Betting on Olympic champions is a "compulsory course" for brand globalization

In the article "Betting on Olympic champions, a "compulsory course" for brand globalization", the author Zhu Ming deeply analyzes how brands can achieve global marketing by betting on Olympic champions. From the ten-year agreement between Nike and Zheng Qinwen to the controversy caused by Yili's early congratulations, the article reveals the pros and cons of brands betting on champions. At the same time, the article also explores how to occupy a place in the fierce global market through a forward-looking "cultivation system betting" strategy. Whether it is a successful case or a lesson from failure, it provides valuable inspiration for the road to brand globalization.

This year's Paris Olympics may be the one with the most intense competition among brands.

In the Olympic Games, major brands launched a fierce marketing competition and presented many wonderful commercial performances. For example, Nike, which signed Zheng Qinwen ten years in advance, became popular again this time, and Bawang Chaji, which signed Zheng Qinwen just before the game, was ridiculed by netizens as "Winning Numbness".

However, some brands also made big mistakes when they bet on the championship. For example, Yili released advertising materials in advance to congratulate Zheng Qinwen for winning the silver medal in the women's singles tennis event and Sun Yingsha for winning the gold medal in the women's singles event, but the results were serious. Under the condemnation of netizens, Yili finally apologized publicly.

Regardless of whether they win or lose, the core question is why brands are betting on Olympic champions? What kind of help can this bring to them? What hidden dangers should be paid attention to on the road of betting on Olympic champions with the help of sports competitions?

The Paris Olympics has come to an end, but the marketing efforts of brands betting on Olympic champions are still worth recalling.

1. The brand battle behind the Olympic champions

Zheng Qinwen, who won the women's tennis singles championship, is undoubtedly one of the hottest Olympic champions this year.

In fact, while she was fighting on the tennis court, an invisible business war was also going on simultaneously.

As early as nine years ago, Nike signed Zheng Qinwen as its spokesperson. However, Adidas signed the Chinese national tennis team as the national team sponsor at the Paris Olympics. In the Olympic Games for the country, individual players usually have to obey the national team. Zheng Qinwen needs to take off the tennis clothes sponsored by Nike and put on the clothes of Adidas.

Originally, Zheng Qinwen should have changed his Nike shoes to Adidas, but after long-term training, the athlete has already worn in his tennis shoes to the most comfortable state. If he changes his shoes temporarily, it will most likely affect his performance in the game. Therefore, Zheng Qinwen can only cover the Nike logo with tape.

From this perspective, Nike seems to be in a very bad situation.

Interestingly, Nike was not convinced and started a "curve to save the country" operation - although Zheng Qinwen could not wear them on the court, they could be worn by the coaching team outside the court. So we can see that when Zheng Qinwen was playing, her entire coaching team all changed into Nike clothes, winning a game against Adidas.

In addition to Nike, Zheng Qinwen also holds endorsements for Ant Group, Gatorade, Yili, Wilson, Swish, Bawang Tea Princess, Lancome, etc. Among them, Bawang Tea Princess only officially announced Zheng Qinwen as its health ambassador in April this year, and was ridiculed by netizens as "foresighted."

In addition to Zheng Qinwen, Pan Zhanle was also the most popular person at this year's Paris Olympics. He won the men's 100m freestyle and men's 4x100m medley championships, becoming the "Chinese Flying Fish" who made history. Looking at Pan Zhanle's business map, he has endorsed six brands, including Yili, Ctrip, Nongfu Spring, Mentholatum, Clear, and Didi.

Although there was no overt or covert fighting between the brands endorsed by Pan Zhanle, netizens started the war on their own.

Because of the public opinion storm between Nongfu Spring and Wahaha a while ago, many netizens who were against Nongfu Spring went to Pan Zhanle’s Weibo to leave messages, and very emotionally called him "self-destructing his future" and "good skills, but made the wrong brand endorsement."

Pan Zhanle himself probably didn't expect that while he received massive applause for winning the championship, he also received some abuse.

In addition to tennis and swimming, the Chinese table tennis team performed normally and won all the gold medals.

Fan Zhendong took the lead in the men's table tennis team and became the 11th "Grand Slam" player in the world table tennis world. In the business world, he also endorsed brands such as Anta and Yili. In June this year, Anta officially announced Fan Zhendong as its brand spokesperson. Judging from the promotional slogan at the time, "Fan is not the one who makes the move, but the one who sets sail in Paris, welcome Fan Zhendong to join the Anta family", Anta signed Fan Zhendong for the Paris Olympics.

Sun Yingsha, a member of the women's team, also attracted a lot of attention during the Olympics. In terms of endorsements, she has cooperated with at least Coca-Cola, Yili, Vanward Electric, PICIO, Procter & Gamble and other brands.

The peak of athletes accepting commercial endorsements began in 2014. In that year, the state issued the "Several Opinions on Accelerating the Development of the Sports Industry and Promoting Sports Consumption", which paved the way for athletes within the system to accept personal commercial endorsements. Since then, more and more brands have appeared behind athletes who won the Olympic Games, and betting on the champion seems to have become a compulsory course for them. In this trend, what exactly is the goal of the brand?

2. The commercial ambition behind betting on the championship

For many brands, the Olympics is a great venue for globalization.

