Application of Brand Flagship Program to Nike

Individual Assignment
Student's First Name, Middle Initial(s), Last Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Number and Name
Instructor's Name and Title
Assignment Due Date
Individual Assignment
The paper starts by providing a critical analysis of the selected article. The article is about the platformization of brands. In relation to the critique provided, brand optimization is the formulated strategy meant to overcome the reintermediation problem. This problem is caused by companies like Amazon, whereby they cut off the existing direct relationship between customers and original brands like Nike. They act as intermediaries, and in the process, they become the center of everything in the trading process. The critique is then followed by elaborating how Nike could apply a flagship program meant to counter the reintermediation problem. After analyzing the application of the flagship program, the paper is concluded by an evaluation of how the program can be implemented effectively.
Analysis and Critique
The argument of the authors is based on the platformization of brands. Their argument is based on the notion that Traditional product companies that have forfeited direct contact with consumers have been challenged by digital platforms that combine commodities, such as Amazon. Therefore, numerous well-known businesses have developed their flagship platforms to reclaim influence and encourage consumer loyalty (Wichmann et al., 2022). The authors examine these new platform services by analyzing which potential brands are challenging to capitalize on and propose advice to companies seeking to platformize their operations. To provide a detailed understanding of the importance of brand platformization to brands, the authors first identify the problem and then link it to the solution.
They claim that known brands were assured nothing less than liberation from the old marketing value chain due to digitalization. Many brands eagerly seized the potential to cut out intermediaries and develop immediate customer access and connections through digital platforms. When new digital integrators of commodities, such as shopping websites and browsers, developed, they quickly hijacked the consumer interface. Consequently, they relegated many offline-born companies to second place. The authors call this problem of intermediaries "brand aggression platforms" because they differ from conventional retailers (Wichmann et al., 2022). It is a problem based on the fact that because these platforms undermine brand distinction and nurture competitive pressure by showcasing countless comparable or even equivalent offerings at varying prices from multiple firms, this reintermediation through brand generalization channels may end up leaving many businesses worse off than in the pre-digital selling age.
After identifying the problem and how it affects the performance of different brands, they then dive into the solution whereby they state that the well-established brands like Nike and Adidas have started to venture into the platform businesses themselves as a countermeasure the reintermediation development. This "platformization" of identities results in solutions that go beyond the individual product brand by incorporating third-pa...