In p>1991, the young Ding Zhizhong founded Anta Company. At that time, there were thousands of small factories like Anta in Jinjiang. Compared with other companies, Anta did not have any advantages. Ding Zhizhong, who just turned 18, went north alone and devoted himself to business.
like all start-ups, Anta, which has just been established, has devoted all its resources and energy to design, production and sales, basically without any marketing expenses, and spread it entirely by the word-of-mouth of customers. In the past few years, although the product sales have not been worried, the brand has not been played out.
Therefore, Ding Zhizhong began to put brand management on the agenda.
in p>1997, the company started the construction of VI system, and gradually standardized the use of trademark recognition, which opened the prelude to the implementation of Anta brand strategy.
celebrity endorsement is the first shot
Unlike all companies involved in sports shoes production in Jinjiang, the first thing Anta should do after accumulating original capital is to make its own popularity as soon as possible and let everyone know about the brand.
since 1999, Anta has boldly adopted the marketing method of "celebrity endorsement +CCTV", hired Kong Linghui, the world champion of table tennis, as the brand spokesperson at an annual cost of 8, yuan, took "I choose, I like" as the advertising slogan of Anta, and spent 5 million yuan to launch a large-scale "advertising bombing" in the prime time of CCTV sports channel.
Although it is not uncommon for celebrities to endorse sports brands now, at that time, it caused a strong shock among the public. "China's national ball is table tennis, and Kong Linghui is the world champion of table tennis, so it is easy to attract public attention, and naturally he will pay attention to his favorite and selected brands." Xu Yang, brand director of Anta, explained why Anta chose Kong Linghui.
With this TV advertisement, Anta brand emerged in the sporting goods market in China, and the combination of "Anta+Kong Linghui" was deeply rooted in people's hearts.
Soon after, the 2 Sydney Olympic Games was held as scheduled. In this Olympic Games, Kong Linghui played against Sweden's Waldner in the final. After the first four games were tied, Kong Linghui completely destroyed his opponent's fighting spirit in the deciding game, and finally won his opponent after five hard games, which not only helped China table tennis team win four gold medals in two consecutive Olympic Games, but also completed his great career as the world champion of men's singles. With the excitement of kissing and waving the national flag after Kong Linghui won, the Anta brand has been firmly engraved in the hearts of Chinese people.
In this way, Anta became an instant hit and quickly became a household name in China.
While its popularity has been greatly improved, Anta's sales have also shown a strong growth: in 2, Anta's sales exceeded 3 million yuan, six times that of 1997; In 21, Anta achieved the first comprehensive share of the annual sports shoes market for the first time; By 26, Anta has won this honor for six consecutive years.
Invest heavily in sponsorship
At this time, Ding Zhizhong is not only satisfied with the positioning of Anta as a mass brand, he hopes that Anta can develop into a more professional road.
in p>23, Anta faced the first transformation in history. When other sports brands have followed Anta's marketing model of "celebrity endorsement +CCTV", Anta has begun to look to the sponsorship of professional sports events.
In fact, one of the important reasons why Anta dares to devote so much money to the sponsorship of sports events is that the previous years' attempts have accumulated considerable experience and confidence for Anta: for example, in 1995, it sponsored the 67th World Weightlifting Championship, in 1999, it sponsored the 4th National City Games, the World Middle School Students' Games, the Beijing International Marathon and the 13th Asian Games. In particular, the sponsorship of the Sydney Olympic Games in 2 was an instant hit, which made Anta taste the sweetness. However, with the gradual maturity of the marketing concept and the gradual strength of the brand, Anta's sponsorship of sports events has become more and more rational and in-depth.
"In the choice of sports events and events, we mainly focus on basketball, volleyball, table tennis and extreme sports. Basketball can not only help Anta to build brand awareness, but also boost sales; Volleyball and table tennis are national games, which can reflect the national spirit; Extreme sports represent fashion and youth. Different projects have different focuses. Around these projects, the means and ways of Anta communication are different, and the goals achieved are different, which can make Anta brand both professional, national and international. " Xu Yang said.
During this period, the most symbolic event was the cooperation with CBA (Chinese Basketball League).
in June p>23, Anta sponsored three CBA3 seed teams for the first time: Zhejiang Wanma, Shaanxi Dongsheng and Liaoning Panpan. In October 24, Anta fully sponsored the CBA League, becoming the exclusive sponsor of sports equipment for 16 teams in 8 consecutive years from 24 to 212 and the only designated partner of sports equipment in CBA League.
with the full rights and interests, Anta has invested a lot of resources in the follow-up marketing and in-depth marketing strategy with the continuous development of CBA events.
first of all, it is reflected in product development. In September, 25, during the CBA 25-26 season, Anta CBA King series equipment was officially released, and all CBA teams will fully wear Anta equipment to compete in professional leagues in this season. Two months later, the Chinese Basketball Association and Anta jointly released the CBA special competition equipment specially developed and designed by Anta. This is the first time that domestic sports brands have designed CBA professional basketball shoes according to the mechanical characteristics of basketball forwards, centers and defenders. On March 18th, 26, CBA26 All-Star Game was held in Shanghai Stadium. Anta specially designed and produced a set of brand-new All-Star Game equipment for this All-Star Game, and grandly launched A11 26CBA limited edition All-Star Boots, which caused a stir in the market. In January, 27, professional all-star basketball shoes will "not only create a professional image, but also be an important reason for our sponsorship of CBA," Xu Yang said. "Professional sporting goods cannot be separated from professional athletes, and professional sporting goods research and development must also be combined with professional athletes. By sponsoring these professional athletes, we can master their data and use our scientific laboratory to analyze these data and the sports habits of China people, thus greatly improving the research and development of Anta, enabling us to develop and produce better products. "
excellent product research and development has also promoted the growth of sales, and Anta has made great strides forward with an annual growth rate of over 5%.
