Baron Davis inks deal with Li-Ning
Saturday, 8th November 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Los Angeles Clippers point guard Baron Davis will wear Li-Ning this season, a big marketing score for the Chinese shoe manufacturer (story in Chinese).
The Li-Ning contract replaces Davis's deal with Reebok, a brand that still has virtually no presence in China despite having Yao Ming in its clutches.
Davis' signing with Li-Ning is notable because he is an All-Star who doesn't play with a Chinese player or for a blue-chip NBA team. Since Li-Ning signed a deal with the NBA in 2005 to allow players to wear their shoes at games and other NBA events, players who put their name behind the brand have included Luis Scola of the Houston Rockets and Shaquille O'Neal, who was with the Miami Heat when he hooked up with the brand; and Lebron James' teammate, Damon Jones.
Li-Ning is not known very well outside of China, but it has the biggest market share in the sports apparel category in the mainland, well ahead of Adidas and Nike.
It made a big push for international recognition at the 2008 Olympics, outfitting teams including the Spanish national basketball team, and scoring perhaps the biggest marketing coup of the games—a high-profile appearance in the Opening Ceremonies for CEO and founder, retired gymnast Li Ning.
By signing Davis, Li-Ning is confirming what those who keep track of China's young basketball lovers already know—NBA fans here have gone far beyond Yao Ming worship, to become sophisticated followers of the entire league and all of its best players.
Li-Ning isn't the only sneaker brand working with NBA players. Peak has long used Shane Battier of the Houston Rockets as the face of its basketball gear; and after the Olympics, Peak also signed Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks.
Image: Sina.com
Tags: Baron Davis, Damon Jones, Jason Kidd, Li-Ning, Los Angeles Clippers, Luis Scola, marketing, Peak, Reebok, Shane Battier, Yao Ming
Olympic marketing: How did sportswear brands do?
Friday, 29th August 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
For sports apparel brands, the Olympics are arguably the most important stage for marketing. So how did the sports marketers fare with the Chinese market in these Olympics? Here's a look at how things played out for Adidas, Li-Ning, Nike, Puma and Speedo.Adidas
Adidas reportedly shelled out 70 million euros to be an official Olympic sponsor. Adidas gear was also all over Olympians, great for television. But aside from shoes and uniforms, Adidas wasn't particularly visible in Olympic venues. It had no special presence on the Olympic Green, but its beautiful flagship store in Sanlitun near the Workers' Stadium and Workers' Gymnasium saw lots of foot traffic.
Adidas' Olympic sponsorship allowed it to use the Bird's Nest and Olympic logo.
Its Olympic ad campaign, though beautifully designed and fitting in concept (Together in 2008, Impossible is Nothing), came up short in the personnel categories. That campaign had four primary faces, in sports that are very popular in China--diver Hu Jia, footballer Zheng Zhi, basketball player Sui Feifei and a few women's volleyball players. Hu pulled out due to injury, Zheng and the men's football team had an embarrassing performance and Sui Feifei was only sixth in scoring on Team China. The women's volleyball team played strong in a very tough field, but in the end only came through with the minimum result acceptable to the hometown fans, a bronze medal.
Li-Ning
China's biggest sports apparel brand had the biggest marketing coup of the games—its founder, Li Ning, carrying the Olympic flame on a three-minute slow-motion run to the top of the Bird's Nest, where he lit the Olympic cauldron. The company's stock went up the next day, and Li Ning will always have his stamp on what seems to be an especially important part of the Olympics to Chinese fans.
Li-Ning's storefronts were generic during the games, but there was nothing generic about its opening ceremony product placement.
Li Ning also had its name on the uniforms of China's diving and table tennis teams, who delivered dominant performances, as well as the Spanish national basketball team, which gave Team USA a tough match before losing in the gold medal game.
Nike
Nike's two biggest bets on Chinese athletes were Yi Jianlian and Liu Xiang. Yi was solid but not explosive, averaging 9 points a game. The Chinese national team, wearing Nike jerseys, didn't really exceed expectations, but certainly didn't come up short, making it to the quarterfinals before losing to Lithuania. But Chinese fans were more excited about catching a glimpse of Team USA, who were also sporting Nike's hot new jersey, available in stores all over Beijing.
