman . Baseball . Golf . Skateboarding . Snowboarding . Tennis
There are many more sporting activities that the Nike company cater for!
I really like the idea of organising and catagorising the clothing and equipment that is used with in each individual sport that is designed for by Nike. These can be seen as essential items that mainly come in the form of clothing, however there are other pieces of equipment that are useful when taking part in the activity but they are not 'needed' to do it.
WOMAN/RUNNING
ESSENTIAL ITEMS
Light-weight Jacket . Leggings . Top . Shorts . Trainers . Socks . Sports bra
OTHER EQUIPMENT
Sun glasses . Hairbands . Water bottle . Gloves
MEN/RUNNING
ESSENTIAL ITEMS
Light-weight Jacket . Trousers . Top . Shorts . Trainers . Socks
OTHER EQUIPMENT
Sun glasses . Water bottle . Gloves
WOMENS FOOTBALL
ESSENTIAL ITEMS
Top . Shorts . Socks . Sports bra . Football
Football boots . Football Trainers
OTHER EQUIPMENT
Tracksuit Bottoms . Tracksuit Top . Kit Bag . Chin Pads
Head Bands . Goal Keeper Gloves
WOMENS BASKETBALL
ESSENTIAL ITEMS
Shorts . Top . Trainers . Socks . Sports Bra . Basketball
OTHER EQUIPMENT
Tracksuit Top . Tracksuit Bottoms . Kit Bag . Under Shorts
Peeked Cap . Head Band
MENS BASKETBALL
ESSENTIAL ITEMS
Shorts . Top . Trainers . Socks . Basketball
OTHER EQUIPMENT
Tracksuit Top . Tracksuit Bottoms . Kit Bag . Under Shorts
Under-vest . Peeked Cap . Head Band
I enjoy categorising items of clothing depending on the sport indicated. I know that i shouldn't really be thinking too far ahead but I really like the idea of creating something that displays all the equipment needed for a load of sports including ones that are not as popular or well known such as lacrosse or handball.
* * * *
NIKE AND TECHNOLOGY
As well as the actual products that nike specials in to aid active people, they also remain inavitive and up to date with technology out side of their own sporting products.
Nike Community is a motivational tool that runs on online social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.
As well as motivational purposes, Nike have many categories with in its online community that relate and target many areas in the sporting world. This means, depending on your preferences to Nike, whether through fashion or sport, you can receive specific information and news on what it going on in that community.
NIKE FEUL BAND.
This is a piece of technology gives you information on your daily movements as well as setting goals for you to achieve on a daily basis. It is adapted for use bay any type of active person whether you are involved in a specific sport or whether you are just conscious on your activity levels.
NIKEFEUL IS A SINGLE WAY TO MEASURE ALL KINDS OF ACTIVITY
Whatever you're doing - walking, playing ball, dancing - Nikefuel puts a number on it. Its not your height, weight or gender. Its just about how much you move.
WHY ITS MATTERS
NikeFuel helps you understand the value of all your different activities and how they compare to each other. Adding it all up to a daily NikeFuel score makes it easy to see your progress and improvement over time. You can compare how active you are by the day, week or month, or even see your total for the year.
HOW ITS CALCULATED
All Nike+ devices earn NikeFuel. Whether you're running, skateboarding or taking the stairs, your movements have a pattern. The device senses your movements and looks for the pattern to determine what you're doing. It matches the pattern with an algorithm and gives it a NikeFuel score based on the activity and your intensity of movement. More movement and greater intensity mean a higher score.
GET SCIENTIFIC ABOUT IT
FuelBand takes the pattern of what you're doing, along with other calculations like speed and distance, and predicts how much oxygen the average body uses to do it. Once it knows that, it can use METs (metabolic equivalent of the task) — a common scientific method for describing the intensity of physical activity — to give you a NikeFuel score.
I really like this piece of technology and i think that it culminates my first thought on the nike brand. It doesn't matter what sport, activity or skill level, nike encourages people from every corner of the sporting world to take part and get active and aids this through specialised apparel and footwear as well as equipment and social networking.
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