ArticleBizTime: A Commercial Back
He came in second at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix (PREE) and WON at both the 11th Chinese National Games and the 18th Asian Athletics Championships. Liu Xiang, the Chinese hurdler who won the first Olympic Gold medal in a men's track and field event for any Asian country, is coming back soundly after nearly 14 months recovering from his right Achilles (a-KILL-eez) tendon injury. Before those three meets in September, October and November, there was a lot of doubt about how Liu Xiang would perform, and a lot of pressure. But now he's relieved after his success.
Liu Xiang
A year ago, I was not confident, and very confused about my future. Now with my gradual recovery, I have my confidence back.
Liu Xiang’s return proves not only his ability but also his attractiveness to the general public. His Internet popularity ranking jumped from the lowest 70 in May this year to top 5. Because of Liu Xiang, tickets for the 11th Chinese National Games in Shandong province and for the shanghai grand prix (PREE) were hot sellers. Repeat broadcasts of Liu Xiang's performances on national TV stations indicate a strong rebound in Liu's popularity. And his TV commercials are back after a six-month absence. All that brings speculation that Liu Xiang's commercial value is going to rise again.
Sun Yanfeng, Reporter
With Liu Xiang's return to the battlefield, we can expect to see more of his advertisements coming back. In addition to some familiar product names, we might also see new brands appearing with his face in various media. Right now, a number of corporate leaders may well be thinking about inviting Liu Xiang to endorse their products. But that could be a risky move.
As the first Chinese athlete to achieve the "triple crown" of athletics, Liu Xiang was one of China's most commercially successful athletes. After winning the gold medal in the men's 110-meter hurdles in Athens in 2004, many domestic and foreign brands were chasing him for product endorsement contracts. By 2008, he was the second richest athelete in China in terms of advertising income, behind only NBA star Yao Ming. At that time, Liu was endorsing well over a dozen products. However, all of that changed on August 18, 2008, when Liu Xiang suddenly decided to withdraw from the Beijing Olypmics. Immediately, many of his sponsors stopped airing his TV commercials. For example, the Lenovo advertisement with Liu Xiang's image was immediately replaced by one that only showed the products. In the following 4 months, the number of Liu Xiang's TV commercials dropped from 15 to 6, and by March 2009, his TV exposure was zero.
Zhao Jie, Executive Director of
CTR Shanghai Branch
After Liu Xiang withdrew, many brands dropped his advertisements. Nike, Aokang and Yili did not, but Yili shifted the ad's focus from Liu Xiang to Guo Jingjing. In 2009, before his return, his ads had nearly disappeared from all media.
Companies that dropped Liu from their ads right after August 8 2008 had three big immediate problems: Finding alternative ads to replace them, estimating what would happen to their sales volume, and losing the endorsement fees they'd already paid to Liu. Although companies have not been willing to release the exact figures, market researchers estimate their direct loss was huge.
Ye Maozhong, the CEO of Yemaozhong marketing
Inc.
At that time, Liu Xiang's average price for endorsing a product was 10 million yuan for two years. Once they dropped him, they lost the 10 million. That does not include the cost of pre-marketing and other advertisement changes.