This post is a response to Xin Lu’s blog post title: Just Do It.
I don’t deny that NIKE is an example of effective marketing strategy and absolutely agree that it is certainly a brand with a strong image. The question, however, is, at what cost?
To achieve a profound brand image, NIKE exploits cheap labour – way below what is considered a minimum wage in countries such as Vietnam. A typical Vietnamese NIKE worker would earn a daily wage of US$1.60, while NIKE continues to sponsor athletes at costs ranging from thousands to millions of dollars (Naomi Klein), only to achieve public recognition of the swoosh. Ethical practice? I don’t think so.
NIKE’s efforts to achieve its effective recognition is done at the expense of its employees who are being exploited on a daily basis so that costs could be driven down to allow for more social advertising to take place and allow the company to remain viable.
So, is NIKE really that successful in its marketing strategy? Ethically speaking, No. Not at all.
Photo:
http://www.findthatlogo.com/nike-logo
