Assessment of the Effectiveness of the Use of PR Instruments by International Companies (the Case of Nike and Adidas)

Recently the shift from conventional advertising to extensive use of public relations tools has been observed within marketing strategies of international companies. Major competitors in their fields, like Nike and Adidas, adopt different instruments portfolios, while spending significant proportions of their marketing budgets on those tools. Nevertheless, up to date, both marketers and scholars have failed to go beyond the descriptive analysis and identify the ways for measurement of effectiveness of marketing PR (public relations) instruments. This study aims at elaboration of the model of PR promotional activities effectiveness assessment in terms of financial and consumer behavior impact, while providing specific results for Nike and Adidas. For this purpose, statistical analysis will be employed for identifying patterns and insights based both on the companies’ data with open access and on the results of the survey conducted specially for this research among the target audience of the corporations. The latter analysis will help us to identify the portrait of a typical loyal consumer and his attitude to the distinct PR tools. Moreover, the qualitative comparative analysis of PR tools portfolios during major sports events will be conducted and recommendations will be elaborated based on the research findings of the previous sections.