Once upon a time China wasnt a market athletes looked to improve their worth. The tables have turned over the years. Now China is one of the more powerful sports markets in the world. A NY times article quotes:
"The business has grown into a $15-billion-a-year industry, up from about $1 billion a year in 1994, according to Zou Marketing, a sports marketing consulting firm in Shanghai."
Unlike other countries the Chinese demand alot from their sports heroes. Most stars that market well in China have to display character, excellence and sportsmanship. You have to be the face of the sport, and represent it in a very positive way. During the 2008 Olympics in Bejiing American stars like Serena Williams, and Dwayne Wade came out to China not only to win the gold medal but also to market them selves to the media. They were found in stores having jersey signings, and interacting with fans everywhere they went. Fans chanted stars like Kobe, Wade and Williams names wherever they went.
China has adopted alot of western traditions when it comes to marketing stars around the world. They use stars to advertise major products such as McDonalds, Sprite and Coco Cola. American sports brands such as Nike recently played a big part in the Chinese sports market. They have went the extra mile just to sell to Chinese consumers. Xiamen a chinese paper reports:
"Nike the best-selling globalsports brand, which is expecting record sales growth in China this year, is launching a range of low-priced products across the country rather than just focusing on high-end buyers."
China has become the most powerful sports market in the world. Even Europeans look to benefit off of Chinese sports market, and their recent success. China.org did a very interesting piece on how Europe wants to go out to China, and learn some of the strategies they used to become so powerful in the sports world.