Gotta be the shoes: Phil Jackson blames Peak for Artest's slump
Tuesday, 26th January 2010 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The question has crossed my mind more than once after watching a commercial featuring an NBA player pitching Chinese-made basketball shoes: How often does he really wear them? Are they hurting his performance?Now Phil Jackson is asking that question, too. Well, he's not asking it so much as answering it. Jackson recently spoke to the LA Times about Ron Artest, who wears Peak brand basketball shoes, and suggested that Peak may be to blame for the small forward's recent aches and pains:
"I've called his shoes concrete boots for about the last month," Jackson said. "Those shoes look like they are made for the Hudson River. But he stays with them and he gets his feet worked on. But he does not move really quickly. He looks like he's clogging around out there."
Shane Battier (Houston Rockets) and Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks) also wear Peak. Here's a commercial they did together and one featuring Battier alone. I've never tried Peaks, but my personal experience with another Chinese basketball shoe had me running back to Nike with aching knees.
Tags: Jason Kidd, NBA, Peak, Ron Artest, Shane Battier, sports marketing
Can China's hottest sportswear brand go global?
Tuesday, 26th January 2010 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (1)
Yelena Isinbayeva with Li Ning, Olympic gold medallist (1984) and founder/CEO of China's top sportswear company.
Li Ning may have surpassed Adidas to become the number two sportswear brand in China, AdAge says, on the strength of 32.4 percent revenue growth in the first half of 2009. In 2008, it opened a design center in Portland. In 2009, it opened a concept store there as well. Along with new stores in Hong Kong and Singapore, and the hiring of more foreign staff in the Beijing headquarters, the Portland activity seems to indicate more interest in international business, and business practices.
If you have spent the last several months in Beijing, it's evident that Li Ning has recently put more into advertising than Adidas or Nike have, with decidedly more ads on television and in public places like subway stations.
Madden's piece highlights some interesting numbers: Li Ning cut ad spending 37 percent in 2009, compared to 75 percent and 65 percent for Nike and Adidas; Li Ning cornered 14.2 percent of the Chinese sportswear market in 2009, to Nike's 16.7 percent and Adidas's 13.9 percent.
One of Li Ning's most visible smart moves has been its work with Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva (伊辛巴耶娃). With a lack of great Chinese track and field athletes to cheer for in the Beijing Olympics, local fans gravitated toward her, and won't soon forget that her remarkable performance took place in the Bird's Nest, with China as host. She was with Adidas during the games, but Li Ning picked her up a year ago in a 5-year, $7.5-million deal. Ads currently airing on Chinese television show her alongside an otherwise unknown Chinese dancer, Zhao Kexin (赵可忻). While Isinbayeva shows off her pole-vaulting skills and incredible physique, Zhao does things that middle class Chinese women are more likely to identify with—jogging, dancing, stretching. She's essentially a stand-in for the target audience in an ad that promotes the beauty of athletic women.
Li Ning has invested more in research and development lately as well, and it shows in the quality and uniqueness of some of its products. And the brand's Olympic sponsorship strategy looked pretty smart to this non-expert, as does the way they use their biggest NBA pitchman, Baron Davis.
For all of its efforts, in my opinion, Li Ning's chances at success as a global brand are slim. Between its logo's resemblance to Nike's swoosh, and the "Anything is Possible" tagline that is often derided for its resemblance to Adidas's more clever "Impossible is Nothing," Li Ning looks, at first glance, like one big knockoff. The explanation that the logo is meant to call to mind the Chinese flag and the letter "L" aren't likely to win over consumers outside of Asia. Nor is the brand's history. It was founded by a 1984 Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast—a distinguished background, for sure, but not one that's going to move sneakers in New York and Los Angeles. I am skeptical as to whether Li Ning truly has its sights set on the U.S. market, or if it just wants to appear to be an international brand, for the sake of the growing domestic consumer market.
A Chinese sportswear brand will go global someday. It won't be Li Ning, but it will owe some of its success to Li Ning's trailblazing ways.
Isinbayeva/Li Ning image: Ce.cn
Tags: Adidas, Baron Davis, Li Ning, Nike, sports marketing, Yelena Isinbayeva
China's 60th: Where was Yao?
Friday, 2nd October 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Liu Xiang (L) and Li Ning (R)
When the sports float paraded past, China's biggest sports star was conspicuously missing. Waving bouquets of yellow and red flowers atop a replica of Beijing's Olympic cauldron were Liu Xiang (China's first gold medalist in track and field), Li Ning (gymnast and triple gold medalist in the 1984 Olympics) and Xu Haifeng (pistol shooter and China's first ever gold medalist). Several other athletes—gymnasts, divers, cyclists, basketball player Wang Zhizhi—also joined in the show. But where was China's one true international sports star, Yao Ming?
