Rebirth of the Industrial Tycoon - Vol 2 Chapter 624
Chapter 624 Sponsoring CBA
At that time, the CBA had not yet started a complete commercial operation. Many teams adopted the system of the provincial sports team in the past. Players were trained in their own youth training system, and they entered the team to play with a formal career establishment. Local sports governing bodies will also allocate funds to fund team operations.
Since there is a lack of commercialization factors, it cannot bring enough commercial profits. The entire league system, from the sponsor’s basketball association to the local teams, can get very limited sponsorships.
In 1995, when CBA was first established, the title sponsor was a certain cigarette brand, followed by Hilton China in the following years, followed by Motorola and Unicom New World.
It was not until after it was changed to the secondary professional basketball team that Anta began to sponsor the CBA as a title sponsor. After that, Li Ning invested heavily and became the title sponsor of the CBA, and also came up with a sneaker ban. Players can only wear Li Ning’s sneakers to participate in the competition. .
From the perspective of marketing promotion, sports brands sponsor sports events, which are highly matched with customer groups. The precise delivery of this kind of advertising is very cost-effective.
However, in the early CBA league, there was no title sponsorship of sports brands.
This pot still has to be counted on Li Ning’s head.
At that time, Li Ning was the only domestic sports brand that had the strength to sponsor the CBA league. The four major local sports brands other than Li Ning have not yet grown up. Even if they want to sponsor CBA, they are powerless.
So as long as Li Ning does not sponsor, there is no other sports brand to sponsor CBA.
It was not until the rise of Anta and the money in its hands that it began to sponsor the CBA.
From the perspective of results, Anta’s move to sponsor the CBA league is very successful. .
China’s basketball population is already quite large, especially after Chairman Yao entered the NBA, basketball has developed rapidly in China, and the national football team is becoming more and more unsatisfactory, making the public turn their attention to basketball.
Therefore, according to Zhuge Liang’s analysis after the fact, Li Ning did not sponsor the CBA as soon as possible, which was a strategic mistake.
is also aware that sponsoring CBA can bring great benefits to the brand. In the future, Li Ning won the title sponsorship of the CBA league at a high price.
In 2001, the degree of commercialization of domestic sports leagues was not high, and sports brands did not realize the benefits of sponsoring sports leagues.
Coupled with the successful entry of the men’s football team into the World Cup this year, the attention of the people of the whole country is all on football. The fake A-League is not only full of seats, but even a ticket is hard to come by. Large herd of cattle. The attention to CBA has naturally decreased a lot.
It was also because the CBA was not having a good time this year that Chen Maikang tentatively talked about sponsorship.
For sponsoring the CBA league, Li Weidong does not reject it. If the price is right, Li Weidong is also happy to sponsor.
Basketball shoes are the main business of Feiyue Sports. Sponsoring the CBA League is definitely the most accurate advertisement for Feiyue Sports.
So the key is to get the price right.
I saw Li Weidong pondering for a moment, and then said: “Director Chen, the naming rights of the A-League next season should not be sold, right?”
“naming rights?” Chen Maikang was taken aback. He was just randomly developing a sponsor, and it would be nice to be able to sell a few advertising spaces. Unexpectedly, Li Weidong directly talked about the naming rights!
This is probably like, the salesman is promoting a suite, but the client pointed to the sand table and said, “How to pack and sell this building?”
If someone else dared to ask the price like this, he would definitely be mad at the beginning, and the bad-tempered person would directly give him two feet.
However, if a rich man like Li Weidong makes an inquiry, there is a high probability that he really has the intention to buy!
“Chairman Li is interested in the naming rights of the A-League next season? Well, we are also looking for a title sponsor for the next season.” Chen Maikang replied immediately.
In 2001, Hilton China ended the title sponsorship of CBA, and the CBA league at this time was in the vacancy of title sponsorship.
And the company that was originally responsible for attracting investment to CBA has also quit, which makes the original CBA sponsors face the risk of direct withdrawal.
In order to deal with this problem, the Basketball Association specially established a wholly-owned subsidiary, namely China Blue Company, which is responsible for the investment promotion and promotion of CBA.
Then until mid-November, the game had already started, and the CBA did not find a title sponsor.
In order to develop business in China, Motorola is willing to spend 15 million yuan to buy the naming rights of the CBA league for one year.
In this year’s CBA league, a total of more than 20 million sponsorships have been drawn, which is barely enough for a season’s basic operating funds. It is the most difficult year since the establishment of CBA.
