On February 12, after the completion of the steel snowmobile project, the schedule of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games has been more than half. In addition to the same lively stadium, we not only witnessed Gu Ailing’s screen swiping and the public relations competition of nearly 30 brands she spoke for, but also witnessed the launch of station B, a famous Russian figure skating player, Wang Meng’s high-energy interpretation and entering the live broadcasting room.
It can be said that the Beijing Winter Olympic Games not only promoted China to dig out more excellent ice and snow athletes, but also further accelerated the sports industry’s excavation of the commercial value of athletes
Wang Meng came out of the circle because of her interpretation. Her past of going to the variety show many years ago was found by netizens
picture source: screenshot of the web page
brokerage business has sprung up
From Su Bingtian, who constantly appears in the elevator, to Zhang Jike, the new favorite of variety show, to the nearest Gu ailing. Nowadays, for star athletes, endorsement, advertising and variety shows have become important commercial realization channels. And behind this wave after wave of traffic, it is inseparable from the important “promoter” – sports brokerage company.
In the Chinese market, the famous high jumper Zhu Jianhua registered China’s first sports agent company in Shanghai in the 1990s. Nowadays, as Chinese athletes are recognized by the outside world with their good strength, and the market is eager to show their personal charm in a more diversified way, Chinese sports brokerage companies have sprung up. They help these sports stars improve their social attention and influence, enable them to obtain more business opportunities and realize value realization.
Industry insiders believe that China’s sports industry ushered in rapid development in 2014. The release of several opinions of the State Council on accelerating the development of sports industry and promoting sports consumption (GF [2014] No. 46) had a far-reaching impact on China’s sports industry. Sports related industries then entered an outbreak period, attracting the attention of many capital. With the support of relevant policies, the development momentum of venue construction, sports event hosting, marathon and other industries has improved. Just from the perspective of fitness, it is not difficult to find that the proportion of sports in people’s life is gradually increasing.
At present, overseas sports brokerage companies are also entering the Chinese market. Chinese snowboarder Su Yiming, who made a great success in the Beijing Winter Olympics, signed a contract with endeavor Weimei. According to its official account, Endeavor Wei Mei and IMG are all Endeavor groups. During the Winter Olympics, IMG was known by more people because of Gu ailing.
Kulu sports is a mature sports brokerage company. It has signed contracts with Zhang Ning, the Olympic badminton women’s singles champion, and Yu Jie, the “gold medal coach” of men’s weightlifting of the national team. Xu Shaolian, chairman of Kulu sports, has worked in the sports industry for many years and has a deep understanding of sports brokerage business.
Xu Shaolian believes that the sports brokerage company is equivalent to a home company to a certain extent, connecting athletes, sports teams, clubs and the market, and providing professional services for the integration needs of multiple resources. For sports brokerage companies, the operating cost is small.
Through mining and operation, these companies match the appropriate sports resources for the brand side, and create greater value for athletes in the subsequent marketing.
the “Endurance” of athletes’ commercial value should be a long-term flow
For the brokerage company, Xu Shaolian’s view is that the sports brokerage business is not a simple flow marketing, but should be a long-term routine marketing, which should “continue” the attention and commercial value of well-known athletes.
Xu Shaolian believes that first of all, from the perspective of sports brokerage companies, the long-term value of star athletes themselves is more valued by the market. Instead of mass marketing based on Internet thinking.
Taking Chinese women’s football as an example, he said that women’s football championship has become a hot spot and deserves attention and support. From the perspective of sports brokerage, we should pay more attention to its echelon development, relevant leagues and daily performance, so as to find more and sustainable highlights in its regular development.
At the moment when the whole people pay attention to sports, the industry has also put forward some cold thoughts on the business of sports brokers.
According to an industry insider who asked not to be named, at present, some athletes will ask to sign a “minimum guarantee” agreement when signing a contract with a sports brokerage company, that is, the brokerage company guarantees a certain amount of income a year. If the brokerage company cannot reach the agreed amount, it needs compensation.
When the reporter asked about this phenomenon, Xu Shaolian said that this violates the market law. If there is a “minimum guarantee” agreement, the brokerage company may deform its “action” to complete the task, and the resource screening does not meet the standard.
In addition, before each large-scale sports event, many sports brokerage companies will open the “competition for people”, and in this process, there is also an opaque and immature marketing environment.
For the above behaviors, Xu Shaolian believes that the marketing environment of sports brokers is not calm and irrational, which will lead to poor information and may damage the interests of athletes. In his opinion, he hopes that sports brokerage will have a longer-term development and future. Athletes, sports brokerage companies and the market choose from each other. Sports brokerage companies need to have the ability to accurately judge the industry. Only when they really understand sports can they be first-class.
