Chapter 34 Yao Ming becomes the spokesperson of Nike

Like many sportswear manufacturers, Nike entered the Chinese market in the 1990s.Prior to this, Nike has been working hard in the Asian market for 10 years.Initially, Nike viewed China in much the same way it viewed the rest of Asia: Both were low-cost production bases for Nike products.But Nike's factories in Indonesia, Vietnam and elsewhere have sparked outcry over what locals believe is a hypocritical company that, while outwardly benevolent and moderate, is self-interested and will do whatever it takes.After shifting more of its operations to China, Nike is determined to avoid the worker rights issues it has encountered in other countries.It hopes China will become not only a low-cost production base for Nike sneakers, but also the next big market for Nike merchandise.

However, sneakers are one of the easier items to replicate.Many factories in China that produce Nike products are not Nike's own factories, but its contract manufacturers.They could easily have taken the technical specifications of a Nike Air Jordan sneaker and produced the same sneaker with a different label for sale in China.This is a dubious infringement.Movie DVDs sold in the streets and alleys of Beijing may be of poor quality, or may even have been recorded by someone on a VCR in a movie theater.However, unlike the cheap fake Rolex watches sold on the street, the replica Nike sneakers produced by these Chinese factories are not of poor quality.In fact, they are Nike sneakers, with the same design and materials as Nike sneakers, just a different brand.

So what should Nike do?Nike's rivals in China, including New Balance, Adidas and Reebok, face similar challenges.Nike can take the factory owner of one factory to court, but even if it wins the case, the next factory might still do the same.It could withdraw from the Chinese market, but that would mean giving up the world's largest emerging consumer market to other market competitors.Nike has chosen a different path: It will continue to take tough action against infringement, but instead of staying on the defensive, it will build the Nike brand.Product designs may be stolen, but product brands are in their own hands.

Brand charm is ubiquitous in the global market, but in China, brand appeal may be even greater.While Chinese consumers' purchasing power is improving, their desire for brands is also increasing.Some of these brands are China's own, such as the Lenovo computer brand and the Haier home appliance brand.As very popular domestic brands, they have their own customer base.However, the products of foreign companies are also very popular in the Chinese market.Just as KFC has marketed itself as a symbol of modern western superiority, foreign companies have always appealed to Chinese consumers with the hope that their products will lead them to a comfortable and enjoyable modern life .Facing young consumers, they make their brands a symbol of trends; facing older consumers, they make their brands a symbol of status.Plus, they give consumers the perception that Western brands are better quality, more durable, and have more to offer them.Nike has always been proud of the performance of its own products, and ridiculed other brands' products for namelessness, and the problem it has to solve is: how to convince consumers that wearing Nike shoes can make them stand taller and get closer to their dreams , Have a better performance?Yao Ming, who is about to enter the NBA arena, seems to be the best candidate for Nike. There is something heroic about this basketball player.

In December 2002, the "Washington Post" reported on the front page of a game between the Houston Rockets and the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was not the pinnacle of the year, but it attracted the attention of about 1 million Americans. .In China, 17 million fans watched the live broadcast.They want to see the performance of NBA rookie Yao Ming as the center of the Rockets.Yao Ming signed a $17 million contract with the Rockets to play for the Rockets for 4 years.The fact that China produces world-class players who sign contracts with a team from a capitalist country speaks volumes about how the world has changed.

Yao Ming's congenital conditions are very good, his parents are both basketball players.His mother was Fang Fengdi, who was probably the tallest woman in China at that time.Her husband is taller than him. Shanghai's sports development plan provided Yao Ming with a relatively closed growth environment, which also made him the focus of attention.In order to build Yao Ming into China's first international sports superstar, there are special coaches to train him, doctors to take care of his diet, and agents to take care of his clothes.It's not just what he eats that people care about, but what he wants.Like every young basketball player in the 1990s, Yao Ming wanted a pair of Nike Air Jordans.The problem is that I can't find this shoe that fits his feet in China.So I can only buy it from someone in the United States and send it to China.Knowing this, Nike officials sent someone to find Yao Ming and offered him the opportunity to train at the Nike training camp in Paris.The purpose of Nike's sponsorship of this training camp is to train promising athletes.Realizing Yao Ming's potential as an international star, Nike signed him to an advertising contract, while Yao Ming continued to play for the Shanghai Men's Basketball Team.

After joining the Houston Rockets, Yao Ming traveled to the United States with his team members.He was only 21 years old at that time, and his mother also came to the United States to take care of his daily life and bought real estate in the United States.At the same time, Yao Ming's agent and marketing director handled various matters for him. Zhang Mingji, representative of the "Team Yao", said: "Advertising invitations come in like a flood, some from multinational companies, software companies and computer companies, as well as clothing companies and shoe companies. Anything you can think of They all want Yao Ming to be their advertising spokesperson.” After Yao Ming joined the NBA, his management team was busy arranging sponsorship matters every day. The NBA also took action, using Yao Ming to expand its influence in China. During the 2002-2003 season, China Central Television broadcast 30 games of the Rockets, attracting a large number of Chinese viewers.The number of Chinese viewers watching these games far exceeds the number of American viewers.While the NBA has struggled for years to attract Chinese audiences, it wasn't until Yao Ming joined that the NBA got its big break.

The reason why Nike attaches great importance to the brand effect in China is directly related to the continuous challenges encountered by its traditional intellectual property protection methods.In China, if Nike wants to maintain and expand its consumer base, the only reliable way is to strengthen its brand effect.The market for Nike products will always be weakened by counterfeit and infringing products if people are buying just Nike sneakers and not the Nike brand image.If Nike did become a brand, with the brand in hand, even if the sale of knockoffs would still dent the company's market share, Nike's market vulnerability would be much lower.Chinese consumers, much like American consumers, are the most brand-conscious consumer groups in the world.This kind of awareness is difficult to quantify, but marketing experts have long noticed that when Chinese consumers consume, they will either buy the lowest-priced products, or target the higher-end market and buy products that can demonstrate their status, taste and wealth .