Bye bye mass production. Hello mass customization. With the increase in digital media, the dominant marketing strategy is for individuals to customize their own products. Companies do it with efficiency and create personal databases with each customer, thus making it more personal and one-to-one. A shift from this type of marketing puts a focus on the customer’s individualized interests and demands. An example of companies using a mass customization strategy is Nike and Puma.
Nike and Puma have many similarities when comparing their strategy. NikeID wants their customers to express their individual style by adding color and a personal ID. Puma understands that everyone has different taste so they supply an assortment of materials so the customer can design something that suits their style. When designing a shoe, the process is very similar. Each company consists of choosing either a blank slate shoe or a provided color palette to begin customizing. There are many steps to completing a shoe, which consists of choosing colors for the side, top and back of the shoe. On the NikeID site, the first selection is men or women and then the type of shoe you’d like to design. You can then design, personalize, and review your shoe. You can also give a title for your creation. Both companies make sure that at some point while designing a shoe, you must register in order to save your design. This helps create a personal database from the start even if the customer does not end up purchasing the shoe. Both the NikeID site and the Puma site are very easy to navigate and the consumer is able to watch every step of their creation.
Puma takes a more creative turn with their marketing campaign. Named after Mongolian BBQ’s which originated centuries ago when soldiers used their swords to gather and prepare cuts of meats and cook up a personalized meal. Puma has used this concept and has created a cooking style when creating a personalized shoe. Nike on the other hand, uses a more straight-forward approach. Nike seems to categorize their shoes through different sports, such as running, basketball, and soccer and emphasizes the significance of performance. NikeID shoes are also returnable, whereas Puma has a no return policy. Both NikeID and Puma target the same audience but NikeID has a children section on the site and Puma does not.
Immediately, when I went onto the NikeID Web site, I had to download Flash Player, which I always get annoyed about because I never know if it will mess up my computer. But Adobe Flash is a standard technology for Web sites that have multimedia content. Nike allows a lot of customization in the sizing of the shoes as well as the style and colors. Nike not only has shoes but also includes items such as bags and shirts. In my opinion, Nike’s site was overall well executed. It was visually appealing with the use of bright images and it was easy to navigate. It offered product information and suggestions which ensured that the customer will get exactly what he or she wants.
The Puma Mongolian Shoe BBQ Web site did not require me to run Flash but it is very Flash orientated. I really enjoyed how Puma used a cooking theme. As you enter the site, I actually felt like I was ordering food at a restaurant. When designing a shoe on NikeID, the customer can just click the different sections of the shoe and a box with that section shows up. On the Puma Web site, they use a more traditional way of designing the shoes, which is clicking on tabs on the side of the page to choose what part of the shoe to design. I really enjoyed Puma’s restaurant theme but it used a lot of Flash and I worried my computer could not handle it. I found with both sites, the pages loaded slowly; however, I think both companies executed their campaigns really well. I liked Puma’s theme but I liked that Nike had more of their product line available to customize.
With the new era of mass customization and new media, both companies are able to target their market more precisely and offer a unique online shopping experience. The high interactivity attracts to consumers and both Nike and Puma did a good job with accomplishing that.
Check out "NikeID's Web site"
Check out "Puma's Web site"
Here is my NikeID Design
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