Sports Big Business No. 2774, welcome to pay attention to the leading sports industry information platform
Wen | Liu Menglong
Sports big business reporter
For the majority of sports fans, the year-end basketball season in 2021 is quite different from previous years. Due to multiple factors, the second stage of the 2021/22 CBA League season was finally rekindled until December 25. In the eye-catching Battle of Beijing-Liaoning on the same day, Beijing Shougang led by Jeremy Lin defeated Liaoning Bengang, which lacked many national players, 99-76, making a good start for the second stage of the competition.
Although the global epidemic prevention situation is still particularly grim, many sports practitioners still spare no effort to rack their brains and try to repay the fans' love and support with an immersive viewing experience. Not only have the rights holders launched a variety of online viewing methods, but professional clubs have also taken action to bring fans a feeling of being on the field through a variety of online interactive activities.
Under the background that the global sports industry has been hit hard by the epidemic, whether professional sports companies can quickly complete the overall layout of commercialization through flexible transformation has also become an important watershed in whether they can survive in the face of adversity and even make profits.
Home of Beijing Shougang
"Beijing Ju" cloud viewing competition to create a new model of online viewing during the epidemic
Affected by the unbridled spread of the new crown epidemic around the world, as many as 30,000 of the more than 100 races stacked together around the world in 2020 alone have been cancelled or postponed. According to the relevant data of authoritative institutions, by the end of 2020, the total loss of the global sports industry has exceeded 61.6 billion US dollars. Even those events that can be played as scheduled, due to factors such as empty stadiums, clubs have experienced a sharp decline in event revenue.
According to the "2021 Football Fortune List Top 20 Clubs List" released by Deloitte, one of the big four international accounting firms, in early 2021, in the case of the decline in the income of most clubs, the teams represented by Everton in the Premier League and Zenit St. Petersburg in the Russian Premier League have achieved counter-trend revenue growth. The reason for this is inseparable from the extensive interaction on the digital and social media ends and the layout of the business world.
Looking at domestic professional sports clubs, there is also no shortage of representatives who try to innovate online. On the eve of the second phase of the CBA, Beijing Shougang Basketball Club, together with Renren Car and CBA Basketball Park, jointly created the "Gathering Heart, Everyone Comes to Cheer" activity officially launched. This move aims to provide a new model of cheering and cheering for the majority of fans under the new normal of epidemic prevention and control, which is both ceremonial and easy to participate. In order to return the support of the fans as always, Beijing Shougang Basketball Club specially prepared a gift package for everyone to cheer and cheer, in the form of a blind box to distribute free benefits to fans, the gift package not only contains Gifts such as Beijing Shougang home cheering equipment, player refrigerator stickers, but also prepares autographed photos of Jeremy Lin, Zhai Xiaochuan, Fang Shuo and other home stars as a surprise gift to the fans, Beijing Shougang joins hands with Renren Car and CBA Basketball Park to encourage the public and fans to pay attention to the CBA League, and at the same time calls on everyone to strengthen epidemic prevention and control. Watch online to cheer on the team's "cloud".
"Gather hearts and don't gather, everyone comes to cheer" activity
Although the CBA League has been held in a tournament system for two consecutive seasons from the 2019/20 season to the present and is less open to the audience, this still cannot stop the hardcore die-hard fans from worrying about their home team. As a pioneer in promoting online cloud viewing activities, Beijing Shougang has launched the "Beijing Ju" cloud viewing activities with many brands as early as the beginning of the competition system, creating innovative viewing methods under the new situation of epidemic prevention and control, including opening up a second scene, organizing online viewing, etc., calling on fans to cheer for Beijing Shougang in the form of "free style" when they cannot go to the game site.
"Jingju" cloud viewing game upgrade review
Fans can register as members through the "Shougang Fans" or "Renrenche" WeChat Mini Program to participate in the "Everyone Cheers and Cheers Challenge" activity, and have the opportunity to get the "Everybody Cheers and Cheers Gift Package" in the form of a blind box. In addition to the fan cheering equipment: cheering sticks, cheering scarves, Beijing Shougang Duck Logo Team emblem masks, "Gathering hearts do not gather, everyone comes to cheer" limited edition badges / luminous bracelets / refrigerator stickers / coasters / mobile phone buckles, etc., there is a certain chance to draw Li Ning basketball shoes or stereos, juicers, Pinsheng charging treasures and other prizes. What fans are most looking forward to is that each cheering package includes a personal photo of the player, some of which are still limited to signed editions!
