9.Successful advertising campaign (Nike)
Phil Knight, the co-founder and former Chief Executive of Nike, prefers to let his superstar athletes and advertisements do his talking for him. Named Advertiser of the Year at the 50th Cannes International Advertising Festival, he is the first person to win the award twice.
Knight has an absolutely clear and committed strategy to use celebrity athlete endorsement. He has built Nike’s expansion into sport after sport from its athletics roots on the back of sporting masters: Carl Lewis on the track; tennis’s Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe; Tiger Woods, who led Nike onto golf; Ronaldo and the Brazilian national football team; and the basketball star, Michael Jordan, who famously rescued the company.
From the beginning Nike has been prepared to take a gamble on sporting bad boys others would not touch: Andre Agassi springs to mind. It was a strategy that began with Ilie Nastase, the original tennis bad boy.
After extraordinary growth, Nike became number one trainer manufacturer in the US. But Knight admits the company then lost its way as it failed to cope with its success. It experimented unsuccessfully with expansion into non-athletic shoes, and lost its number one position to Reebok in 1986.
Knight bet the future of the company on a new feature: a new air technology inside the trainer. He launched the product with a David Fincher-directed ad which used the Beatles track Revolution, and then marketed the Air Jordan brand on the back of Michael Jordan. Sales took off and the rest is history.
During a 21-year partnership with the agency Wieden and Kennedy, Nike has created some of the world’s most attention- grabbing advertising: for example the Nike “good v evil” campaign and two advertisements both for World Cups and the ad “tag”, last year’s Cannes grand prix winner. Other famous ads star Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi playing in the streets of Manhattan; Tiger Woods playing “keeppy- uppy” with a golf ball; and Brazil’s team playing soccer at the airport terminal.
It is remarkable body of work, both in its variety, daring and consistent originality. At Nike there is a streamlined decision-making process that gives marketing director real power. They do not rely on market research pre-testing which often reduces the impact of more experimental commercials. There is also the long relationship with one of the world’s best agencies, and what Wieden describes as “an honesty about sport”. Things only happen in Nike ads that sportsmen can really do.
“My number one advertising principle- if I have one- is to wake up the consumer”,- concludes Knight, with an absolute conviction that is unique among modern-day chief executives. “We have a high-risk strategy on advertising. When it works, it is more interesting. There really is no formula.”
I believe that Nike has very effective advertising strategy. Holding on to their approach to the costumer, they will have successful future.
10.Planning advertising campaign.
There are 2 things which are important for business development – a good product and good advertising. Really good and well-oriented advertising campaign is the key to success in the promotion of goods and services, so you should in detail consider your advertising campaign.
But what does advertising mean? Advertising is a nonpersonal presentation of goods, services or ideas aimed at mass audience. That’s why, first of all you should research market , define target audience, and create advertising slogan and bright logo to affect on it.
But good advertising is not restricted to a successful logo and slogan. There are several methods of advertising and several media. The methods selected depends upon the product, the distributional channel as well as the type of information the company wishes to convey about its product. There are newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, yellow pages, billboards or outdoor advertising, direct mail and specialty advertising. Every advertising media has characteristic that give it natural advantages and limitations, so you should choose some suitable methods in accordance with your budget and the type of product.
Thus your first step is choosing type of media. The second- is creating bright, rightly, attracting attention advertising. Do not forget about other ways of promoting your product, such as coupons, free samples, lottery, different mailshots and souvenirs with the trademark. So the next step is launching giveaways –the pencils, pens, buttons, calendars and refrigerator magnets. Specialty advertising is a unique way to generate goodwill and put your name on items that people remember so you shouldn’t ignore it.
You should create a space free of testing in shops or other point-of-sales because potential customers will take it away to treat their friends or colleagues.
Also you can attract celebrities to advertise your product because endorsement advertising is really effective but expensive way to promote products. Your company may be a sponsor any public events, it’s increase your popularity too.
The high quality of the product and inspiring advertising will bring your company a tremendous success. It is important to explore various advertising media and select those, which will most effectively convey the message to customers in a cost-efficient manner.
12. Leadership styles
A leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, motivating people. There are many different leadership styles that can be exhibited by leaders in the political, business or other fields.
The authoritarian or autocratic style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished, without getting the advice of their followers. Some of the appropriate conditions to use it is when you have all the information to solve the problem, you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated. The authoritarian style should normally only be used on rare occasions. If you have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your employees, then you should use the participative style. Examples of authoritarian communicative behavior: a police officer directing traffic, a teacher ordering a student to do his or her assignment. Authoritarian Traits: sets goals individually, engages primarily in one-way, downward communication, controls discussion with followers, sets goals individually, engages primarily in one-way, downward communication and donates interaction.
The democratic style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness, rather it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect. This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your employees have other parts. Note that a leader is not expected to know everything — this is why you employ knowledgeable and skillful employees. Using this style is of mutual benefit — it allows them to become part of the team and allows you to make better decisions. So, democratic leadership style consists of the leader sharing the decision-making abilities with group members by promoting the interests of the group members and by practicing social equality.
In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decisions. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You cannot do everything! You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks.
This is an effective style to use when:Followers are highly skilled, experienced, and educated. Followers have pride in their work and the drive to do it successfully on their own.Outside experts, such as staff specialists or consultants are being used. Followers are trustworthy and experienced.
This style should NOT be used when: Followers feel insecure at the unavailability of a leader. The leader cannot or will not provide regular feedback to their followers
The transactional style of leadership was first described by Max Weber in 1947 and then later described by Bernard Bass in 1981. Mainly used by management, transactional leaders focus their leadership on motivating followers through a system of rewards and punishments. There are two factors which form the basis for this system, Contingent Reward and management-by-exception.
Also note that most leaders do not strictly use one or another, but are somewhere on a continuum ranging from extremely positive to extremely negative.
13.The founder of IKEA as an example of a leader.
Ingvar Kamprad is no ordinary multi-billionaire. He is best known for his extremely modest lifestyle.
The founder of Ikea furniture empire travels economy class, drives 10-year-old Volvo and buys fruit and vegetables in the afternoons, when the prices are often cheaper.
Mr Kamprad is one of Europe’s greatest post-war entrepreneurs. He concluded his first commercial transaction when he was a schoolboy. He bought in bulk pencils and matches and then sold it more expensive. When he was 15, he opened the first company selling various things from catalogs. After 2 years IKEA was appeared.
Now Ingvar Kamprad is worth $13.4bn and is the 17th richest person in the world according to Forbes. In the 1950th, he first realized the firm's strategy to place orders for goods in those countries where it is cheaper. ‘Each crown is the crown’, he says. Mr Kamprad is charismatic, humble and private. This is a core of Ikea philosophy. The informality and lack of hierarchy are emphasized by his dress style, with open-necked shirt preferred to a tie.
As he walks around the group’s stores, he expresses the feeling of ‘togetherness’ physically, clasping and hugging his employees. This is very uncharacteristic of Sweden. He talks not only to the managers but also to floor staff and customers.
One of Mr Kamprad’s characteristics is his obsessive attention to detail. Ingvar Kamprad hates short-termist decisions. He says, that conflict demands long-term planning.
Despite some dark spots in his biography, such as sympathy for Nazism in his youth, and binges, he is compared with Henry Ford, who also managed to make luxury things accessible to all people.