Professional Sports Marketing Lining BA

The Li Ning Co Ltd and the American Professional Basketball Association (NBA) have recently signed a marketing cooperation agreement, stepping into the vast market of professional sports marketing.

As a result, Li Ning Co will have the right to borrow NBA players and competitions to promote its brand in mainland China's marketing activities.

In the face of the generous market of Chinese urban youth, the two heavyweight players, who need each other more and more, have come together through this agreement.

For Li Ning Co, NBA and Nike have brought the internationalization and the most appealing brand effect when the brands such as Nike and Reebok are playing a heavy role in the Chinese market.

Lining, chairman and founder of the company, said that in China, NBA's image of the world's top competitions and its popularity have greatly benefited the Li Ning Co.

For NBA, Li Ning Co will provide them with opportunities to enter small and medium-sized cities in China. The influence of traditional media or international sportswear brands in these areas is often difficult to reach.

NBA's popularity in China's big cities has soared since the Houston rockets signed a contract with Chinese star Yao Ming in 2002.

Ma Fusheng, general manager of NBA China, said Lining has a leading position in the market share of small and medium-sized cities in China. Bringing NBA's brand and activities to these cities will expand the influence of NBA.

Ma Fusheng said the Li Ning Co paid millions of dollars for the three season's contracts, but declined to give details.

This paction has enabled Li Ning Co to compete with Nike, Adidas and Reebok, which already won the NBA global sponsorship company, in sports sponsorship. Among them, Reebok only enjoys the right to use NBA and team logo in sports shoes and apparel.

Li Ning Co can now use NBA logo and NBA player image in brand advertising and promotion, and can participate in NBA activities.

But Li Ning Co still needs to find specific NBA players to sign and pay.

Yao Ming, the most suitable candidate, is currently a spokesman for the Reebok Co. In October 2004, he even launched a signature shoe in an exhibition match in Shanghai.

Ma Fusheng said that Li Ning Co's use of these rights in China will be more proactive than Adidas and Nike, and of course, this needs to be observed.

Zheng Jiaqiang, managing director of Li Ning Co advertising agency Leo Bernar advertising, said Li Ning Co advertising for NBA partners will soon be broadcast on China national television.

Nike company has not yet made a formal response to this.

Nike claims to have replaced Lining as China's best-selling sportswear brand, but declined to disclose its actual sales in China.

Despite competition from Nike, Li Ning Co has increased its sales volume with the popularity of basketball in China.

In the first 6 months of 2004, its sales exceeded RMB 789 million yuan ($95 million 300 thousand), an increase of about 52% over the same period in 2003.

Li Ning Co was successfully listed on the Hongkong Stock Exchange last year.

Alliance with NBA is not the first time Li Ning Co has used international basketball as a medium to improve its influence in China.

When the Chinese men's basketball team met the Spanish team in the Olympic Games last summer, there was an unbelievable picture on the television: the Chinese team wore Nike sportswear while the Spanish players wore the clothes produced by Li Ning Co.

Many Chinese watched the competition, and they suddenly realized that Lining was also an international brand.

In the past, Nike and Adidas were too strong in China's basketball and football market, and Li Ning Co could not replace them.

Now, with these sponsorship activities, the network of Lining's brand is growing vigorously.