Secondly, stars shine in CBA team, and Anta just uses these popular stars to strengthen the interaction with fans. On March 19th, 26, Anta took advantage of the popularity of the All-Star Game to hold an Anta CBA star face-to-face meeting in Nanjing Road, Shanghai. Bater, Wang Bo, Jiao Jian, Bian Qiang and foreign aid Brandon were present, and they had an extraordinary star meeting with Shanghai fans. On April 2th, taking advantage of the east wind of China International Sports Expo held in Chengdu, Anta once again held an Anta CBA Chengdu Chunxi Road Meeting. The presence of four CBA stars, including Tang Zhengdong, made Chengdu fans feel the joy of professional basketball brought by Anta and CBA to the public at close range.
In addition to the form of meeting the stars, Anta also launched a street basketball game innovatively. On July 15th, 26, Anta Dream CBA26 KO Street Basketball Game officially started. The largest street basketball game in China was held in 12 large cities, including China, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu, with more than 2, participants. The final winner of the game will also participate in the CBA new season draft, which attracted the attention and enthusiastic participation of many grassroots fans, giving grassroots who love sports a chance to dream.
obviously, the cooperation with sports events has gone far beyond pure marketing communication, and has penetrated into all aspects of Anta brand strategy.
From "I choose, I like" to "never stop"
"We just made a market survey recently, and the return rate of Anta consumers is 9%," said Xu Yang, who was very excited by this figure.
since September p>26, Anta has entered a brand-new stage-the transformation to a comprehensive sports brand, which is manifested by the transformation from "I choose, I like" to "keep moving never stops". Around the new brand image, Anta began to present more brand names and connotations, and its starting point is grassroots culture.
"I'm not Adi or Nike. I'm not one of those superstars. I'm the person around you. I'm an ordinary person with extraordinary dreams." This is Xu Yang's understanding of grassroots. "Anta has its own sub-groups, but this group is not divided by age, but by psychological state." In fact, Anta's main consumers are concentrated in the crowd aged 14-26. They are young and unassuming, and their inner desire for international brands is not yet allowed, and Anta is positioned from this, "representing an attitude does not necessarily require expensive prices." Xu Yang said. In foreign countries, such brands are not uncommon. For example, GAP in the United States can become a favorite leisure brand from the president down to the common people, but its price is not expensive.
In the latest TV advertisement of Anta, there is a saying: "Let the scar be your medal", which is inspired by extreme sports. Those athletes who are hurt all over but diligently pursue their dreams let everyone see a spirit: you are an ordinary person, with no conditions and talents, but if you give you a dream, you can also realize it through your own efforts-which is exactly the idea that Anta hopes to convey to consumers.
this concept also runs through other marketing activities of Anta. For example, in the "Anta CCTV Sports Man of the Year Award" with CCTV, everyone may see the moment when the athletes have unlimited scenery, but Anta is interested in the growth experiences of these characters and the stories of how to achieve success. It hopes that these stories can represent the spirit of Anta. Even in the choice of product spokespersons, Anta has given up using some superstars, and used those young athletes who have not yet become famous. Anta pays more attention to their growth process, hoping to witness how these successful people grow up step by step through their own efforts.
In line with the new concept, Anta launched a new brand TV advertisement of "keep moving Never Stop" in September, and placed 6-second advertisements on CCTV 1, CCTV 3, CCTV 5 and other national TV stations. In October, the same high-frequency advertisements were placed, and only five sets of CCTV were as high as 18 times a day; When we entered November, we still maintained the previous advertising volume. Xu Yang said that on the one hand, this amount of investment is to launch a brand-new brand image of Anta, on the other hand, it has laid a small foreshadowing for the Doha Asian Games. "I just hope that everyone can remember the theme song of' We are the champions' in the advertisement and associate the song with Anta." Xu Yangxiao said.
this little foreshadowing soon showed its power. In December, during the Asian Games in Doha, the song "We are the champions" was played in the program "Wonderful Review" and "Glory to Asia" co-operated by Anta and CCTV. Although there was no logo on the screen, the audience naturally associated with Anta, and naturally established the connection between China sportsmanship and Anta brand. Trout said decades ago that listening is more important than watching in brand communication. Although this attempt by Anta is only a small experiment, it may set off a new marketing storm in the near future.
"The blue ocean will always be small. If Anta wants to do it, it will be the biggest in the Red Sea." Xu Yang has made no secret of Anta's ambition. In their plan, Anta will achieve the first market reputation and market share within five years and enter the top 1 in the world. "We hope that Anta can represent the sportsmanship of China and the pride of yellow skin."
On July 13th, 27, Anta Sports was listed in Hong Kong, and its share price rose by 42% on the first day. "After the listing, the comprehensive strength of Anta has been greatly improved, especially in the internationalization of enterprises, which has been greatly developed." Ding Zhizhong said that after more than ten years of rapid development, from CBA to NBA, Anta has accumulated rich experience in manufacturing and marketing sporting goods, and this signing of Francis is a key step in brand strategy.
The success of sports marketing has accelerated the growth of Anta brand and improved its reputation. As the corporate mission of Anta, "integrating the sports spirit beyond self into everyone's life", Anta people are committed to transmitting the concept and spirit of sports to every consumer. This is different from the maverick individualistic values advocated by Nike and Adidas. Anta promotes the local culture of China. "By 211, it will become the first sports brand in China market in terms of brand reputation and market share, and the top ten sporting goods companies in the world in terms of sales" is the vision of Anta enterprises.