The Houston Rockets center is rehabbing a foot fracture and will sit out the 2009-2010 NBA season. He skipped the team's media day, but was spotted on crutches at the Toyota Center. He went under the knife in July, to repair an injury that got the best of him during the playoffs last spring.
It's entirely possible that Yao's doctors advised against him making the trip. Sure, he could be propped up on a parade float for an hour, but he'd also probably have to make a dozen other appearances at state dinners and galas during Golden Week. And if Yao can't stand on his own two feet for more than a few minutes right now, then forget about the parade. China's most recognized face worldwide, sitting in an easy chair on the big day? Not exactly the look the country was going for on a day that tanks rolled past the Forbidden City and jet fighters flew overhead.
But here's another possible reason that's interesting to think about: The big man was getting out of everyone's way. Yao Ming was getting out of the way of Liu Xiang, the 110-meter hurdler who shattered Chinese stereotypes with his Olympic gold medal in 2004, and just launched a legit comeback from last year's very public and painful downfall. Yao Ming was getting out of the way of Li Ning, China's "prince of gymnastics" and the CEO of the leading Chinese sportswear brand (named, what else, Li Ning), which is scrambling to compete with Nike and Adidas for its share of the growing domestic sports apparel market. Yao Ming was getting out of the way of Hu Jintao, Jiang Zemin and the rest of the Communist Party leadership, who were lauded yesterday for overseeing China's recent economic rise. Yao—one of the most famous people in the world, who would certainly have appeared in most Western media reports of the parade—was getting out of the way of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, the late leaders whose legacies were unquestioningly celebrated, at least in official events and reports.
Yes, it's possible that Yao was getting out of the way in Beijing, just as he got out of the way in Houston last week, when the guys who will actually play for Houston this year answered the questions and mugged for the cameras. But then again, it's possible he really can't let go of those crutches yet and appearing on national TV all banged up is just as bad for Brand Yao as for Brand China.
Liu Xiang, Li Ning parade image: Sports.scol.com.cn
Tags: Houston Rockets, Li Ning, Liu Xiang, NBA, sports marketing, Xu Haifeng, Yao Ming
Titan Front Page: Golden Guo
Thursday, 23rd July 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
As expected, Guo won the 3-meter springboard competition at the FINA World Championships in Rome, crushing the competition with a total score of 388.20. The runner-up, Emilie Heymans of Canada, was nowhere near Guo with her score of 346.45. The text below goes on to recount some of Guo's career highlights, and crown her as the woman to beat if she decides to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London. A piece on the inside called simply "Guo Jingjing: I want to go to London," answer the question of whether the 28-year-old plans to continue diving.
Guo, one of four Chinese athletes who commands big-time marketing appeal, also occupies the ad space on the page, shilling for a Chinese dairy producer.
Titan Sports is China's leading sports newspaper, putting out issues every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It is published jointly by Hunan Art and Culture Publishing House and Titan Publishing House (Danwei).
Tags: diving, Guo Jingjing, sports marketing, Titan front page
Running China
Monday, 1st June 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (4)
The Great Wall Marathon (run this year on May 16) is one of the craziest running events in the world. It consists of a 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon, each with portions run on the Huangyaguan section of the Great Wall, in Tianjin. Those crazy enough to do the marathon face two 3,700-step climbs (and if you've never been to the Great Wall, these rugged stairs are nothing like the ones at your nearby football stadium). Times come out to about 150 percent of usual marathon times, says Rebekah Pothaar, who ran the half marathon and wrote about it for Ctrip and ChinaTravel.net. But in her report on the race, she insists that it's not just grueling, but also an incredible experience.
Li-Ning's Evening Fun Run (May 2) in Beijing's Chaoyang Park drew 2,000 runners, mostly university students, according to China Youthology, a marketing firm that helped plan the event. Judging from the video that China Youthology put together, the 6K run attracted a lot of runners who aren't too serious about training and showed up mostly for the party atmosphere. Participants enjoyed a festival atmosphere, with bands, games, goodie bags and plenty of time to mingle. (The video is really worth watching if you're an event planner or sports marketer in China).
There's an interesting thing to note about these two events. The Great Wall Marathon attracts a majority of non-Chinese participants, and the Li-Ning run appears to have consisted almost completely of Chinese runners. It's not too hard to figure out why. The Great Wall Marathon has an international reputation, and generates a lot of buzz in global English-language media. The Li-Ning event was promoted at universities in (and maybe around) Beijing. But both, on the surface at least, appear to have been successful. Anyone looking at staging road races (or triathlons, or cycling races--even youth basketball tournaments, for that matter) in China, would do well to click on the links above for a better understanding of what fits the market here.
