Reverie: Lining: All For Love

A few days ago, I saw an article in Sina: "Liu Xiang can be the second Lining" in the Sina management. Part of this article is to describe the weakness of Lining sporting goods company under the attack of many brands at home and abroad. I agree with the viewpoint in this article. At the same time, I think the internationalization strategy of the Li Ning Co should be more atmosphere, connotation and culture, so as to jump out of the competition mode with several main international rivals. The following is my analysis: at present, the current situation of the sporting goods market in China is "the brand is diverse and the competition is very intense". In the high-end market, the two international brand giants Nike and Adidas are clearly positioned, the technology content is higher than Lining, the market operation means are more mature, and the international brands such as MIZUNO and Puma also have a part of the consumption crowd. The middle and low market are more state-owned brands, such as Anta, Conway, XTEP, CBA, Hongxing Erke and so on. The brands are numerous and miscellaneous, only from the CCTV-5 one channel two years of advertising, there are more than 20 domestic brands. At the same time, the casual wear market is large and the consumption is large. Although this is not the main market of Lining, some of Lining's products are located in the leisure area. In addition, leisure and sportswear have a certain competitive relationship. The purchase of consumers is sometimes not as good as the professional requirements of sports practitioners, but between sports and leisure. It is true that the German World Cup will open in 06 years and the 08 year Olympic Games will be held in Beijing. China's sporting goods market will usher in a peak. As Mr. Mizuno Masahito, President of Mizuno Corporation, said, "2008 is just the beginning, and China's sports market will be better in the future. Despite the serious problem of counterfeiting, the global and China sporting goods market is still growing, but growth is limited and needs to be considered for sustainable development. The domestic market is huge and continues to grow. All the brands are struggling to win the Olympic Games. But at the same time, the degree of competition will reach unprecedented heights. Of course, Li Ning Co has the strength to gain considerable profits in the competition, and the domestic market can not be let off. But in addition to the 2008 Olympic Games, I think any company, especially a leading company in China, such as Li Ning Co, needs more attention to "sustainable development", as Mr. Mizuno Masahito said. Li Ning Co has become the first local brand in China's sports market. As a leader, facing the domestic sporting goods market, the choice of internationalization strategy is the inevitable choice for developing larger markets, reducing competition, gaining greater profits, sustained development and continuous innovation. Of course, the internationalization of Li Ning Co has already started and insisted on going. Now let's turn around and summarize the contents of the excerpts from the management of Liu Xiang, the second Lining, and my usual collection of information about Li Ning Co. The domestic market: 1, blurred brand image: my earliest contact with Lining's advertisement has been several years ago. At that time, Lining's "everything is possible" series of promotional activities began not long ago, and at the same time, I was interested in brand. It is clearly remembered that it is a magazine advertisement. The scene depicted in the picture is "no match for champion", "hurt", "bench", "goodbye, coward". The slogan "anything is possible" seems to be a consolation for temporarily frustrated athletes and a bold declaration of youth's failure to concede defeat. I moved a child at once. The feeling is "fresh", "Lining's brand is the pronoun of youth". In the next few years, Li Ning Co's marketing is tightly focused on this theme. Brand image is very clear. In recent years, some of Lining's advertisements have made me feel a little confused. "Gao Gao", "frog" and "African basketball" are a few advertisements that I think can hold tightly the essence of "everything is possible". "Li Ningtie series", "Orient" and "ultra light running shoes" seem to be a bit off the point. (several advertisements are emphasizing "hi tech and specialization", but at present, Nike and Adidas have successfully established a foothold in China, specializing in downwind and price advantages are not obvious). Lining's core products are becoming more and more unclear. Are professional basketball shoes, soccer shoes, running shoes or leisure? Is it tightly targeted at "heavy consumers of sporting goods", catching the high-end market, being in the same line with Nike, Adidas, or continuing the current middle price, and mixing with many domestic brands? At the same time, the homogeneity of the domestic market and the form of advertising and promotion are also very similar. It seems that a few brands close to Lining, such as Anta and Conway, have the same feeling to consumers as Lining. Looking ahead, Lining has changed 8 slogans in 10 years, which has brought Lining's old customers an increasingly blurred brand image. Take Nike as an example, since the launching of "Just do it" in 88 years, it has persisted in this theme (in the middle of 90s, it was changed to "I can", but it proved to be a failure and quickly changed), and at the same time, it innovates in advertising theme. Although Lining has been insisting on "everything is possible" in the past few years, professionalism and "everything is possible" is not in conflict. Lining's brand sports connotation shows the concept of life which is full of sportsmanship and enterprising spirit. Pass a professional high quality product, transmit positive, healthy life concept. "Everything is possible" represents a spirit of continuous innovation and constant challenge. This is not contradictory. Under the attack of Lining, the brand market operation has not brought fresh contents to consumers under the guidance of the original theme "everything is possible". Nike has given consumers a lot of surprises and deepened the consumers' understanding and loyalty to the Nike brand. The consumers' time and attention are becoming more and more scarce. Lining's brand image is diluted and blurred. 