The annual NBA Christmas War is almost the last basketball marketing node of the year, and in such a global focus moment, domestic brands are seizing this wave of opportunities.
On December 25, 361° announced the signing of Nikola Jokić as a global brand ambassador, and the two sides will also have many cooperation at the level of signed shoes, youth training and brand promotion.
2023 is the year of the Nuggets winning the championship, and in such a Christmas and festive atmosphere, the cooperation between the two sides has both retrospectives and prospects, and behind the topic of "this game is agreed" is a new journey for 361° to embark on a new path of basketball development.
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Text / Liu Jintao
Editor / Guo Yang
A domestic brand that signed a peak MVP-level superstar
A third of the way into the new NBA season, Jokic has always been at the center of the conversation among Chinese fans.
A few days ago, Jokic put on the latest product of 361° "BIG3 FUTURE" in the game, and got a brilliant performance in recent games, leading the team to consecutive victories. Next, Jokic will also wear 361° products to compete in the "NBA Christmas War", in this national live broadcast of the focus of the game, to show the popularity of Chinese brands to fans around the world.
As the "TOP 3" existence in today's NBA, Jokic can average 26.4 points, 12.3 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game this season, and has won 2 regular season MVPs, 5 All-Stars, 5 All-Star teams, Western Conference Finals MVP, Finals MVP and NBA championship in his career.
After the signing of this "big money", 361º has become the first brand in the sports country to sign a peak MVP player, and it is also the first brand in the domestic brand to sign the FMVP of the year, and the gold content of this signing is self-evident. And gaining the recognition and favor of players at this level is also a time in the history of the sports national brand.
Looking back at the history of NBA star signing of sports national brands, there are more of them who are the team's second leaders or All-Star substitutes, or superstars at the end of their prime, especially in the face of the "top five stars in the NBA active league", there are almost no cases of chasing success. Now 361° has taken the lead in accomplishing this feat and sounding a new clarion call for domestic brands.
"As one of the NBA's premier MVPs, signing Jokic is an important step in the Group's globalization process, which will not only bring extensive market value, but also significantly enhance the brand's position and image, broaden its influence in the basketball field, and inject new momentum into the brand's development." 」
Indeed, the 28-year-old Jokic is in his prime. At the beginning of November, Jokic got his 108th triple-double, thus surpassing James to rise to fourth place on the triple-double list, of which James got 107 triple-doubles in 1428 games, Jokic only used 604 games, and his future is endless.
From this point of view, establishing a partnership with a player like Jokic who is at his peak and still has potential marks that 361° can get a longer and broader market value, which coincides with 361°'s long-termism, which is immeasurable for the brand's future upward development and overseas market development.
It is also gratifying that the two sides have a very high degree of compatibility. It is understood that Gordon and Jokic have a deep relationship off the court, Jokic has owned AG1 signature shoes for a long time, and has always had a good impression of 361° basketball products. This offseason, Gordon also went to Serbia to vacation and train with Jokic, and bluntly said that "Jokic is the best player in the world".
In addition, during this summer's "Eastward Burning Aaron Gordon Championship China Tour", Gordon, who loves oriental culture, visited Bruce Lee's ancestral home and Shaolin Temple, and joked to Jokic: "I have learned both southern and northern legs, and I plan to pass on these martial arts skills to the good brothers of the Nuggets, especially Mr. Yue, you must be careful in the future, don't mess with me." 」
It is said that the NBA is a business field, but the story of Gordon and Jokic's friendship is moving, and the tacit understanding between the two has become an iconic landscape in the NBA league, and the two good brothers have written a good story of mutual fulfillment and moving forward hand in hand.
It is foreseeable that after 361° signs Jokic, the linkage between the two spokespersons will extend from the court to the court, which not only reflects Jokic's deeper recognition of 361°'s brand and professionalism, but also a harvest of 361° in the NBA market.
Jokic serves as a global brand ambassador, how does 361° plan to play?
Although "the center does not sell shoes" is the unspoken rule of the industry, Jokic is not a "center" in the traditional sense, especially in today's era, the ability of stars to "bring goods" is by no means all that the brand values, we also have to observe the 361° marketing style, brand building and professional sports breakthroughs from more levels.
Zheng Yexin said that 361º will create exclusive signature shoes for Jokic, and in the future, it will also plan to set up a full range of personal product lines for Jokic, covering shoes and clothing accessories and other products, and Jokic will also participate in the design of the product line as a 361° basketball partner.
In addition to the product, 361º will also start a linkage with Jokic at the youth level. It is understood that Jokic's family owns a team of the Serbian Basketball League, called Team Joker, and 361° will become a partner of this team to inject the power of domestic sports brands into the deepening "China-Serbia Basketball Bridge".
