Chapter 11 Developing and Managing Products

Jordan Brand has been around now for 27 years. The good thing about the brand is how every year they are constant in producing a new sneaker to its consumer. This all started with the little luck that the company Nike took on Michael Jordan by offering him a contract to his own sneaker line. In chapter 11 it talks about how their are 6 different kinds of New Product lines. The two main lines Jordan brand uses is , addition to existing product lines and new product lines. For example this year Jordan brand introduced the Air Jordan 2012. The sneaker was built to help the performance of a basketball player, the shoe itself comes with 3 different insoles and the ability to take out the strap to make the sneaker a low top or high top shoe, at the consumers use. An example of the company using additional product line is that this may 5th Jordan brand will release a new color way of the Air Jordan 11 model in a low cut form. The launch of this sneaker is bringing a lot of talk on sneaker blogs worldwide on how the consumer is reacting to the shoe. Jordan brand uses Idea Generation when they want ideas for new products. Most of the time they talk to Jordan himself or reps, and in most cases the consumer. A famous sneaker blog called sole collector.com is used by some reps of Jordan brand where they are able to interact with the consumer and see what color ways or designs of sneakers they would like to see. On these blogs the consumer can give its reaction of its shoe and the popularity of the sneaker can rise. Before the release of a sneaker the company does a concept test or a sample where they release a pair and give it to celebrity's or basketball players to try out the shoe and see the feedback it gets from the consumer. Giving the sneaker to a Jordan brand member to play in can also be test marketing because the consumer gives a reaction on how they like the sneaker determine if they will make a purchase or not. A lot of commercialization went into the air Jordan 2012 during the Allstar game. Celebrity like Kevin Hart sported in the sneaker playing good giving him the MVP award of the game.

Chapter 16 Intergrated Marketing Communication

Jordan Brand a company known all around the world not only because of Michael Jordan, but because of the impact it had on the sneaker culture. Promotion of the brand makes the customer aware of all the sneakers and clothing the company provides. The promotional strategy Jordan brand uses informs the consumer. Advertising is a big role to Jordan Brand. You can find out the latest sneaker releases all over the Internet and magazines. Jordan brand uses the Internet so well by posting on their Jordan brand twitter about their latest product. Sneaker forums and websites like nicekicks.com, get the latest info on where to purchase the sneaker and where they will release at. With the limited availability of some sneakers, the consumer will search to purchase the product. The Public Relations Jordan Brand has is the "Wings for the Future" campaign. These events help the brand educate the community and people about the message they are trying to provide. Jordan brand does different summer programs for kids where players like Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul go around talking to kids on the importance of education and also to donate money to different schools and programs. Informing promotions seeks to convert an existing need into a want. Jordan informs customers months in advance on limited sneakers making the consumer hype the sneaker until it releases. The more people talk on forums about how much they want a shoe, the more attention it gets and make the consumer make a dessision. A couple days before a sneaker launches you can find a reminder on their twitter blog on the sneaker that will release , which usually happens on a Saturday.

Chapter 10 Product Concepts

Air Jordan

Since the start of the Air-Jordan era the sneaker brand was in a league of their own. With the help of Nike, Jordan brand rose and was known by people all around the world who loved the game of basketball. The product that the company created was the shoe. Like Mars Blackmon once said " Its Gotta Be The Shoes". A product is a tangible good a person receives in an exchange and this good is the Air Jordan sneaker. This brand can be made up to two types of consumer products. The consumer product, which the sneaker is made for the publics purchase. And a specialty product because once in a while Jordan brand comes up with shoes called quick strike or lifestyle meaning they are limited and can only be purchased at certain locations, making the consumer search extensively.  

Making its debut in 1985 the Air Jordan 1 was the first official product item of the company. After this history would be made, every season in the NBA Jordan played he would have a new sneaker line (product line). And with each shoe their would be a product mix making various color ways of each sneaker.

Even though Michael Jordan has been retired for 9 years his legacy and campaigns live on. Jordan Brand is still adding a product line extension to his sneaker line . The latest sneaker to the collection the Air jordan 2012.