2, the target consumers are blurred: I think we can compare Nike and Adidas. From the perspective of price, specialization and endorsement stars, these two brands are obviously located in the high-end market, and their customers wear these two brands of clothing and shoes, which is very "face", especially in China such a face saving country. But in the competitive brand And Lining seems to be at a low, low level. It's a bit awkward. Lining is everywhere in the street. Although sales are good, Lining will probably become a mass consumer brand in the long run. In the global market, Lining seems to be more embarrassed. I think there are two serious cases: 1, brand positioning and personality. I think "first served" should be the universal law of psychology. Nike and Adidas are the oldest and the second in the world sporting goods market. Compared with Lining, they have two advantages of being "preconceived". A, earlier than Lining, has developed and entered the global market earlier. It already has many stable customers, emotional bases, B, Nike's "Just do it" and Adidas's "Impossible is nothing", and their product positioning is: from the initial production of high-tech sports equipment for athletes to improve athletic performance to all groups. Its brand connotation can be summed up as follows: do not think too much, let go, everything is possible. The advertisements of the two companies have fully interpreted this connotation to consumers in terms of creativity and spokesperson, and are deeply embedded in the minds of consumers. Countless young people are proud of having a pair of Nike or Adidas. And Lining's "Anything is possible" can be used to kill the global market. It's easy for people to become "imitated followers". Lining won't cause them too much attention. Because they already have "Just do it" and "Impossible is nothing"; 2, as quoted in the article, as a world champion, Lining carries too many national colors and patriotic complex. It is no problem for Chinese people to be patriotic. Lining also embodies the Chinese national spirit. But aren't Americans and Europeans patriotic? Assuming that when Lining enters the European and American markets, the Chinese national complex devoted to Lining's brand is still hard to solve. So how much Lining can win in the US and Europe is not optimistic. So, I think Lining's international strategy should be changed. There are two opinions. 1, reinterpret brand connotation: I personally think this is also the most important. As mentioned above, "everything is possible" is easily ignored by Nike and Adidas followers. Now I put forward my idea. Naganomiya Chihirota, Secretary of the Federation of sporting goods, said: "the sporting goods industry is not only a high-tech project, it can not only meet competitive sports, but also meet the needs of children, women and others. The most important thing of sports products is to reflect the relationship between people, and it is a way of life. I am very interested in the "reflection of the relationship between people" in this passage. Therefore, I dare to assume that Lining's brand connotation should be defined as a "human culture" in sports, reflecting the friendship, friendship and kindness between people and different countries, national flags, colors, competitions and competitors. Catch the deepest love of human heart. For example, during the 2003 Iraq war, the "more lubrication and less friction" of the unified lubricant that was successfully achieved in China was the aspiration of China's hundreds of millions of spectators to look forward to peace. In addition, repositioning can also well jump out of the convergence of positioning with Nike and Adidas, and the concept of "big love" is more consistent with Lining's leading position in the domestic brand, more atmosphere, and can be better domestically assimilated in the propaganda mode. Specific measures: in this strategy, I emphasize the role of advertising, seize the international competitions, such as the upcoming World Cup of 06 years and the 08 Olympic Games in Beijing, and launch advertisements from the beginning to the end of the opening period. The terminal's distribution and promotion will play the biggest role in the warm-up stage and later stage of the pre competition period. Advertising creativity: TV advertisement, photo exhibition form, by collecting some photos, the contents are: the past major sports events (such as Olympic Games and World Cup) show the friendship between athletes (athletes from different countries and different skin colors), such as the embrace of winners and losers, the hugs of athletes with different skin colors on the podium, and the concern of other athletes when an athlete is injured. There is a friendly relationship between spectators and spectators. In television advertisements, "one by one" tour. Laughter and tears, but laughter and tears are built in the arena of love and humanity. In conjunction with sensational soundtracks, such as Brian Adams and Pavarotti's chorus version of All for love, the song title can also become the theme of Lining's internationalization strategy. At the end of the ad, the images are subtitled with lining and logo. The theme of the subtitle is "love" as the theme. For example, the international version of the advertisement can be in the two rows of the center of the entire TV picture, the line is "All for love", the next line is Lining's logo, and the next line is the font "Lining". In addition, I believe that based on the great power of the two giants in Europe and the United States, Lining's "All for love" should first be implemented from developing countries and backward countries, or through the form of sponsorship and other forms of contact with the secondary market of some developed countries. Start with a market vacant person, then slowly expand the field. At that time, when the machine was mature, it formally attacked the leader Nike and Adidas as a challenger. Product positioning (selling point) can be focused on specialization, such as the "professional basketball shoes market" recently focused on by Lining. 2, balance everything in the domestic market is possible and the "All for love" facing the global market. In the eyes of domestic consumers, Lining and "everything is possible" has been integrated into one. No matter in terms of economy or image, "everything is possible" is irreplaceable. But I think the two themes are not contradictory. "All for love" has promoted Lining's height of thinking and human culture from a higher level, representing the true connotation of sports. So I dare to assume that Lining is in the country.