Nike +
“Innovation is at the heart of Nike” and this is the company’s main approach to business. (US Securities and Exchange Commission, 2012).
One of the most recent inventions that I personally use and find very interesting is the Nike+ (Nike plus). Nike+ is an innovative tool that was developed in cooperation with Apple. Nike+ allows consumers to count their calories and track their speed and distance during physical activity. Nike CEO Mark Parker and the late CEO of Apple Steve Jobs, unveiled Nike+iPod partnership on 5/23/ 2006. (Apple, 2012).
Nike + is one of the first products developed as a wireless system which allowed Nike + gadget attached to the shoes to “talk” or sync with an iPod nano. With the Nike+ footwear connected to iPod nano, information on time, distance, calories burned and pace is stored on iPod and displayed on the screen. Nike + sensor that is attached to the shoes allows user to track their data and allows them to connect and upload stats to the web site, where the information is analyzed. Using Nike+ website, the users can then set goals or join challenges (For example, my husband and I compare our runs).

Exchange process “An exchange process is simply when an individual or an organization decides to satisfy a need or want by offering goods or services in exchange.” (Fraisner, 2012)
Exchange is the basic tenant of marketing and it refers to sharing of the ‘values’ between two parties.
When it comes to Nike+, Nike Inc. leadership realized that there is a need for a daily activity monitor in the market and they seized the window of opportunity. Thanks to a great marketing campaign, fairly inexpensive price of the gadget and knowledge of the staff selling the product, in the stores around the country, Nike and Apple leadership were able to exchange their innovative product for the consumer acceptance and market recognition.

(The product success was ensured thanks to a great marketing campaign, but also due to the knowledge, communication and the exchange process between the salesmen and the buyers.)

4Ps

The Modern Marketing Management Four Ps refer to: people, processes, programs and performance. It appears to me that the most important factor in the case of Nike+ were people. Prior to developing a new product Nike leadership had one idea in mind “Consumer decides”. Nike’s Brand President, Charlie Denson stated “Consumers like to be a part of a community, whether it's a digital community or a virtual community, or whether it's a physical community. They want to feel like they're a part of something. They want to be engaged.” Allowing users to download running routes, upload their own favorite routes, participate in social networking and share information about upcoming events and races allowed for the product to create a better running experience.

In the case of Nike + 4 Ps of marketing were aligned.
People who were marketing the product new enough about the development and functionality of the product,
The process of marketing was ensured on both sides between Apple and Nike. (Nike promoted the product in the stores and Apple via Apple website, Apple events and Apple concerts)
Programs- The market status of each of these two organizations can be viewed as a marketing tool itself, not to mention that both companies are well known for the very high customer satisfaction. (For example Apple is very well known for their awesome customer service and just the fact that it was involved in the production of Nike+ ensured success of the product even before the product came out.)
Performance- Refers to a range of possible outcome measures, anything from profitability to customer equity ( Kotler& Keller, 2012) . In the case of Nike + profitability increased 8.1 % the second quarter after the gadget came out, however the customer satisfaction did not remain. Although the product was initially successful and sales increased, the consumers complained. Some of the major