"Kyo Ju" cloud viewing competition
As the relevant person in charge of Beijing Shougang Basketball Club said in an interview with the media, "By using the mini program as the carrier to adjust and upgrade the cloud viewing activities and increase the online scene, the joint Renren Car and CBA Basketball Park and a number of brands provide rich benefits for fans." This move can not only allow fans to continue to feel the great charm of basketball games and sportsmanship, on the other hand, it can also make the team feel the huge momentum of cheering one after another. Kill two birds with one stone.
In the view of sports big business, Shougang's flexible turn during the epidemic to adapt to the needs of the market and fans not only reflects the respect of a professional club for fan culture, but also shows a strong ability to integrate resources for commercial partners. According to the previous media news, the third stage of the CBA will most likely continue to be played in the Shenyang and Foshan double divisions in the form of a tournament system. In compliance with the epidemic and the rules of the league, we can expect Shougang to bring more surprises to fans in the future.
Deeply cultivate online original content, professional clubs and brand resources into one
For professional clubs, in order to fully maximize the advantages of the online end, it is also crucial to use their own superior resources to reflect content productivity. Whether it is the Jordan feature documentary "The Last Dance", which broke ESPN ratings records, or the documentary "Desperate Bet: Tottenham Hotspur" launched by Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur and Amazon, it has received rave reviews from audiences during the epidemic in 2020.
Similarly, in addition to the "Beijing Ju" cloud viewing activities, Beijing Shougang Basketball Club has also launched self-made short video programs such as "Beijing Basketball to Youth" and "Change the Height to See Beijing" on the online end, which has aroused strong repercussions in the Beijing fan circle.
In April 2020, the six-episode special documentary "Beijing Basketball to Youth", which records the history of Basketball in Beijing, was officially launched. The program invited Cheng Shichun, He Shisun and other Beijing basketball celebrities to review the glorious history of Beijing basketball by oral history and reminisce about the past, and also invited well-known players, coaches, commentators and media personalities as dialogue guests. At the China International Trade in Services Fair in August of the same year, Shougang active players Zhai Xiaochuan and Fang Shuo appeared together with "To Youth", and through interaction and exchange with fans, they conveyed the spirit of Beijing basketball that worked hard to the end and never gave up.
In August 2021, in order to help beijing's consumption season and welcome the arrival of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Beijing Shougang Basketball Club's self-made eight-episode series of short videos "Change the Height to See Beijing" was launched simultaneously on Shougang WeChat, Weibo, Douyin, Kuaishou and other short video platforms. In just 24 hours after the first episode was broadcast, the number of views on the whole network has exceeded 350,000 times. Shougang players such as Fan Ziming, Liu Xiaoyu, Zhai Xiaochuan, Li Muhao, and Chang Lin frequently appear in landmarks, business circles and scenic spots throughout the capital. The distinctive "height" and perspective make them become the "highest promotion officers in Beijing", discovering the beauty of Beijing and exploring the charm of the city in the process of punching in Beijing's history, culture and modern fashion.
Beijing Shougang Basketball Club's self-made eight-episode series of short videos "Look at Beijing from a Height" was well received
In the perception of sports big business, this practice of transforming high-quality graftable brand resources into output content was not common in Chinese professional clubs before. This series of actions of Beijing Shougang Basketball Club has also opened up a new direction for domestic clubs in online content production in the future.
From food and beverage finance to smart sporting goods, professional clubs continue to explore business breaking the circle
Looking at today's professional sports world, the degree of commercialization of a club will determine the upper limit of its development and revenue capabilities. As one of the first teams to attach importance to the commercial operation of the club, Beijing Shougang is clearly at the forefront of this path. From the multi-field commercial cooperation between players, stadiums and the surrounding arenas, Beijing Shougang has always tried to break the barriers of the traditional sports circle and seek the cross-border linkage of "sports +". In September 2020, Shougang Sports officially announced its strategic cooperation with a number of well-known brands, spanning the industry from catering and finance to smart sporting goods and sports brands.
In exploring the circle-breaking marketing road of sports + catering, Shougang Sports is deeply integrated into the urban culture of Beijing, providing fans and Shougang members with more colorful home viewing experiences, preferential discounts and social activities and other supporting services, and promoting the concept of healthy sports and healthy eating. Through the cooperation with the head Internet catering platform Meituan, fans can more easily experience exclusive rights and interests, and help present the gathering scene exclusive to Beijing fan members. In addition, Hehegu officially became the official designated fast food brand of Shougang Sports. At the same time, Zhai Xiaochuan and Zhu Yanxi, captains of the Shougang men's basketball team Twin Stars, became the first brand spokesperson and the first product experience officer of Hehegu respectively. This kind of marketing method with star players as the core of the content has greatly mobilized the audience's awareness and goodwill of the brand.
