Nike’s footwear innovation team develops a fully compostable running shoe. To support this breakthrough, marketing wants to emphasize environmental benefits rather than performance. Which approach will best preserve the brand’s equity?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The scenario asks which approach best preserves Nike's brand equity when promoting a fully compostable running shoe, with environmental benefits emphasized over performance.
Option 1: Rebrand Nike as an environmental company. While sustainability is important, a full rebrand to an environmental company risks diluting Nike’s core identity as a performance-led brand and could confuse consumers about what Nike stands for. It would likely sacrifice equity built around athletic performance, innovation, and lifestyle appeal.
Option 2: Limit advertising to niche eco-consumer segments. This narrows reach and fails to leverage Nike’s mass-market influence. It would curtail the brand’s scale and might signal that sustainability is a niche concern rather than a core, widely embraced value, thereby undercutting overall brand equity.
Option 3: Move the product under a new sub-brand to avoid confusion. Creating a separate sub-brand could prevent cross-pollination of Nike’s performance image with sustainability messaging, but it also fragments the brand portfolio, reducing the strength of Nike’s flagship equity and potentially confusing consumers who expect Nike-level performance.
Option 4: Drop endorsements with athletes to focus on sustainability storytelling. Removing athlete endorsements would undermine Nike’s credibility in performance, sport credibility, and aspirational messaging. Endorsements are a key asset in Nike’s equity, and pulling back could weaken the perception of performance leadership and aspirational branding.
Option 5: Position the shoe around elite performance with sustainability as an added value. This aligns with Nike’s core brand strategy: maintain a strong performance and innovation narrative while integrating sustainability as a credible, value-adding feature. It preserves brand equity by not sacrificing the performance promise and by augmenting it with environmental benefits, appealing to both performance-minded athletes and conscious consumers.
In summary, the strongest approach is the one that keeps Nike's performance-centric identity intact while layering sustainability as a compelling, complementary value, rather than redefining or fragmenting the brand. The other options risk diluting Nike’s established equity, narrowing audience reach, fragmenting the brand, or diminishing credibility in athletic performance.

FA25-BL-BUS-M370-11927 Marketing Final Exam- Requires Respondus LockDown Browser

Nike’s footwear innovation team develops a fully compostable running shoe. To support this breakthrough, marketing wants to emphasize environmental benefits rather than performance. Which approach will best preserve the brand’s equity?

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FA25-BL-BUS-M370-11927 Marketing Final Exam- Requires Respondus LockDown Browser

Nike’s footwear innovation team develops a fully compostable running shoe. To support this breakthrough, marketing wants to emphasize environmental benefits rather than performance. Which approach will best preserve the brand’s equity?

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

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