"Serbia is one of the highest basketball countries in Europe, and the two sides can send relevant basketball talents to each other for in-depth exchanges," Zheng Yexin's plan includes the youth group and the adult group, and the future touchdown event can select outstanding players to go to Team Joker for exchange and training, especially in the interaction of the youth group, which can have a lot of imagination.
As we all know, 361° may be the most enthusiastic brand in China to increase the size of youth basketball training. In May this year, 361° announced the signing of basketball celebrity and youth training expert Lu Xiaoming as the head coach to jointly launch the "Assist the Future" plan, open the "Touchdown Ignite Youth Training Camp", and at the same time add a youth group competition in its own IP event "Touchdown Ignite" to call on teenagers to step on the field.
In April next year, 361° will invite this year's champions to the United States to participate in the "Instant Touchdown" exchange tournament to experience the atmosphere of overseas basketball culture and improve their technical and tactical level.
The exposure that domestic brands are looking forward to is by no means just on the field. You must know that Jokic is a player with excellent popularity, unpredictable footsteps and creative passing, affectionately known as "Mr. Yoo" by fans, coupled with the Internet stalk of drinking Coke and "pork belly", as well as the character of loving pastoral life, Jokic has a high degree of topic at home and abroad.
In this age of social media, where stars love to share themselves, everyone has taken to radio, blogs and live streams. Now, after becoming the global brand ambassador of 361°, Jokic will be deployed on Chinese social media platforms to enhance interaction with fans.
From these actions, it can be seen that after having a world basketball TOP5 star in charge, 361° not only wants to drive the brand to the world and become a stronger world brand, but also hopes that the nutrients of world basketball can flow back to China and feed back to the growth of the domestic basketball market.
Based on the domestic deep cultivation of the sea, 361° to accelerate the brand upgrade
2023 is a year of recovery for NBA stars' China tours, which are now more nuanced and close to the public, and even move their star activities to the places closest to fans and fans.
Behind this phenomenon is the pursuit of growth rate by domestic brands, which is giving way to the pursuit of growth quality. In this process, it is not only required that sports domestic products put professionalism in the first place, invest in scientific and technological research and development, and come up with sufficient product performance, but also supporting brand and marketing actions are also very important. For 361°, the endorsement of big-name stars will undoubtedly raise the brand value to a higher level, and it is also a proof of the brand's professional sports.
Previously, in October, 361° announced its operating summary for the third quarter of 2023. During the period, the retail sales of main brand products increased by approximately 15% year-on-year, the retail sales of children's clothing brand products increased by 25%-30% year-on-year, and the overall turnover of e-commerce platform products increased by about 30% year-on-year.
At the same time, the upward trend of the 361° brand is still continuing. According to the financial report, in the first half of 2023, the average wholesale selling price of 361° footwear products was 122 yuan, a slight increase of 3.5% over the same period last year, and the average wholesale price of clothing products was 78 yuan, an increase of 1.7% over the same period last year.
Especially in the basketball footwear category, in the first half of 2023, the sales of 361° footwear will reach 1.901 billion yuan, accounting for 44.1% of the total revenue, with a year-on-year increase of 28.4% and a year-on-year increase of 14%. The increase in the average wholesale selling price of footwear is largely due to the launch of a variety of new products such as Feibiao Future and AG4, which have higher wholesale prices. It can be said that the way for domestic brands to obtain higher market recognition is still focused on scientific and technological innovation and professionalism.
When the brand is steadily improving in the domestic market, behind the signing of Jokic, it also carries the ambition of the 361° brand to overseas markets.
"By joining forces with Jokic, we will bring 361º basketball to the United States and Southeast Asia through the China and Asia tours of the spokesperson in the future. Cheng revealed that the 2024 "Touchdown Ignite" competition is expected to expand the scale of the event and the host city, especially the addition of overseas competition areas.
Indeed, not only will Jokic and Gordon continue their campaign for an NBA championship in 2024, but Jokic will also be expected to represent his national team at the Paris Olympics in such an Olympic year. More importantly, as a superstar in the basketball field, Jokic's endorsement will obviously not be limited to vertical basketball projects, but can bring improvements to the overall 361º brand and help domestic products appear on more top arenas in the world.
"We hope to gain recognition from more overseas consumers and expand our reputation and market influence through our spokespersons, IP competitions and professional product capabilities. Cheng emphasized.
The signing of Jokic as the spokesperson is a new beginning for the 361º brand to accelerate, and it is expected to continue to promote the brand, product upgrades and professional recognition with a series of deep cultivation in the mass sports market. At the same time, we can also see 361º's efforts in basketball exchanges, nurturing the domestic basketball environment through cooperation with overseas basketball resources, and completing the integration of commercial returns and social responsibilities in exploration.
Brand improvement is a long-term accumulation process, and when entering a new stage of development, we expect 361° to penetrate the brand spirit of "One More Love" into the market and people's lives at home and abroad, and become the choice of more people to pursue a better life in the burning love.