Pick's sponsorship prospects are still not optimistic

The end of 2017, the 2017-18 season, China Women's Volleyball Super League ended the first phase of the group stage of the game, this row over the first year all eight teams produced. In Group A, defending champion Jiangsu Women's Volleyball Team brought Liaoning, Bayi and Guangdong Hengda four teams to advance. Group B Shanghai's women's volleyball team was the only one to show off, leading Tianjin, Zhejiang and Beijing to qualify.

The new season so far, one of the changes in the league is sponsored by two years, "streaking" situation has finally ended. 2017-18 season, the League upgraded to Volleyball Super League, and Olympic Sports officially became the official sponsor of the Chinese Pax Super League and Pax League equipment exclusive partner, Peak for men and women a total of 28 teams of athletes, staff designed their own Equipped with team characteristics.

As we all know, Pick sports started to make basketball shoes, basketball equipment has been the core category Pick. In this market segment, Pick is a partner of the International Basketball Foundation (IBF). In recent years, it has signed more national basketball teams and reached endorsements with NBA players such as Parker and Howard. Obviously, there is no basketball to support the overall competitiveness of Peak, the first half of 2017 domestic brand transcripts, Peak's record far less than Anta, 361 ° and other brands. As a result, Pick opted to focus on the volleyball market, reaching a sponsorship deal with the PLO, which is clearly part of the transition.

In fact, Pick first contact volleyball in 2015, they sponsored the veteran powerhouse Tianjin women's volleyball sports equipment. That season, Tianjin team returned to the top after a lapse of 3 years and won the 10th league title in team history. But more important than the championship, CCTV live broadcast of the season semi-finals and finals, as well as Tianjin local station live broadcast of the season, let Tianjin team jersey sponsor Pick has been fully exposed.

Subsequently, the sweet-eaten Peak sponsored the Jiangsu women's volleyball team who won the Olympic Games with Hui Ruo Qi, Chang Chang-ning and Gong Xiangyu, and won the National Games championship for the first time in their shirts in their Picket jersey. In the meantime, Pick also sponsors the Serbian Pax ATP as an equipment sponsor for their men's and women's national teams. Among them, the Serbian women's volleyball team is the 2015 World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympic Games runner-up, in October 2017 won the European Championship.

In less than three years, Peak has sponsored three championship teams in succession, not only for Peak in the volleyball equipment has accumulated experience and reputation, but also for them to achieve higher goals in the field of volleyball paving the way - that is From sponsoring a team to sponsor the entire league.

Peak said the sponsorship of the Pax Super League is to support the China Pax League's reform of the league, volleyball window on the league's operations, but also out of their own long-term development considerations.

Among the three major ball projects in China, the Chinese women's volleyball team won three Olympic gold medals in Los Angeles in 1984, Athens in 2004 and Rio 2016. It is a banner. However, compared to Super 8 billion in 5 years astronomical copyright, compared to Li Ning sponsored CBA 5 billion five-year high-price contract, the Chinese volleyball league is far less commercialized than football and basketball, and even can be said that there is no commercialization - - Volleyball League was forced to "streak" for two seasons due to the absence of a title sponsor after the contract with 361 ° expired in 2015.

Fortunately, in the fall of 2015, Lang Ping led the Chinese women's volleyball team to regain the world title every 11 years, and Rio took the heaviest Olympic gold medal one year later. The Chinese volleyball league ended the long-term "cold reception" embarrassment . By the Chinese women's volleyball Olympic championship Dongfeng, volleyball League under the direct direction of the State Sports General Administration began a drastic reform of the league. The most iconic event is that Sportswind won the commercial operating rights of the China Volleyball League at an annual price of over a hundred million yuan, and set up a subsidiary company's volleyball window to handle the relevant issues.

