NBA Inks Marketing Deal With Chinese Sportswear Company

The NBA has inked a multiyear marketing partnership with Chinese sportswear brand Li Ning, under which Li Ning will feature NBA players in advertising and utilize the league’s marketing and media assets in the Chinese market to promote its brand. Li Ning will also work with the league on community programs (NBA). NBA China Managing Dir Mark Fischer said that the three-year deal will “cost Li Ning in the ‘millions’ of dollars.” The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Geoffrey Fowler writes the NBA offers Li Ning “street-level credibility at a time when brands like Nike and Reebok are making big pushes in China.” Li Ning Chair Li Ning: “We will benefit from the NBA’s popularity and world-class brand image in China.” But Fowler notes the company “must still find and pay for endorsements with individual NBA players. One natural fit,” Rockets C Yao Ming, has a deal with Reebok. Fischer: “The way Li Ning uses the rights will be more active than the way Adidas and Nike use them (in China) — although that remains to be seen.” Fowler notes Li Ning offers the NBA “access to smaller Chinese cities that are more difficult to reach through traditional media or international sportswear brands.” Fischer: “Li Ning has maintained a leading share in second-tier and third-tier cities in China. Bringing NBA branding and programs to those cities will increase our reach” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/19).