Nike: write your headline

As the World Cup fever continues, Nike has made sure to familiarize everyone with its Ad “write the future.” And now Nike takes a step further to introduce an interactive activity “write your headline.” The idea is for football fans to, via Facebook, Twitter, and other websites, write a 55-character headline for one of the best 50 football players. Nike will choose 100 headlines in random and display them on the top of one of the tallest building in Johannesburg through the “world’s largest LED installation ever.” The lucky fans will receive a video replica of what was projected as a gift.

Nike always seems to be a step ahead in breaking out new ideas, publicizing itself, and putting a twist on current trends. Its “interaction” technique for reaching online users both fosters creativity from its target audience without much effort and provokes enthusiasm from potential and existing costumers.

LePhone brand new AD

The Lenovo version of the iPhone – LePhone, has arrived with a new TV commercial. It attempts to depict a minimalist message, just like the “Apple-New Soul“  Ad, which conveys a powerful message through simple visuals and a catchy tune. However, after watching the LePhone commercial, I saw nothing memorable, with poorly designed visuals, the only attraction was the background music by “mainland Jay Chou” – Xu Song, but honestly, there is nothing special to it.

This failed commercial only makes LePhone look like a shanzhai product. So now, despite the quality of the product, people will only think of  Lephone as a shanzhai product.

World Cup Doctor's Note

Speaking as someone who has played with and against Chinese football players, I know that’s its not skill or knowledge of the game that they lack (although they can be prone to the odd bit of petulance). However, the expectation that China should have a national team, inline with the rapid growth of their economy and overall size of their population, is an argument that is shortsighted.

Rowan Simmons is a long serving British expatriate in China who has dedicated himself to building a culture for football to thrive in China. In his book Bamboo Goalposts he reiterates the idea that the sport must be built from the bottom up. This means, establishing youth leagues and the amateur game which all in turn feed into professional development and at the top of this, a world class National team. I agree with him to a point but this is all based on a very Euro-centric view.





Building a passion for playing football should be first and foremost. Why? This desire to play is something that is in the very roots of most European and South American cultures; the youth in these countries are seemingly born into worlds where football is life and life is football. In a Euro-centric football pyramid structure, where youth football is at the bottom, leading up to development leagues, and finally the professional level, there is no need to build any awareness or instill passion in the youth. It already exists. However in China, this step is actually the first step needed to build a Chinese youth football army. And where does this start? Passionate kids.

In our research we’ve met kids who are passionate about so many things and these passions become all encompassing, even life changing. It can be the reason people move to new cities, meet their husband or wife and start families. When you have people who often strive to dedicate their lives to something; this is when it transcends beyond being a hobby or pastime. Football can be one of these passions。

We talked about photography as a gateway hobby, but is there footballing equivalent? Five-a-side football and in particular its South American counterpart, futsal, has established itself as it’s own sporting entity in Asian countries such as Japan in the past decade.





Futsal, is a smaller, faster and more skill filled mutation of football. The game is played with 5 instead of 11 and the ball is slightly heavier and smaller, to emphasize close control and fast-passing as opposed to long high lobs from end to end. Futsal has its origins in the South American streets but as is often the case with passionate Japanese hobbyist, they have reappropriated and repackaged this activity for more efficient and wholesome consumption. Rooftop futsal stadiums with late night schedules better cater to drab urban environments and have more flexible opening hours for those with unrelenting work schedules.

Furthermore, brands such as Nike have tried to capture the peripheral lifestyle elements of this offshoot sport, giving the sport a more cool street element. Rounding out these lifestyle elements is a further way to help build a sense of culture and identity around the activity and helps ensure more long term commitment. It serves as an initial draw for those maybe put off by more traditional notions of the sport.





Despite very little publicity, China’s national futsal team has already qualified for 3 FIFA world tournaments and the official futsal online community has over 6000 members. The basis for growth is there. This is where brands can do something to really invest and help build a football culture. If they can help bring attention to these fostering activities and sow the seeds to help turn these hobbies into full blown passions then I fully expect football to blossom.

