Sitting On Go: Nike Holding Back Promos Around Yao Ming
With Nike's endorsement deal with Rockets C Yao Ming expiring this May, Nike "has so far held back on capitalizing" on Yao, and "some wonder whether the company ... hasn't blown an easy promotional layup," according to Ralph Frammolino of the L.A. TIMES. S.F.-based Pickett Advertising Creative Dir Robert Dorfman said, "It's weird. If you've got him in your pocket, why are you keeping him in your pocket?" While Nike execs have said that they "hope to unveil a Yao promotional campaign this year if he continues to endorse their shoes," company sources said that Nike is "sitting on [Yao] for practical reasons: They fear that boosting Yao's profile would only drive up his fee during contract renegotiations or make him more attractive to a competitor." One company insider: "We don't want to hype the hell out of the guy and have him jump ship." One source said that Nike "tried last year to lock up Yao as he prepared" to enter the NBA Draft with an offer "to 'tear up' Yao's original contract and give him a new $1.6[M] deal through 2006." But Nike "withdrew the offer when Yao's financial advisors, anticipating his potential marketing punch, insisted on raising his annual endorsement fee to 'a couple of million dollars.'"
NO PUSH IN CHINA: Univ. of OR Warsaw Sports Marketing Center Exec Dir Rick Burton is "perplexed that Nike didn't make better use of Yao in China." But Shanghai-based Zou Marketing GM Terry Rhoads, formerly Nike's China sports marketing dir, said, "There's always been, on the other side of the Earth, skepticism about Yao Ming. The question was 'OK, he's now No. 1. But does he have game?'" Frammolino added that last January, Reebok introduced in China a line of NBA basketball shoes "that competes against Nike's offerings, [and] many fast-selling NBA products are made by" Reebok. But Nike has "made a couple of efforts to claim its affiliation" with Yao. The company "ran a limited print campaign in portions of China" featuring Yao last December, and also featured Yao's All-Star Game-worn sneakers in an Internet ad. Otherwise, Nike "has relied merely on the exposure it gets when Yao wears his Shox on the court." Nike China Marketing Dir Frank Pan: "There is no so-called real advertising for Yao Ming so far (L.A. TIMES, 4/21).
WHAT ABOUT KOBE? Lakers G Kobe Bryant, who is expected to sign with Nike, said last Friday of the status of his pending shoe contract: "I'm just taking my time with it. Obviously, we're in a crucial time during the season, so I want to be patient and focus on the season right now. With that, I'll probably make a decision within the next two-and-a-half, three months or so" ("The Paperboys," FSN, 4/18).
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