Thinking about the CBA of later generations, with more than 20 sponsors, which can provide more than 700 million sponsorship fees a year, the commercial development of the CBA league is still very successful.
Because the CBA was in a difficult period at the time, when Li Weidong showed his intention to sponsor the title, Chen Maikang immediately stared at Li Weidong with a look of anticipation.
Li Weidong said: “I am not only interested in the naming rights of the A-League this year, but also the naming rights in the next few years.”
“In the next few years?” Chen Maikang was surprised again, this is not to buy a building, but to wrap up the whole project!
Chen Maikang thought for a moment, and then said, “Chairman Li, I have never seen anything in the world, so don’t make fun of me. The naming rights of our League One and A Leagues will cost 20 million yuan for one year, and the naming rights for several years. , that’s an astronomical figure!”
The naming rights of the CBA league at that time were of course less than 20 million yuan a year. In 2001, Motorola’s naming rights were only 15 million yuan. Chen Maikang opened his mouth to say 20 million, and he also deliberately gave a high price first, so as to facilitate the price reduction later.
Li Weidong stretched out a finger and said, “For six years of naming rights, I will pay 100 million!”
Hearing the number “one hundred million”, Chen Maikang shook his hand, and his chopsticks almost fell to the ground.
He quickly calculated in his mind that the title sponsorship fee of 100 million in six years was rounded up to an average of 16.67 million, which has exceeded the psychological expectations of the Basketball Association.
And directly sign a six-year long contract, the title sponsorship fee in the next few years will not be worrying about.
At that time, the annual operating expenses of the CBA league required more than 20 million RMB. With the 16.67 million title sponsorship fee, we could just find some other sponsors. Guaranteed.
Thinking of this, Chen Maikang’s tone was full of surprises. He asked, “Chairman Li, are you really willing to sponsor for six consecutive years?”
“How can I lie to you about this kind of thing!” Li Weidong said with a smile.
“That’s great. After I go back, I will report to the leader immediately.” Chen Maikang paused, and then said: “If Chairman Li is really willing to sponsor for six consecutive years, we should also give a preferential price, a The billion-dollar sponsorship fee is not a problem.”
“Director Chen, don’t worry, I haven’t finished speaking yet!” Li Weidong sat up straight and said, “I am willing to come out with 100 million yuan, and there are other conditions.”
“Chairman Li, please tell me, I will report to the leaders. As long as it is not too much, I don’t think our basketball association will refuse. In short, everything is negotiable!” Chen Maikang said quickly.
“The first point, I hope that all players participating in the A-League will wear our Feiyue brand basketball shoes.” Li Weidong paused, then said: “The quality of our Feiyue basketball shoes is still very good, many NBA players All in our sneakers.”
“The quality of Feiyue basketball shoes is naturally very good to be sold in the United States, but I am worried that there will be conflict between players and teams. After all, each team and some players are sponsored by sneakers. The sneakers you wear don’t cost money.” Chen Maikang said.
Li Weidong went on to say: “Director Chen, don’t worry, I will pay for the sneakers, and the players and teams don’t have to pay a penny. Each player will sponsor six pairs of sneakers each season, and the styles can also be chosen. .I think six pairs of sneakers should be enough for a player to wear for a season, right?”
“Enough. Six pairs of sneakers are enough for one season.” Chen Maikang nodded.
Since there is no need to spend money, there should be no great resistance between teams and players.
And the quality of Feiyue sneakers is really good. Brands that can survive in the United States have a lot of American sneaker technology in them, which are definitely much better than domestic sneakers.
To put it another way, Kobe, Carter, Tracy McGrady and other NBA superstars can wear them. As a CBA player, what qualifications do you have to dislike?
Forcing to wear sponsor sneakers is what the title sponsor of later generations came up with.
Originally, foreign players could wear sneakers from other brands, but Chinese players can only wear sneakers from CBA sponsors.
The opposition to this player is relatively loud, and a big-name star even threw his shoes in protest. So this is a rather controversial policy.
The final rule has been reformed, allowing players to wear other brands of sneakers, but an additional part of the fee must be paid as a buyout fee for the sneakers, which is regarded as compensation for the title sponsor, and the logo of the sneakers must also be covered up.
In this way, players can wear the shoes of their own sponsors, and CBA also has an extra income.
As far as this rule of mandatory wearing of sneakers is concerned, it is indeed a bit overbearing, but the sponsors of the CBA still welcome this kind of rule. Therefore, the CBA of later generations can receive more than 700 million sponsorship fees a year.