We recently also mentioned how Chinese parents are slowly starting to see merit in letting their children follow their passions to find success. Football player could be one of these careers.

I have faith in Chinese football, now if only brands and the rest of China would.

Students don’t necessarily dislike the idea of a uniform. Following the trends of popular TV shows like Gossip Girls and Meteor Garden (Taiwan), many appreciate the preppy uniforms associated with American and European private schools, as well as schools in Taiwan. However, Chinese students find their own uniforms to be mundane, and lacking style. Can you blame us? Others get to dress up, we have to dress down. Essentially, the only variety in uniform is color. Schools either have a green, red, white, or blue uniform.

Girls especially hate this uniform, as it obscures one’s personality so much as to sometimes make gender indecipherable: an adolescent girl’s worst nightmare!

Despite a generally strict dress-code enforcement, we do have our personal, day-to-day victories. In our quest to express individuality, we’ve come up with several ways to “beat the system,” with some of the more common ways being:

• Leaving a couple buttons undone, or zipper low on your jacket to give attention to other layers you may have. We’re generally limited to white t-shirts, but depending on the weather, we can sometimes add a vest or sweater.
• If the weather is cold enough, we can get away with another layer on-top of the jacket because classrooms don’t usually have AC / heaters. Cold days tend to be our more “fashion forward” days.
• Boys who are after an edgier, more unruly look rely on the international bad boy’s call sign: the Popped Collar. The popped collar is also a great way to hide longer hair, since teachers will usually force you to get a cut if your hair hangs below your collar.
• Accessories help. Scarves, belt, glasses, watches, and occasionally necklaces are permissible ways to express one’s individuality.
• Shoes! Converse, Nike, Adidas, Clark’s, etc… that one’s up to us to decide. If you’re a cool guy, you’re going to be wearing LeBrons or Air Jordans, while girls still love their Converse.
• And if your really feeling lucky, you can tell your teacher your uniformed suffer some irreparable damage, and that you are forced to wear something in the meantime. Worked once for me, but got sent home the second time…

Fortunately for younger generations, the powers-that-be are showing signs that they’ve picked up on our discontent. Word has it that students will be given incremental fashion freedoms. For one, students in certain districts will be given multiple options for uniforms. In some schools, students will be allowed to collaboratively design their own uniforms. Others are talking about a possible “no uniform friday.” Lucky!

Who knows… if our dress code is relaxed enough to permit us to where branded apparel like Nike, Adidas, Kappa this may turn into a lucrative market for sports brands.

Kappa which was once a symbol of, as Graham Brown describes, rave culture cool in the UK and a mark of Italian sporting style in the rest of Europe. It is now known in China for it’s proud show of European heritage, bold colorings and fashion forward styles. Kappa can best be said to be a youthful but obtainable sports lifestyle brand which wears it’s European influences quite literally on it’s sleeve.

Whilst often lumped in with competing local and foreign sports brands, Kappa sets itself out from the pack by dubbing itself a fashion line, influenced by sports. The brand chooses to affiliate itself more closesly with youth style icons and websites. And even for the sports events it does get involved with, e.g. golf, it makes them a more stylish and star powered affairs. This is a smart move.

Many Chinese youth, especially in the run up to the dreaded gaokao (college examination), are not particularly involved in sports. They often dress to a more modest fashion tone so as to reflect a more dilligent appearance.

Kappa strikes the right balance of casual but fashion forward leanings. It’s less expensive than Nike and Adidas but more luxurious than Anta and Li Ning. A true blend of foreign and local.

Chinese celebreties attend a fashion event sponsored by YohoxKappa.

With the Dongxiang group acting as the vanguard in this market others have been quick to follow. Anta has acquired the brand rights to Fila and Li Ning to Lotto – both brands showing that if you can’t buy your own history, then you can at least buy someone else’s.

Citing an “insider” Senior Beijing Ad Executive who made this claim after the tainted milk scandals also tainted the careers of many Chinese celebrities involved, French continues to cite that “Chinese consumers are almost universally rejecting celebrity endorsements.”