Great Wall Marathon image courtesy of Rebekah Pothaar
Tags: Great Wall Marathon, Li-Ning, Li-Ning Evening Fun Run, marathon, road race, running, sports marketing
Guo Jingjing back in the pool
Thursday, 7th May 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
And, just in time for her return to the pool, a new set of fashion photos of Guo, who is as much tabloid star as she is sports star, have been released. See them here.
Guo Jingjing image: sports.scol.com.cn
Tags: diving, Guo Jingjing, sports marketing
Chinese Olympic Committee $120 million strong for London 2012
Thursday, 23rd April 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
One of the questions that will be asked again and again between now and the summer of 2012 is, "Can China do it again?" Will China, as a guest this time instead of the host, be able to repeat or improve upon its 51 gold medal performance in Beijing?A recent Reuters story reports that China is at least throwing money at the challenge, investing $120 million in its athletes' preparation for the 2012 games. Unfortunately, the story raises more questions than it answers, but here are some of the key points from the story:
The Chinese Olympic Committee reaped $60 million (profit or revenue? The article doesn't say) from the Beijing games and has raised $60 million for London. The story seems to imply that both amounts come from sponsorships.
Sponsors for 2012 include Heng Yuan Xiang, which will outfit athletes for the opening ceremonies, and Anta, which will outfit them in competition.
The committee plans to spend some of its funds on developing sports for the general public, something Reuters refers to as "the major plank in the Chinese government's sports policy." Thus far, anecdotal evidence here in the PRC suggests that the government is only marginally concerned with grass-roots level sports development.
Quotes from the story:
Wang Jun, COC vice president: "The start of our post-Olympic marketing has not been good, it's been perfect."
Ma Jilong, marketing head of COC: "We treat the domestic and foreign brands equally. The prices are the same for them. They bid for the sponsorship in fair competition."
Wang Jun: "The best prospects for China's sports industry lies in the huge demand of the Chinese people's mass participation in sports."
Sponsors for 2012 include Heng Yuan Xiang, which will outfit athletes for the opening ceremonies, and Anta, which will outfit them in competition.
The committee plans to spend some of its funds on developing sports for the general public, something Reuters refers to as "the major plank in the Chinese government's sports policy." Thus far, anecdotal evidence here in the PRC suggests that the government is only marginally concerned with grass-roots level sports development.
Quotes from the story:
Wang Jun, COC vice president: "The start of our post-Olympic marketing has not been good, it's been perfect."
Ma Jilong, marketing head of COC: "We treat the domestic and foreign brands equally. The prices are the same for them. They bid for the sponsorship in fair competition."
Wang Jun: "The best prospects for China's sports industry lies in the huge demand of the Chinese people's mass participation in sports."
Tags: Chinese Olympic Committee, London 2012, Olympics, sports marketing
Will China's new food safety law impact athlete sponsorship deals?
Wednesday, 25th March 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (1)
In what looks at first like a big laugh, a Chinese businessman is suing track and field star Liu Xiang because the poor guy had an accident in a car that he says he bought because Liu endorsed it (Shanghaiist). He collided with a truck, the airbag failed to inflate and he banged his nose on the windshield, reportedly incurring about RMB 1,000 in medical expenses. This Reuters story doesn't say what kind of car the injured man was driving, but Liu is the face of Cadillac in China."Liu's advert had a great influence on my choice of car," Yang Jiguang told New Legal Report in Jiangxi province (translation from Reuters). "I want to send a warning message to all the celebrities that they can not only focus on the payment and neglect their social responsibility and public trust."
Should this guy...
be responsible for this?
Here's the not so funny part: The suit could be a test case of sorts for a recently passed food safety law that holds celebrities liable for any defective products they endorse. China's new food safety law was passed February 28 and goes into effect June 1. The law only applies to food products, but if the Chinese government is this desperate to use celebrities to send a message about product safety, it could extend to other areas. And it's easy to see that impacting the recent torrent of deals that international sports stars have been signing in China. How would Octagon have felt about Michael Phelps' deal with Mazda in China if they knew he could be sued for non-inflating airbags in the People's Republic?
Movie director Feng Xiaogeng, one of many celebrities who hold seats on China's top political advisory committee, has spoken out against the law, saying, "If stars should shoulder joint liability, then quality inspection agencies and media which publicize the ads should be held liable, too."
Related: Star advisor grumbles about China's food safety law (Xinhua)
Celebrity row is "aiding food safety" (China Daily)
Liu Xiang/Cadillac images: Auto.anhuinews.com
Tags: Cadillac, food safety law, Liu Xiang, Michael Phelps, sports marketing
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