Case Study: Nike vs. Adidas Mikayla Soltis

Nike Vs adidas: Meet the Competition Founded in Oregon, USA, 1964 Mission: "To bring innovation and inspiration to every athlete* in the world *if you have a body you are an athlete" Largest sportswear manufacturer in the world Founded in Germany 1949 Mission: "To be the best sports company in the world" Largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe Second Largest in the world

Social Media for Investigation Nike Adidas Advertised on the Nike website : - Twitter - Facebook - YouTube - Instagram ____ Also active on : - Pinterest - LinkedIn According to the Adidas website... - None? ___ Active accounts on: - Twitter - Facebook - YouTube - Instagram - Pinterest -LinkedIn

Nike Facebook 32,839,532+ Likes Infrequent posts Last post: October 2018 No interaction with audience Posts feature both iconic Olympic athletes as well as inspiring lesser known athletes Posts are usually also featured on/borrowed from other social media platforms Most Recent Facebook Post: October 6, 2018 100+ Videos Ago On YouTube: October 6th, 2018

Adidas Facebook 35,801,737+ Likes Infrequent posts Updates to profile picture and header with each new campaign or release No interaction with audience  Posts feature celebrities and athletes

Nike Twitter 7,783,127+ Followers Posts Nike content 2-3 times per week Responds to customer complaints and questions daily Use of branded hashtag as well as popular hashtags #justdoit  #internationalwomensday

Adidas Twitter 3,594,975+ Followers Posts Adidas content at least once per week Responds to customer tweets regarding adidas campaigns but not questions or complaints  Use of popular trendy hashtags  #internationalwomensday

Nike Instagram 87,363,305+ Followers Post twice/week Average post has 600,000 likes  Content is person focused rather than product focused Mostly celebrity/Olympic or inspirational athletes  Serena Williams Evgenia Medvedeva Simone Biles

Adidas Instagram 23,558,079+ Followers Post twice/week Average post has 150,000 likes Focus of the photo is the product or the celebrity  Focused on pop culture and popular athletes Beyoncé  Kanye West Kendall Jenner

YouTube 867,676+ Subscribers Post 3-5 videos as themed series Nike Adidas 987,125+ Subscribers Up to 5 videos per week 2-5 minutes each Generally feature athletes telling inspiring stories 867,676+ Subscribers Post 3-5 videos as themed series  "She Breaks Barriers" 1-2 minutes each

Nike Pinterest 10 million monthly viewers 42 boards- focused on style/products, motivation, and female athletes Entirely female oriented Pinterest is used substantially more by women than men

Adidas Pinterest 4.4 million monthly viewers 6 boards- mostly women's products and fashion One board geared toward "men's training"

LinkedIn Nike adidas 2,032,179 followers Big focus on Nike being a diverse culture  More about Nike as a whole company rather than specific groups No employee testimonials* * on the main page 1,017,050 followers We are about the future here's some videos about the digital field are you in? More employee-oriented posting Stories and testimonials from employees 

Similarities Multiple accounts on all social media profiles to cater to more specific customer interests nikewomen, adidasfootball, nikebasketball No posts to Facebook since 2018 Both have the main social media accounts represented Posting schedules are similar, neither posts significantly more or less than the other

Differences Nike focuses on athletes- both celebrity and everyday athletes. Nike features diverse ages, races, genders, and abilities in their posts  Adidas has some celebrity athletes but focuses on pop culture celebrities Nike places a higher focus on the people in their photos. The logo and pictured clothing are less important than the people representing their brand Adidas focuses on the products themselves more often than Nike Adidas updates header/profile pic on Facebook to stay relevant

Recommendations: Nike Be active on Facebook. 68% of US adults use this site. Not using Facebook at all is causing Nike to miss out on this audience.  Consider expanding to other social media platforms like Snapchat. There are 190 million users on snapchat and 16 million could see a branded lens in one day. 

Recommendations: Adidas On Facebook, brands should post once per day in order to stay relevant.  Try to respond to customer complaints or questions about products on Twitter. 76% of customers are more likely to recommend the brand Put links to social media profiles on the adidas website to ensure customers know about these different profiles

Conclusions Nike has the most effective social media - Leads in followers on all except Facebook - Twitter indicated Nike as a good example of quality interactions with customers - Nike is popular and often used as an example of a brand with good social media strategy Adidas has high potential, but should try to be more interactive and accessible for their customers