The Campaign

What better way to reinvigorate an ailing Chinese sports apparel brand in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics than to remind China of the company founder’s legendary athletic achievements? The man behind the LI-NING brand, former gymnast Li Ning, won six medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics and became the first Chinese athlete to enter the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2000. Two years after being dubbed the “Prince of Gymnastics” by China in 1982, he became a triple gold medalist, while also picking up one bronze and two silver gongs, in the first Olympics to include athletes from the PRC. He launched the LI-NING Company in 1990, but the brand started flagging in 2008 because of fierce competition and market uncertainty. China’s gymnastic hero was then invited to be a torchbearer at the Athens Olympic Flame Handover ceremony for the 2012 London Games, providing a golden opportunity to reignite interest in the LI-NING brand. A variety of media told the story of LI-NING’s Olympic pedigree in their coverage of the Athens event in May, generating a level of renewed interest that left competitor brands standing.

The Brief

The campaign sought to return the LI-NING brand to its leadership position by reawakening the legendary story of the company’s founder and chairman as an Olympic hero and role model for up and coming Chinese athletes. Objectives were to: • Remind the market how the LI-NING brand sprang from the founder’s Olympic legacy. • Highlight Mr. Li’s 2008 Olympic flame role to underscore LI-NING’s pedigree as a leading Chinese sports goods brand. • Associate the Olympic passion felt by consumers with the LI-NING brand. • Build on Mr. Li’s participation in the 2012 Olympic Flame Handover ceremony in Athens to create a China-centric news focus.

Results

According to the Baidu Internet giant, overall user interest in LI-NING rocketed by 242 percent between May 17, when the Athens event was staged, and May 19. This performance tracked significantly higher than user interest in Nike and Adidas. Extensive Chinese media coverage was generated across TV, newspapers and web portals, as well as via microblogs and other social networking sites. CCTV-5’s live broadcast of the flame handover lasted 84 minutes, with other media covering the event including BBC News, CCTV News, Beijing TV and Shanghai Oriental TV, as well as 200 print titles and news websites across China. The Shenzhen Jing News carried a three-page report, and coverage by major web portals – including sina.com.cn and sohu.com – generated a total of 90 million page views. Sina and Tencent microblog activity meant news of the event effectively reached more than 21 million microbloggers, while the total number of stories carried by print media titles and news websites was 483.

Execution

Phase 1 took place before the Athens Olympic Flame Handover ceremony in May 2012 and comprised an extensive media pitch operation involving provision of comprehensive press kits designed to highlight the LI-NING legacy. Phase 2 centered on Mr. Li’s stay in Athens, where he was interviewed by CCTV and the Xinhua News Agency and photographed with international celebrities such as Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, LOCOG President Lord Sebastian Coe and London Mayor Boris Johnson. Phase 3 of the execution followed up on the Athens event by providing the media with in-depth stories and responding to additional requests. Photos, video clips and stories were quickly posted on LI-NING’s Sina Weibo and Tencent microblog sites, as well as on the Renren social networking homepage.

The Situation

Li Ning Company Limited provides professional and leisure sporting goods, primarily under the LI-NING brand. Success followed hard on the heels of launch in 1990, but market uncertainty and strong competition saw LI-NING start to lose its brand leadership in 2008. The brand was refreshed in 2010 under the new “Make the Change” slogan, but the slide into decline continued. An opportunity to turn the situation round loomed as excitement mounted in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics – and Mr. Li was invited to be one of the last torchbearers at the Olympic Flame Handover ceremony in Athens.

The Strategy

Generating coverage across a wide range of media platforms including TV, newspapers, magazines, web portals, microblogs and SNS, was the ideal way to reinvigorate and differentiate the LI-NING brand, while restoring interest among consumers. The core task was to rekindle public awareness of LI-NING’s Olympian legacy and turn the media spotlight on the global significance of Mr. Li’s invitation to take part in the 2012 Olympic Flame Handover ceremony. A major element of the campaign’s power source was in reminding various audiences that Mr. Li was a triple gold medallist at the 1984 Summer Olympics, since when he has encouraged young Chinese hopefuls to pursue the Olympic dream. This also presented an opportunity to recall Mr. Li’s spectacular cauldron-lighting performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when the world saw him seemingly running along the 500-meter brim of the Bird’s Nest stadium, suspended by wires.