Nike had to deal with the toughest spin job of any Olympic marketer this year—how to salvage its investment in China's biggest sports star, Liu Xiang, when he didn't even compete in the games. Nike's immediate answer--a full page ad celebrating the love of sport even in defeat--succeeded in becoming part of the stream of catharsis after Liu bowed out. Nike got some negative publicity for its efforts to hunt down netizens who alleged that the shoe company had coerced Liu to drop out rather than lose to Robles.
Nike hedged its big-name bets by backing lesser-known athletes as well.
But Liu and Yi weren't the only athletes that Nike put is name behind. It was all over team China, and ready with full-page ads in China Daily and front-page ads in Titan sports news when any of its athletes won a medal or had a strong performance. Swimmer Zhang Lin (silver medalist), boxer Zou Shiming (gold medalist) and beach volleyball duo Tian Jia and Wang Fei (silver medalists) were just a few of the lower-profile high-achieving athletes that Nike celebrated in its Olympic campaign.
Puma
Dollar for dollar, Puma might have gotten the most of its Olympic investment. Its hopes ran on two spiked shoes-- those of sprinter Usain Bolt, who loped across the finish line to set the 100-meter dash world record. China loves a winner, and Bolt and the dominant Jamaican team were very well-received in Beijing. Jacques Rogge can complain all he wants, but most Chinese don't mind a guy who's willing to revel in his moment.
Speedo
If you weren't wearing a Speedo LZR Racer in this Olympics, you might as well never leave the Water Cube's warm-up pool. Nine out of every 10 swimming gold medals went to LZR wearers. The only complaint that people had about the LZR was that it made swimmers too fast, world records too common. The suit was considered such an integral part of success that Nike agreed to let its swimmers wear LZRs instead of Nike suits. Speedo doesn't have a big presence at Chinese sports retailers—swimwear here tends to be generic instead of branded—but China, along with the rest of the world, has no choice but to see Speedo as the leader in swimwear technology.
Tags: Adidas, athletics, Beijing Olympics, Hu Jia, Li-Ning, Liu Xiang, marketing, Nike, Olympics, Puma, Speedo, Sui Feifei, swimming, Tian Jia, Titan, Usain Bolt, volleyball, Wang Fei, Zhang Lin, Zheng Zhi, Zou Shiming
Michael Phelps' marketing in Chinese
Wednesday, 13th August 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Swimmer Michael Phelps is doing his best to make sure that Chinese fans have access to information about him. He had his personal Web site, Michaelphelps.com, built in just two languages—English and simplified Chinese.Phelps, four gold medals into his attempt to win an unprecedented 8 Olympic swimming titles in Beijing, is a hot topic in China right now and it looks like his efforts to keep it that way extend beyond the pool. Smart man.
Tags: Beijing Olympics, marketing, Michael Phelps, olympics, swimming
Nike's Olympic advertising whitewash
Monday, 28th July 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
There's no Olympic medal for sports apparel marketing, but the race this summer between the category's top two brands is hotly contested. Ahead of the Beijing Olympics, Nike and Adidas are employing very different strategies to court the Chinese market.One key difference is Adidas' decision to invest in being an official sponsor of the games. This grants advantages like the right to use trademarked images (the rings, the event's logo, the words "Beijing 2008"), access to prime tickets and hotel rooms and the opportunity to set up hospitality areas close to Olympic venues like the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube.
Dongdan subway station, Beijing, June 30
Nike is not an Olympic sponsor, and one of the consequences of that is restriction of its advertising in Beijing during the Olympic period. Until about a week ago, Nike had a large advertising presence around shopping hot spot Wangfujing, but that changed after the restrictions went into effect July 19.
