[Q]Nike’s brand culture

The approach of the 2008 Beijing Olympics has triggered powerful international and domestic business organizations to take the Olympic bus to obtain higher profits. However, it is difficult to plant delicious cherries. If you search the bills of companies that participated in the Olympic Games over the years, you will find both winners who successfully achieved their goals and losers who lost all their money. The editorial department of this magazine specially planned the report on the marketing show of sporting goods commercial organizations. The reporter conducted in-depth investigations in Shanghai and Beijing, interviewed dozens of industry insiders with more than ten years of sports marketing experience, and interpreted the international enterprise Nike. The success and failure of the local Li Ning Company in sports marketing provides sports marketing methods and experience for “free ride” business organizations.

In just 30 years since its establishment, Nike has defeated its old competitor Adidas and firmly ranked first in the world. Nike China has also been widely praised by the industry for its successful planning of Liu Xiang's series of activities. Nike's secret to success is not to sell shoes, but to market emotions.

The reason behind the rare sponsorship of sports events

Since Liu Xiang won the championship at the Athens Olympics, he has become the target of countless companies. At this time, Nike employees and Liu Xiang They are friends because Nike signed a contract with Liu Xiang as early as 2002, when Liu Xiang was still in the media spotlight.

Twelve of the 32 gold medals won by the Chinese delegation at the Athens Olympics were sponsored by Nike, including breakthrough events such as canoeing and tennis. Why is Nike the only one who can see the opportunity? Nike uses its personal experience to tell companies that want to leverage the sports industry that sports marketing is not a one-time sponsorship, but requires continuous innovation.

Corporate sponsorship of events often costs huge sums of money. Li Ning, Shanghai General Motors, General Motors (China), Nongfu Spring, Jinliufu, and Qingdao Red Collar Apparel are partners of the Olympic Games. Each company must pay cash or products worth 10 million yuan to the Chinese Olympic Committee, of which the cash must not be less. At 90%. In contrast, Nike rarely sponsors sports events, but its brand exposure is never less than others.

At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, 12 companies that paid US$46.5 million were named official sponsors, including Adidas. But Nike quietly bought all the billboards in prominent locations in Atlanta and made exclusive advertising for Nike. According to senior executives who have worked for Nike, during the Olympic Games, Nike sponsored the swimsuits of the national diving team. In fact, Nike does not produce swimsuits, but it temporarily bought a factory for this purpose. It is true that the award-winning uniforms sponsored by Li Ning also attracted attention on the championship podium, but many media focused on the beautiful moment when the athletes jumped from the air into the water. There is no doubt that Nike has the upper hand.

When it comes to brand exposure, people may be more impressed by Liu Xiang. On the second and third day after winning the gold medal, major media kept replaying the moment when Liu Xiang won the gold medal, and the magic shoes on his feet were carefully prepared by Nike. Brand exposure is only a small part of all Nike's work, and maintaining long-term contact with athletes is even more important.

Perfect Plan for Athletes

Wen Liyuan, manager of Nike's public relations department, used to work at Nike's headquarters. According to her, the 16 buildings in the headquarters are all named after the world's top athletes. Photos and trophies of famous sports stars are displayed in the lobby of the office building; the walls of the corridor connecting each building are hung with bronze statues and biographies of Nike-signed athletes from various countries... "Every visitor feels that these sports heroes are their life." "You often see celebrities walking around the office building. They eat in the same restaurant as the employees; they work out in the same gym. They are like a family," she said with a smile.

The employees of Nike Sports Marketing Department rush to various training grounds all day long and wish they could live with the athletes. This is also an important reason why Nike can recognize talents. Li Tong was a track and field athlete contracted by Nike. Because he is Liu Xiang's fellow student, he has been in contact with Liu Xiang for a long time. Li Tong's recommendation, coupled with Nike's actual inspection, brought Liu Xiang into Nike's field of vision.