Because almost every Olympic Games will attract the attention of two-thirds of the world's population, thus forming a huge traffic base, helping brands to build their popularity more efficiently.

There is a consensus in the business circle: Spending $100 million on Olympic sponsorship can increase brand awareness by 3%, while the same amount spent on other marketing areas can only increase brand awareness by 1%.

Champions occupy the most eye-catching C position in this high-traffic area. Brands can bring stronger top brand awareness through champion spokespersons, increase the brand's high premium, boost performance growth, and even promote the process of globalization. Anta, the sponsor of the award-winning equipment of the Chinese sports delegation, has a global ambition: "Don't be the Nike of China, but the Anta of the world."

In fact, the strategy of betting on champions to drive performance has been proven by Nike decades ago.

In the 1960s and 1970s, long-distance runners could only choose one type of shoe: Adidas, but Nike broke the deadlock. In the 1972 Olympic trials held in Eugene, Oregon, marathon runners wearing Adidas shoes won the top three places, while runners wearing Nike shoes won the 4th to 7th places. Nike, which was still a small shrimp at the time, began to receive greater attention.

In 1976, Nike, which was only established four years ago, successfully bet on the top three in the 1000-meter trials at the Montreal Olympics, which conveyed a brand perception to many people that only Olympic athletes wearing Nike could win gold medals. Sure enough, Nike's sales doubled to $14 million that year, ushering in overwhelming wealth.

Now, the industry calls the strategy of betting on champions in advance "betting on the development system." This strategy is not based on the traditional practice of waiting for athletes to become famous before signing them, but rather uses forward-looking vision and actions to bet on emerging athletes and increase brand premium by accompanying them in their growth, which is somewhat similar to angel investment in the venture capital circle.

2024 Paris Olympics Men's Horizontal Bar Final Winners' Attire

How do different brands select their target candidates? There are many ways, such as observing good talents through sports school coaches, event sponsorship or third-party organizations. At the same time, they will also refer to the athletes' past performance, personal image and even social influence, etc., to improve the accuracy of betting.

If you successfully bet on the champion, in addition to increasing brand premium and expanding brand voice, it can actually bring many benefits.

The first is that you can accomplish great things with little money.

Once an athlete wins a championship and becomes famous, their value will rise. For example, Gu Ailing, who became famous in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, was signed by Anta for about $1 million in 2019. As Gu Ailing became popular all over the world, her endorsement fee has risen several times. If the brand waited until she became famous before signing, it would inevitably cost more.

Similarly, the commercial value of many athletes has also increased significantly after the Paris Olympics. According to Enstar data, in the past month, Fan Zhendong's commercial value has climbed from more than 600 to 90th, his highest, and Sun Yingsha has also risen from more than 500 to 119. If brands wait until this time to sign endorsements, they will have to spend more money.

In addition, betting on athletes in advance can allow brands and athletes to have a deeper and more comprehensive run-in in the long-term cooperation and accumulate marketing experience. In this way, when facing large-scale events or emergencies, on the one hand, more fully prepared planning can be achieved, and on the other hand, better quality marketing events can be created to achieve better marketing results.

3. The hidden worries and solutions after betting on the championship

Although many brands have made some achievements in betting on champions to promote globalization, there are still some potential problems that need to be solved. There are short-term and long-term perspectives.

1. Short term

When the athletes they bet on achieve a highly acclaimed result, the brands they endorse should react quickly and use various means to attract overwhelming traffic, but some brands are a step behind. At this year's Paris Olympics, Fan Zhendong defeated Japanese player Zhang Benzhihe in the early morning of August 2, staging a "stunning comeback" that was filled with praise on social media platforms.

However, as Fan Zhendong's brand, Anta's response was relatively poor. Its main Weibo account with more than 3 million followers did not repost content related to Fan Zhendong until that evening. On the other hand, as Fan Zhendong's brand, Yili was the first to repost content related to Fan Zhendong and congratulate him on his victory.

Some netizens joked about Anta's performance, saying, "You are given a chance but it is useless." You know, at such an important time point of the competition, taking the lead in increasing exposure can gain more attention. Therefore, for many brands that hope to gain results by betting on the champion, they should monitor the current public opinion in real time and accumulate more voice through a large amount of dynamic marketing. This requires the brand to have a deep insight into the market and efficient execution.

2. Long term

Of course, after betting on the champion, the brand cannot rush to pursue only its own immediate interests. This time, Yili’s early announcement of the athlete’s victory was a typical example of rushing to pursue only its own immediate interests.

There is a saying in the industry that "one cent is spent on sponsorship and three cents is spent on activation". For brands, betting on the champion is just a ticket to sports marketing. The key is how to create longer-term value for users, athletes and even events in the future, continue to explore more marketing space and achieve true long-termism.

For example, by continuously hosting new events, brands can create a better platform for athletes and help athletes achieve better results by investing in sports equipment. In short, after betting on the champion, the brand and the athlete should establish a long-term relationship of mutual support - athletes create more buzz for the brand by winning the championship, and the brand should help the athlete climb up through various means.

This kind of healthy mutual assistance relationship will help brands achieve longer-term and deeper sports marketing, and ultimately bring long-term returns to themselves.