Winter Olympics can boost Chinese athlete endorsements | WARC | The Feed

Winter Olympics can boost Chinese athlete endorsements

Since last year’s Tokyo Olympics, a growing number of Chinese brands have been recruiting athletes to help sell their products, a trend that will likely be given further impetus in the wake of this month’s Winter Olympics.

What’s happening

• A total of 13 Olympic gold medallists from Tokyo 2020 have made their debut in commercials, representing a total of 32 brands, according to Dao Insights. 
• Winning a medal isn’t everything: at Tokyo 2020, sprinter Su Bingtian finished sixth in the men’s 100 metres final, but he was the first Chinese sprinter to qualify for the final and is now a brand ambassador for nine brands.

Context 

• China’s leaders aim to create a domestic sports industry worth $850bn, using sport to project power and cultural relevance on the global stage. As sport grows in importance domestically, it offers an opportunity for brands aiming to connect with Chinese consumers. (For more, read this WARC article: Kicking goals and the rise of the digital athlete: A new decade in China’s sports marketing.)
• The guochao trend has fed into national pride in sports, especially among younger Chinese, presenting opportunities for brands to connect with this demographic.

Why it matters

Apart from reach, there may be brand safety considerations at work. The government is cracking down on celebrities’ social media output and celebrity fan culture; financial and sexual scandals have also engulfed several celebrities. 

Dao Insights suggests that, as a result, brands are shifting towards the use of virtual influencers and Olympic athletes. Not only are the latter safer, but as part of the national team they are more likely to have a closer relationship with government bodies. 

Sourced from Dao Insights, Jing Daily, WARC [Image: scmp.com]