After joining the volleyball team's window, China Pax Tournament increased its prize money in the 2016-17 season, introduced "Hawkeye" equipment, restarted the All-Star Game and other attempts, and achieved remarkable results. League official data show that when the season the total number of live matches of the league reached 596,000, an increase of 16.8%, while the online viewing of the league even exceeded 100 million mark. According to Sportswind's earnings report for the first half of 2017, the Company's operating revenue increased by 6.94% as compared with the same period of last year due to the addition of Pax League.

2017 China Association of Tourists also set up a league leading group to deepen reform and volleyball League "upgrade" into a row, Volleyball's total investment in the new season is closer to 100 million yuan. It is with the concerted efforts of China Pax League and Volleyball, China Volleyball League gradually pick up, including Bright Dairy, Peak Sports, Coca-Cola, including nine companies have gradually joined the new season league sponsorship system.

For Pick, the women's volleyball complex and the potential of Chinese volleyball market is an important reason for the choice of volleyball; Pick's experience and reputation in sponsoring volleyball teams, coupled with the league sponsorship income constraints for many years the status quo, contributed to them Hand in hand with Peak

In addition, the choice of Paekopo has its own long-term development reasons, that is, focus on the domestic market, to return to A shares ready.

In November 2016, Peak was delisted from the HKEx after privatization and announced plans to return to the A-share three months later. This measure stems from the dual drive of the long-term vision and policy. On the one hand, the low price of Hong Kong stock makes it difficult for the Company to generate revenue and thereby affect the development goal of Peak, which creates an international brand and makes it a century-old enterprise. On the other hand, All the way "strategy and the national fitness policy put forward, Pick this sports concept stocks in the A-share market valuation is relatively high, fund-raising channel is relatively smooth. Of course, one of the preparatory work for the return of A shares to Pick is to increase the layout in the domestic market.

As a result, as one of the three big balls, and with a certain mass base and brand value of the Super League, became Pick the best choice in the domestic market. However, objectively, Peak investments Pao volleyball or volleyball, but not in the core of the deep plowing the basketball market, but also helpless move - after all, CBA and WCBA league equipment sponsorship, has been stronger overall Li Ning and Anta hands flow, the competition between domestic basketball brand is too intense.

Since its establishment in 1996, China Volleyball League has hosted 21 sessions. Prior to the Picket entry, the league experienced Jinshikang (1996-1997), Vinda (1998-2000), backgammon (2000-2007), ANTA (2007-2010) and 361 ° (2010) 2015) Five Official Title Sponsors.

During the sponsorship period of Anta and 361 °, the Chinese women's volleyball team fell into a trough. From 2005 to 2015, the best performance of the Chinese team was only the third place for the Beijing Olympic Games and the 2011 World Cup. Affected by this, the volleyball league's attention and media exposure have shrunk so much that they formed a vicious circle of the League "cold," lack of funds, athletes income is not high, the game is not good. Anta and 361 ° sponsors in the same year, more like a "national brand to help volleyball a" helpless, and ultimately, are the expiration of the contract is no longer renewal.

Even before Anta and 361 °, the Chinese volleyball league lacks sufficient attention because the league's own packaging is really poor. In addition to the initial stage of the league, Li Ning, a clothing sponsor, recruited Zhang Xun and Sun Yue, the women's volleyball players at the time, to serve as spokespersons, film stars Lu Yi, Lin Yilun and Mao Ning's main theme song and other promotional activities. The promotion and promotion of the Chinese volleyball league itself almost Zero.

Last season, Sports Window, which won the commercial operation rights, packed the league with a series of measures, such as extending the season, restarting the All-Star Weekend and setting up the awards ceremony, which made the league continue to heat up and look new. However, after Pico came into the league, the new Pao Super League also continued to use the military to extend the competition and fans selected the "Star of the Star" and other new changes to enhance the league's popularity. In contrast, Pick's sponsorship opportunity is considered to see the hope of the rise of the Pax League, but the sale can not avoid the fate of "playing catch-up", still have time to give an answer.