Let me say this: celebrity endorsements in China will never go away. I’m sorry Mr. French, but here’s why:

1. Regional celebrities in Tier 2 and 3 cities are beginning to have more of a local impact.

Monstrous national celebrities like Jackie Chan, Yao Ming, Liu Xiang, Jay Chou, Ziyi Zhang all have conquered China. They are known in ever tiered city throughout China. However, their ubiquity has also diluted their influence to sell products. In order to regain influence, regional and local celebrities can be tapped to sell products on a local level. Makes sense right? One needs to only head over to an online poll taking place in Hunan Province that is measuring the popularity of forty-eight (forty-eight!) local Hunanese celebrities. With around 10,000 online votes, 4 out of the top 5 Hunanese celebrities are TV Hosts. The other one? A reality TV show winner.

A recent survey conducted by GroupM states that, “young people dislike ads on TV unless they are endorsed by celebrities or contain relevant music soundtracks.” Brands would be wise to tap into these local celebrities as they have more relevancy and a better connection with key youth demographics.

2. The definition of  a ‘celebrity’ in China is beginning to shift.

A celebrity in China has typically been defined as an actor, actress, singer, or athlete. These four areas dominate the cultural landscape of Chinese media and entertainment. However, celebrities with unique talents and broader interests are beginning to have more of an impact on younger generations of Chinese youth. Celebrities in today’s Chinese society must be involved in a wide range of areas to maintain relevance. One of the most popular bloggers in the world Han Han (韩寒), has crossed over into celebrity status through his controversial blogs and race car driving antics. He has been hailed as the “voice of his generation”.

A celebrity in China also does not have to be an established mega-superstar to qualify as a celebrity. Chinese youth today are just as attracted to reality TV stars such as Zeng Yike (of HappyGirl Fame) and Fantasy RPG celebrities such as Ling Er (灵儿) from Xianjian Legend as they are ‘traditional’ celebrities. It’s through unique endorsement strategies that brands can reach new and untapped markets.

We’re only beginning to see this tactic employed through online marketing campaigns such as Microsoft China’s Bing viral video featuring Internet celebrities Xiao Pang and Furong Jiejie. The video has been watched over 2 million times with thousands of comments. Though Bing (or in Chinese, 必应) currently has a 6% market share in China, further growth is anticipated.

3. Chinese business models are often slow to react to changing attitudes.

Celebrity endorsements in China will not be dying out anytime soon. Business models in China sometimes move at a microscopic pace, and Chinese business managers often minimize risk by using what has worked in the past. Large companies with large budges continue to advertise with huge Chinese celebrities. As recently as Monday, global companies Nike and Amway ran full page ads featuring Chinese track star Liu Xiang, capitalizing on his recent success. Scandals can often dislodge celebrities from their high status, but as our recent street interviews show, Edison Chen is still fresh on the tongues of China’s 90′s and ’80′s generations.

Chinese Design

今天谈论一下设计，中国风格的设计。

我们在中国，但我们还没有在优秀的中国风格设计里生活。这是个很困难的过程，让我们通过一些图片来共同体会一番吧。我会把图片按生活中的事物到中国化的设计来一个梳理，顺便发几句牢骚。

01 佛教本来是没有这个形象的弥勒佛的，佛都是无性的或双性特征的，在中国内陆，我们的祖先就创造了这个可爱的佛，这本身是一种设计，客户是所有认为原先的佛教过于严肃的人们，这种中国化相当高深，关键客户很买账，佩服呀。

02 把狮子这种古中国人没有见过的野兽描述的这么可爱活泼，我们现在又有几个人有这么强大的想像力？我们被现实震撼的太厉害了，只知道看图片，不喜欢没有插图的书，这会让我们越来越没有想像力，创造出的东西都好像有别人的影子，看看，这狮子每刀的刻画都是国人的想像力呀。

