Athlete Endorsement as a Marketing Strategy. Nike and Michael Jordan

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2014 in the subject Business economics - Marketing, Corporate Communication, CRM, Market Research, Social Media, grade: 95%, language: English, abstract: Companies try constantly to extend their markets by attracting different target customers and increasing their brand awareness. The present study investigates how and why endorsing their products by athletes is an always more extensively and popular tool in the companies’ marketing mix. Michael Jordan, a retired American basketball star, who has gained lots of media attention, has endorsed numerous products. Especially his endorsement contract with Nike has become an excellent case study for the current trend of athlete endorsement in the international market. The results of this case study provide insights into factors that may influence the success of athlete endorsement as a company’s marketing strategy.