In terms of products, Anta and 361 ° are also providing league equipment at the same time as the title league. However, in fact, there are few specialized volleyball shoes and apparel production lines, whether they are international sporting giants or domestic sports brands. It is because of the lack of volleyball products, Anta and 361 ° can not get direct sales opportunities during the sponsorship. In contrast, starting from the sponsorship of the Tianjin women's volleyball team, Peak began designing volleyball shoes and equipment for the team. This season, Peak is in each team's uniforms into the city's regional cultural characteristics of the elements, though, outside the uniforms of the visual effects mixed.

For the return of Peak sponsorship, interface news learned that the Olympic and Pax sponsorship contract for more than 10 million per year, mainly in the equipment costs, the cycle of three years. Olympic Sports Brand Center, said Lin Xiaoxiong, deputy director, said: "Taking into account this season's League only ended the first phase of the group stage contest, at this time the node to discuss Olympic sponsor returns too early, only from the existing league attention Analyze the impact of Pick's entry. "

In terms of volleyball, the new model of "shared copyright" attracted more than 10 media platforms such as Sina Sports, PP Sports and Ali Sports to "buy" the new season's Super League at relatively cheap prices or by making signals and other modes Exclusive new media copyright, total copyright revenue is expected to more than 30 million yuan. League official data show that: as of the first ten rounds of the women's volleyball league this season, the first eight rounds of the men's volleyball league, a total of 37 million independent IP online click to watch live, the relevant playback volume of 256.3 million passengers. Among them, the Shanghai women's volleyball team and the opening of the Beijing women's volleyball team is attracting more than 6 million fans network tournament, attention for the most previous opener.

Even so, Pick's sponsorship prospects are not optimistic. First of all in the live broadcast, PP Sports and Ali Sports are using free copyright live, and CCTV broadcast live also shrunk. The first phase of this season's league, CCTV5 only 4 womens volleyball matches live (the first round of Shanghai VS Beijing, the first eight Liaoning VS Bayi, the first nine Beijing VS Tianjin, the first 13 Zhejiang VS Tianjin), which Beijing Shanghai women's volleyball team's opening game is the CCTV in the first half of the first live broadcast only game.

In addition, the league's professionalism is far from "the best in the world". This season, some teams under the title sponsorship, youth training, athlete transfers, the introduction of foreign aid and other aspects of the poor progress is still. Take the number of foreign aid as an example, although the new season's Pax League relaxation of the foreign aid playing and transfer requirements, but the total number of foreign aid team expansion in the case without increasing anti-drop. As for Neiyuan, due to the fact that each club has not yet got rid of the professional team mode under the jurisdiction of the provincial sports bureaus of various provinces and cities, the flow of talents among the teams is also very limited.

Turning to the vision of the future, Peak said it hopes to consolidate its volleyball market in terms of products and services. Specific measures include the development of equipment-based derivatives such as volleyball and fashion apparel, fan exchange events or organizing players into shops and other fan events and holding official And folk events and so on.

It is not hard to see that all three plans have a common orientation, that is, to enhance Peak's brand benefits, thereby expanding their territory in the field of volleyball. As for the direction of expansion, sponsored by the Chinese women's volleyball team in the already-held Chinese Premier League volleyball team or will be the ultimate goal of Peak in the field of volleyball.

After all, prior to sponsoring the Pax Super League, Pick managed to accumulate his experience and reputation in the volleyball world through sponsoring top tier teams such as the Tianjin Women's Volleyball Team and the Jiangsu Provincial Women's Volleyball Team. Today, Pick or will adopt a similar strategy, the first European team Serbian volleyball signed, and then lay the foundation for their further.

However, you want to win the Chinese women's volleyball this golden sign is no easy task. On the one hand, the Pax League and the national team belong to different dimensions. The Chinese women's volleyball team won the World Championship runner-up, the World Cup and the Olympic champion in the Olympic Games in Rio. But the professionalism of the volleyball league is far from the best in the world. On the one hand, Adidas has been the Chinese women's volleyball equipment sponsor since the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, which has been 13 years. Taking into account the old rival Nike has been holding football, basketball, track and field, tennis and other influential Guo Zihao team, Adidas will not easily let go.