Shougang Gemini star hand in hand with Hegu
With the purpose of upgrading sports consumption, Shougang Sports and China Merchants Bank jointly issued Beijing Shougang Co-brand Debit Card, launching two blue and pink card faces, both with the theme of the cute image of Thunderbolt Duck, showing the positive sportsmanship of Beijing Shougang and the vitality and charm of Beijing Shougang as a business card of Beijing City. This cross-border cooperation of "sports + finance" not only meets the growing demand for diversified and multi-level sports consumption in Beijing, but also is committed to deepening Shougang's love for basketball and healthy life into the daily lives of ordinary people, so that they can always feel the charm of basketball and the temperature of the city.
Shougang Sports Merchants Bank issued a joint debit card
In order to increase the integration and innovation of offline digital technology and lead the new wind and new standards of the sports industry, Shougang Sports has reached a strategic cooperation with Meikai Sports Flooring, the first sports flooring brand with the endorsement of FIBA, NBA and CBA in China. The two sides will work together to build Shougang Basketball Center into the CBA's first 5G digital technology stadium.
In line with the original intention of perfectly integrating traditional sports concepts with trend culture, subverting tradition, and creating a new fashion of sports + trend, Shougang Sports has joined hands with New Era, a top brand of global trend hats, to create player-exclusive hat accessories and create special city co-branded hat accessories for Beijing. In the future, the two sides will jointly promote the development of Beijing's traditional culture, expand the influence of trends and movements, and make Beijing a starting position for the combination of future trends and sports.
New Era Beijing City Special Co-branded Hat Ornament
In November 2020, the Beijing Shougang Men's Basketball Team cooperated with CBA sponsor Li Ning to launch the first "Wanton Jiucheng" urban version jersey in history, which is not only the recognition of the Beijing Shougang brand by CBA and Li Ning, but also a high affirmation of the club's commercial operation. The continuous exploration on the road to commercial breaking has made the commercial operation of Shougang Sports continue to improve.
Not only basketball, the future of Shougang in the post-Winter Olympic era can be expected
As early as the 2018 Shougang Sports New LOGO Release Ceremony, shougang sports executives had put forward the lofty goal of "making Beijing the best sports city and bringing more happiness to the city of Beijing". Although the outside world's perception of Shougang Sports for many years has stayed more at the level of "basketball clubs", in fact, Shougang's sports map is far more than this.
In addition to the Shougang men's and women's basketball teams, the professional sports clubs under Shougang Sports also include table tennis, ice hockey and other popular sports. Looking at the domestic sports world, the clubs under Shougang Sports can be described as having remarkable achievements. In addition to the well-known Shougang men's basketball team's five-year triple crown, Shougang women's table tennis won the overall championship of the Chinese Table Tennis Super League women's team in 2015.
Shougang Ice Hockey
As the footsteps of the Beijing Winter Olympics approach, venues such as the Shougang Ski Jump, which has a century-old history, will host a number of important winter Olympic events. After nearly two years of unremitting efforts, the International Olympic Committee has officially agreed to authorize the Winter Olympic Plaza area and the Industrial Heritage Park area to be named "Beijing Winter Olympic Park".
After the Beijing Winter Olympics, how to fully and rationally use the Winter Olympic venues to hold more international and domestic heavyweight events will become a touchstone for testing the sustainable development of Shougang Park. At the same time, the abundant leisure and sports resources in the Olympic Park that serve the public will also promote the development of mass sports and fitness, and create an important leisure and fitness space in western Beijing. If properly run, the Beijing Winter Olympic Park in the Shougang Park is bound to become another brand-new business card for Beijing as the "capital of international exchanges".
In 2008, Shougang resolutely implemented an unprecedented relocation adjustment for the Beijing Olympic Games; 10 years later, the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee took the lead in entering the Shougang Park, and Shougang Group also completed the re-continuation of the Olympic Games as the official partner of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. It is no exaggeration to say that with the help of the Olympic empowerment to promote the rejuvenation of Shougang Park, Shougang is shouldering a new historical mission, surging with passion and forging ahead in the hot land of western Beijing.
Under the great inspiration of the 14th Five-Year Plan to clearly propose that the total scale of the national sports industry will reach 5 trillion yuan by 2025, more sports companies like Shougang are indeed needed to step forward and contribute to the development of China's sports industry.
Note: The images used in this article are from the Internet