Nike ads that plastered the nearby Dongdan subway station have been covered in white. The athletes whose faces hawk Nike from above the shops at Wangfujing have been replaced with "Beijing 2008" posters bearing the images of the Fuwa (the official mascots of these games) Beijing opera singers and the Great Wall. At the nearby basketball and soccer park that Nike owns rights to, the 15-foot ads that usually hang on the fences have been taken down, though the swooshes that mark half field and center court are still there. Even Nike's ads in Titan sports newspaper now bear only a simple swoosh and the "Just Do It" slogan. Gone are the images of Chinese Olympians.
Dongdan subway station, Beijing, July 23
Along Wangfujing, though, it's hard to see a disadvantage for Nike. All of the billboards, including the Adidas ones featuring the Chinese women's volleyball team, have been replaced with Beijing '08 signage. And Nike has bought up several retail locations in the area, along Chang'An Avenue (which intersects with Wangfujing a short distance east of Tian'anmen and the Forbidden City) and Wangfujing Street. It has two Wangfujing shops, including one with huge windows that afford passersby a good view of the life-size mannequins of hurdler Liu Xiang (刘翔) and basketball player Yi Jianlian (易建联), as well as a montage of several different Chinese Olympians wearing the brand.
The area around Wangfujing will be a favorite place for Beijing's Olympic visitors to spend time between basketball games and swim meets, but when the action starts it will focus around the actual events, where Adidas should have a complete monopoly over its biggest competitor.
Related: A walk down Wangfujing
Link: Advertising fight to the finish ahead of Beijing Olympics (Gulf News)
Tags: Adidas, advertising, marketing, Nike, Olympics, Wangfujing
Throwback Nike China Commercial
Sunday, 29th June 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (1)
It's hard to name a global brand that has had smarter China marketing practices than Nike. The series of advertising shorts above, first posted on YouTube two years ago, features everyday Chinese who can't help but turn their day-to-day lives into athletic showcases. A flat round cracker in a university cafeteria becomes a discus; a pair of boys use a repairman's bucket as a basketball hoop; a young woman uses judo moves to take down her boyfriend and snatch a bouquet of flowers from him. The commercials have a raw look, like they could have been shot by amateurs. And they will ring true—and funny—to anyone who has spent time in China.
Nike has had its missteps here, including a commercial featuring Lebron James bouncing the ball off of a kung fu master's forehead that is often cited as an example of what not to do when advertising in China. But Nike learned from that mistake, and does plenty of other things right.
To watch and search hundreds of China sports videos—from Liu Xiang's gold medal run in Athens to interviews with diver Guo Jingjing—check out China Sports Today's new YouTube playlists.
Tags: Lebron James, marketing, Nike, YouTube
How the NBA Draft Looks From China
Friday, 27th June 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Memphis' Derrick Rose (r) was drafted first by the Chicago Bulls. (Image: ESPN)
The second off-season week was a big one in the NBA, and China, where basketball and the U.S. league are hugely popular, was watching. Hours before the draft began, Guangdong-born forward Yi Jianlian was traded to the New Jersey Nets in a deal that sends Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee.
The trade looks good for Yi—he never wanted to go to Milwaukee in the first place and though the official line was that he had settled in happily, rumor had it that the rookie never got very comfortable in Wisconsin. On the other end, the Nets' new general manager Kiki Vandeweghe has been a vocal Yi fan.
When he was drafted last year, Yi initially demanded a trade, citing the lack of a Chinese community in Milwaukee. The New Jersey Nets play in the shadow of New York City, and in two years, the team is scheduled to change its name and move into a new arena in Brooklyn. New York City as a whole is home to 374,321 Chinese-Americans and the Chinese population in Brooklyn alone is 100 times that of Milwaukee's. The Nets' new arena is an easy subway ride across the East River from a Chinatown that the city's government claims is the nation's biggest. There doesn't seem to be much for Yi to complain about this time around.
But Chinese NBA fans' interest extends beyond their countrymen. To get some answers about what the draft and the Team USA announcement mean here, China Sports Today caught up with Xia Song in Beijing. Xia Song is president of sports marketing firm Starway Sports, one-time agent to former NBA players Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer, and a jack-of-all-trades veteran of the China basketball scene.
Xia Song (l) with retired NBA coach Del Harris
CST: Of this draft class, who do you think has good China marketing potential?