In late May 2004, Nike invited Michael Johnson to China. At that time, Johnson felt that Liu Xiang was in good condition, so Nike made a bold plan based on this fact. The entire event was planned from June, and comprehensive promotion began in late July. Through public relations and the Internet, the Chinese team began to launch advertisements 10 days before arriving in Athens. In addition to advertising, Nike also designed Liu Xiang's news center on Sina. After Liu Xiang won the gold medal, 30 million people went there to browse Liu Xiang's every move. While other companies are planning to invite Liu Xiang to endorse him, Nike has already provided a platform for the national audience to fully understand Liu Xiang. Pan Jianhua, Nike Greater China Marketing Director, said that this is just the beginning of the relationship with Liu Xiang. "Our long-term goal is to allow Liu Xiang to represent Nike in 2008. We are planning when to let Liu Xiang appear in these four years. He is not a professional player, and professional players can play in the league for several months. Nike must use the right He appeared at the right time, and every time he appeared, there was a different story. ”

The classic of Nike’s close relationship with athletes is Jordan. It has been 20 years since the contract was signed in 1985, and Jordan shoes have also evolved. Developing into the "18th generation", this year Nike invited Jordan to China to present awards to the high school league champions.

Jordan endorses Nike products, conveys the concept of a basketball star to children, encourages children, and deepens their yearning for basketball. In fact, many companies are also sponsoring Jordan, but consumers naturally associate Jordan with Nike. Pan Jianhua said that after working for Nike for more than 10 years, he had an important experience: sports management takes time. "The characteristic of sports management is emotion, which is people's excitement, excitement, sadness and joy. Cultivating emotion is like falling in love and requires accumulation. Many domestic sponsorships are short-term, and the effect is almost zero because consumers are very forgetful. If a company chooses a sport related to its own image, it should be a long-term investment. "For example, the company is currently doing a "Celebrity Training Hall" that invites former world Olympic champions to coach in China to provide guidance to Chinese athletes. Not only on the technical level, but also on the mental preparation level for the competition. This is to maximize the use of the company's existing resources.

The connotation beyond 5 seconds

A girl bought a piece of pancake in the school cafeteria. She threw the plate out like a discus throwing, and then took a bite in her hand. Leftover pie. This is a clip from Nike's latest 5-second series of commercials "Anytime", which won the Grand Prize at the Chengdu Advertising Festival. Unlike many of Nike's big spenders, the cost of this advertisement is very low. The background of the story is where students study and live daily. The concept they want to convey is: sports have been integrated into your life. What does a 5-second ad mean? Most companies tend to do their own image advertising, shouting a slogan or even repeating it three times, but Nike tells a story. Nike knows that consumers have little feeling for a slogan or a logo and think it has nothing to do with them.

Nike’s brand manager Xu Ying has worked in the company for three years. When talking about brand strategy, she has been emphasizing that Nike is creating and leading a culture. Nike is proud that she created shoe culture in China. Xu Ying said that three years ago there was no shoe culture in China. China is a country of clothing. People always match a pair of shoes with various clothes and rarely choose shoes. The secret of Nike's creation of shoe culture is to choose the right people to do the right things. At that time, there was a group of children who came back from abroad and liked to make some underground things. Nike contacted them and gave them a chance to perform in China. Another secret of Nike's promotion of shoe culture is to make full use of the power of the Internet. There is a shoetalk (I'm a Shoe Crazy) forum on Sina, where netizens can tell stories about shoes, and they can talk about any brand of shoes.

Only when consumers accept the culture can they fundamentally accept your brand. For example, the American NBA or British football have gone far beyond the scope of competitions. A sport has become a carnival activity for the entire country. "The NBA is a very systematic system that perfectly presents in front of you the factors contained in any industry such as entertainment, competition, and celebrities." Pan Jianhua said. And Nike is now promoting basketball culture. The high school league in the United States is the preparatory class for the NBA, and the National High School League organized by Nike in China is now in its fourth year.

This year Nike launched the "alliance concept" and proposed to be YouthCulture (youth culture). Xu Ying said: "There is only one champion in basketball, but in YouthCulture there can be many champions. It can be the best dunk, the best cartoon drawing, or the most dazzling cheerleading team... We started with the construction of the platform , after it was completed, we decided to start promoting culture. Only by having the ability to influence culture can it be deeply rooted in people's hearts. We launched the 'Warrior League' this year. We want to tell children that not only do you need to have your own style, but you also need to have an alliance behind you. I will cheer you on, write articles and draw posters for you. There is a player in Shijiazhuang, Hebei who has organized more than 1,000 people and received 5,000 votes online. Only by identifying with a culture can it have a great effect. ” p>

During the interview at the Shanghai headquarters, I happened to see Amy from the public relations department reading a letter from a high school student about a planning plan for league activities. Although it was naive, it was serious. Nike employees said that when they interviewed children on the streets of Beijing, they all said that Nike really understood them. Here, what we see is a brand that truly affects children, leaving a deep imprint on them when they are very young, so that it affects them throughout their lives.