London Olympics: A War without Smoke

On July 28th, they competed for the gold medal in the London Olympics. Attentive people found a champion of Yi Shiling, a mix-and-match winner: Li An, an outsider, and the Li Ning brand logo on the trolley case, was temporarily covered with white paper. .

Anta, the official sports apparel sponsor of the Chinese Olympic Committee; Li Ning, a clothing sponsor of the Chinese Shooting Team. The two domestic sports brands that have always competed with each other can actually coexist in harmony with Yi Siling. Under the calm water, the undercurrent flows.

Betting Olympics

The opening ceremony of the London Olympics opened, and all photos of Chinese players who won gold medals will surely be on the front pages and prominent positions of major newspapers and magazines. Their wearing, especially the brand logo on the clothing chest, will also be exposed.

Thus, even if it is now the coldest winter in the sportswear manufacturing industry, the domestic sports brands still regard the London Olympic Games as the last chance. No one wants to give up this best exposure platform.

Li Ning, who ignited the Beijing Olympic torch at the Bird's Nest four years ago, is clearly the leader of the Chinese sports brand. They announced early on that they were dedicated to supporting more than 600 athletes across five continents. They also signed contracts for the five gold medals of the Chinese gymnastics team, shooting team, diving team, table tennis team, and badminton team to provide support for clothing and equipment.

However, Li Ning has always been the ace player of the Chinese Olympic champions to designate the awards, and has been relied on by Anba, the NBA and Yao Ming. After the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Anta defeated Li Ning, Adidas, etc. in one fell swoop and became a partner of the Chinese Olympic Committee's sportswear from 2009 to 2012. The amount of 600 million yuan in support amounted to a record high.

In addition to the competition in the domestic market, many brands have also extended their tentacles overseas. For example, Peak sponsored seven Olympic delegations including New Zealand, Lebanon and Iraq; Hongke and Iran’s Olympic Committee reached a cooperation agreement; Jordan designed Olympic award winning suits for three delegations from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia.

The boom has receded

Compared with the attacks by Chinese sports brands, the enthusiasm of other Chinese companies for the Olympics is waning. If there is no crystal stone from Acer and Beijing in China, Chinese companies will almost disappear in the list of sponsors for the London Olympic Games.

This situation contrasts sharply with the frenzied competition of Chinese companies four years ago. Some people think that the wave of sponsorship of local companies in the Beijing Olympic Games is a passionate move by the host. They have not received the marketing effect they deserve and they are disappointed with the Olympic marketing. It is also said that Chinese manufacturers’ performance from collectively rushing to sponsor seats to quitting the war is a collective improvement. It was also said that Chinese companies were completely wiped out by high threshold sponsorship conditions.

In this context, Chinese sports brands still invest heavily in Olympic marketing and can be understood as trying to replicate the glory of the Beijing Olympic Games. Borrowing from the east wind of the Beijing Olympic Games four years ago, the Chinese sports brand ushered in a period of rapid growth, especially Li Ning, a Chinese sports brand known as the “first brother.” The stock price rose at least 80% in more than a year after the Olympics. .

This time, the Chinese sportswear brands headed by Li Ning and Anta did not give up their brand marketing efforts. To compete for the superior resources of the Chinese Communist Youth League, compete for opportunities in the media such as CCTV, and let the local sports brands launch a cruel civil war.

The outlook is not good

Sponsorship Marketing Using the huge influence of the Olympic Games to promote the brand itself is an excellent opportunity to increase brand awareness and reputation. At the same time, sponsorship marketing is the surest way to promote branding among all marketing methods.

However, this year's situation seems to be different from the past. The debt crisis in Europe has deteriorated, the domestic economy has slowed down, the overall apparel industry in China has been chilled, and sporting goods companies are generally struggling in the face of "additional orders and high inventory levels". The spring breeze of the new round of Olympic marketing.

"The Beijing Olympics has reached a commanding height for domestic sports brands. London and Beijing have a time difference of 7 hours. The host country's philosophy is very different from that of China." An Olympic marketing expert stated that the people of the Olympic Games in London The degree of concern has decreased significantly compared to Beijing. "Sponsorship may be slightly better for foreign markets."

One fact that cannot be evaded is that when the Chinese sports brands start the civil war, they also need to join forces to resist strong enemies. Nike, Adidas, in addition to using the London Olympics home, in China's second and third line market also launched a strong offensive against domestic brands. The London Olympics war without guns is just the beginning of competition.