The word “interest” is the most important thing in business operations. Just like the NBA, it was originally a business. As long as the interests of sponsors can be protected, there is no need to worry that sponsors will not invest money, and with sufficient funds, the league will have the confidence to develop.
Sports can talk about ideals, youth, will, and spirit, but as long as it enters the category of professional sports, there is nothing in the world that does not talk about money!
Sports training is inherently expensive. Behind every successful athlete, there is a huge economic investment. It is impossible to cultivate high-level athletes and high-level professional leagues by just using love to generate electricity.
Now Li Weidong directly copied this rule, of course, the purpose is to ensure the maximization of sponsorship income.
If you are in the NBA, if you want players to wear your sneakers, you have to spend a lot of money. A Sean Battier has to pay more than one million dollars, and the endorsement of those star players is hundreds of millions. The sum of all NBA players is absolutely astronomical.
And even if you spend money, other stars don’t like it, you don’t have to wear them. For example, Carter, it’s uncomfortable to wear Puma shoes, so he just changed to another brand.
But in the CBA, you only need to spend 16.67 million yuan to get all the players to wear your sneakers, and give away the naming rights for free, which is simply too valuable!
Looking at professional leagues all over the world, where can you find such good things?
What’s more, Feiyue Sports is not that kind of unknown sports brand. After all, it is the top five brand in the United States in terms of sales of sneakers. It is considered a high-end product in the CBA league. Players and teams should not have too much resistance. would even be very welcome.
The CBA league in that era was just commercialized after all, and the salaries of the players were not very large. Many players themselves had the establishment of the provincial team. On weekdays, they had to get paid as if they were going to work, and the sneakers were also distributed by the team. If there is a big brand willing to sponsor sneakers, it is naturally impossible.
A CBA player will give you the same basketball shoes as Kobe, Carter, or Tracy McGrady. Even if you don’t like it, at least I’m embarrassed to say that the shoes are bad.
And many players, who are also fans of these stars, give them a pair of star autographed boots, maybe they will happily wear them on their feet, and they will play more vigorously.
Seeing that Chen Maikang agreed to this request, Li Weidong went on to talk about the second condition: “Director Chen, the second requirement is that I hope that the Basketball Association can draw a line and let Dayao of the Oriental Team become our Feiyue Sports team. representative.”
Chen Maikang was stunned for a moment, and then he said, “You can go directly to the Dongfang team or Dayao himself to talk about advertising endorsements. Why do you need our basketball association to help you? Our basketball association never cares about this kind of thing. things.”
“Dayao’s situation is rather special. He will enter the NBA in the future, and then it will be related to the Basketball Association.” Li Weidong replied with a smile.
Chen Maikang rolled his eyes and immediately understood what Li Weidong meant.
The distribution of bonuses and advertising endorsements for Chinese athletes is clearly stipulated. The state has long specified the “Administrative Measures for the Bonuses of Athletes in Prize-winning Competitions”.
The first is personal income tax, which has certain deductions and exemptions. Prize money for some major competitions, such as the Olympics, is exempt from personal income tax.
10% of the competition bonus for individual projects will be donated to the National Sports Fund, which is handed over to the General Administration of Sports. 30% of the reward fund is used to train athletes, and the remaining 60% is the team of the athletes themselves, including the athletes themselves, relevant coaches and relevant personnel.
The competition bonus of the collective project will remain unchanged at 10% to the National Sports Fund, 20% to the unit that trains and transports athletes, and 70% to the athlete team.
The money earned by athletes going abroad to play in professional leagues is also equivalent to game bonuses, and some of them will be turned over to the country.
So when Dayao went to play in the United States, part of his income was handed over to the Basketball Association, and another part was given to the Dongfang team that cultivated Dayao.
As for the advertising endorsement fee, there are also express regulations. For example, the athletes of the national team will take 50% of the endorsement fee themselves, and the rest will be allocated by the national team and the athlete delivery unit.
China sports a nationwide system after all. From grassroots sports schools, to provincial sports teams, to national teams, every level of unit has to spend money. So when athletes can bring economic benefits, every level also has a share of the pie.
Chairman Yao went to play in the NBA. Although he played in a commercial league, he was always inseparable from the domestic basketball association. There are various interests involved, including the athletes themselves, the Basketball Association, the Eastern Team, and local governments.
Therefore, it would be better to seek the endorsement of Chairman Yao and coordinate through the Basketball Association.
Feiyue Sports only pays the money and distributes the specific benefits. Li Weidong does not want to participate. Let the relevant stakeholders discuss it on their own!
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