Xia: Because of the relationship between Memphis and China, Derrick Rose [number one pick from University of Memphis] can be big here right away. No doubt he is going to be a star. And he's going to the Chicago Bulls which was the team that lit up the way for the NBA into China 15-20 years ago.
Another kid in this lottery is Joe Alexander [Milwaukee Bucks, number eight pick from West Virginia University], who played in Beijing. I knew him back in '99 when he was 13. His team, the International School of Beijing, was invited by Nike to play in the Beijing High School league [sponsored by Nike]. He was not supposed to play because he was too young, but they made an exception for him.
Joe Alexander, selected eighth by the Bucks (Image: nbadraft.net)
Xia: As I remember, not bad. He was real smart and a real hard working kid.
CST: Given that he's going to a small market and now won't be playing with Yi, does that hurt his marketing prospects in China?
Xia: There's going to be an effect, but Milwaukee has become a popular team in China. Even without Yi, it's still going to be a popular team in China. And if they have a player with a connection to China, that player is going to get attention here.
CST: Without a lottery pick, what can the Houston Rockets do to improve the supporting cast around Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady?
Xia: I don't think there was a rookie who could really help them. I think the key is to find a player who really wants to play with them as a team to win a championship.
CST: Let's talk Olympics for a minute. Does the USA's selection of a smaller team improve China's chances against them? [China plays the United States in the first game of the Olympic tournament.]
Xia:All of the USA's opponents are going to take that advantage of that. I think the small lineup is better for China to play. In China's group, everybody has a chance to get to the second round. I don't think the USA has a clear advantage to win the gold.
CST: Can US players on the Olympic team up their China marketing value during the games?
Xia: No, not really. That's a USA team. If they want to build their image, people will watch their regular season and playoffs performances more than the Olympics.
Related:
Joe Alexander to Play With Yi?
Yi, Jay-Z and LeBron?
An NBA Draft Prospect out of China... Sort of
Tags: basketball, Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, Joe Alexander, marketing, Memphis, Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets, Team USA, Xia Song, Yi Jianlian
A Walk Down Wangfujing
Friday, 16th May 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
This one's for the advertising and marketing nerds out there. Wangfujing pedestrian shopping street is, in some sense, the Times Square of Beijing—full of ads, bright lights, flagship stores and tourists. It runs a length equivalent to a couple of city blocks, and right now it's plastered with sports advertising. Here's a full accounting of the ads up right now.
So what's up with Nike's all Kobe, all the time strategy? A couple of weeks ago, it wasn't like that. He shared ads on Wangfujing with other Nike spokes-athletes Liu Xiang (110-meter hurdles world record holder), Roger Federer (tennis star) and Yi Jianlian (forward for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks). But Kobe just won the NBA's MVP award, he's leading the Los Angeles Lakers' playoff run and will be featured in a show on CCTV next week.
Tags: Adidas, advertising, Guo Jingjing, Kobe, Li-Ning, marketing, Nike, Tiger Woods, volleyball, Wangfujing
Mercedes Hooking its Star to Tennis
Wednesday, 30th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (1)
Federer will be involved with the "Swing for the Stars" program for players under 13 years old, recently launched by the Chinese Tennis Association (CTA) and Mercedes-Benz.
"It's exciting to work with a top brand like Mercedes-Benz in China," Federer said. "I look forward to helping them grow their business while increasing the popularity of tennis in China." Federer's other major endorsement deals include Gillette and Rolex. In China, he is highly visible as one of the faces of Nike athletic gear.
The announcement seemed planned to coincide with the conclusion of the Monte Carlo Masters Series, in which Federer reached the finals but lost to Rafael Nadal.
Development of young talent figures to play a huge role in sports marketing in China. International sports organizations realize that generating grass-roots growth is key to their popularity in China, while brands see an opportunity to get in front of future consumers, associate themselves with youth sports and get dibs on endorsements with rising stars.
Image: Chinese Tennis Association
Tags: Chinese Tennis Association, marketing, Mercedes, Roger Federer, tennis
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