03 我相信这图很可能是日本人拍的，我更相信这里的风格是源于中国，那原创禅味谁也偷不走。

05 我常拍这些非常古老的图形和物体，我会觉得一次次被唤醒。

6 我相信东方的情怀加西方先进的图形表述会让古老的中国更加的酷。

8 那个刚刚逝去的时代带给我们很多的欢乐，但是现在看来，我们对传统的感觉其实有很多都断了层。

11 为什么这些图形能唤醒我们的历史记忆，能让我们感慨，难道只是因为我们熟悉？

12 西方人的意识中国龙的外表：西方的龙都是邪恶的化身，看，这条龙看起来够狠够坏了吧，所以这是按西方人理解的东方龙，我在想：我们会不会也有这么多对西方事物的误读呢？其实误读也是很有意思的事，至少我们自己没见过这样精神的龙。

14 文字和图形有这么多中国的基因，用好可是非常高难度，看看上面的设计，应该很容易感觉到他们鲜活的DNA吧！

15 我不知道他要表达什么，可能只是这个姿势适合放两吧枪吧，很多设计都没想法只是凑巧，但为了好像有想法，会有很多臆造的解释诞生，我们最好只相信自己的知觉。

16 其实这画非常的西化，至少技法是这样。不知道为什么，还是很浓的中国味道。

17 等到我们周围的设计都像这个图上这么生动的时候，我们的整体设计力量就非常强大了，他没有作的有多么的好，我只是感觉到设计者在用心做事，仅此而已，足以感动大家。

18 这是个强大的设计，骨子里那么的中国！

As Nike gears up for Shanghai’s 2009 human race a year later, one can’t help but notice that almost all of the main sources for promoting this campaign through SNS have been blocked.

Whereas in the UK or US a Youtube group or a Twitter update about a promotional event may still be the most impactful way of reaching your audience, the tools of interaction with Chinese youth are still changing. This is warning to companies who are lazy in their approaches when communicating to Chinese youth. Brands must always remain aware of changing marketing channels, particularly as relates to Chinese youth who are keen consumers of social media sites. A good example of this is the recent news that popular social networking site Xiaonei is to rebrand itself at Renren.

There should be no complacency in marketing strategy towards Chinese youth.

Nike's Human Race Warm-up 8/8 6.30am@Jiangwan Stadium, Shanghai

Chinese youth set the pace but enoVate can tell you where they’re heading, and how best to avoid the hurdles of changing market race.

However, many Chinese companies are relying on innovative ideas and unique design thinking to make their brands stand out in China and on the world stage. We at enoVate want to examine these brands and acknowledge the innovative steps being taken to improve their brands.

The first company in our innovation series is Li Ning. Li Ning is at an awkward stage in their brand development and positioning. In the Chinese market, where they do 99% of their business, they trail global sportswear giants, Nike and Adidas. Like many famous international brands in China (McDonald’s, Kraft Foods, Amway) Nike and Adidas have established their international image and brand philosophy within the minds of Chinese consumers. This translates well to Chinese consumers of whom many prefer more “global brands” to local Chinese brands.

It is a commonly held perception that Li Ning views Nike as the cooler, more mature older brother in the sportswear scene. Similar logos and slogans play into this view as well. In a BusinessWeek report on Li Ning, Abel Wu, head of Li Ning’s footwear division brings to the table this thought: “We don’t have as strong as brand as Nike and Adidas [so] our thinking is that as a local brand, we need to have an international image.”

But how is Li Ning trying to accomplish this?

Li Ning has turned its sights to the mecca for creative sportswear art and design: Portland, Oregon. Located in a two-story building in Portland’s Pearl District, Li Ning’s creative Portland headquarters are headed by Alan Hardy, a former senior designer at Nike and design director at Converse, Inc (now under the Nike umbrella). By positioning themselves in Portland, Oregon, Li Ning is giving itself access to innovative companies and designers that it might not have found in China.

Li Ning feels that solidifying a global image will help it’s brand in China.  The 2008 Beijing Olympics propelled Li Ning into the global sportswear vernacular. But Li Ning is taking further steps in this direction by partnering with leading global artists to display innovative product and design campaigns. Famous graphic designer KAWS designed a nifty Olympic Track Jacket and another famed graphic designer James Jarvis held a Li Ning sponsored event in Beijing showcasing his distinct designs. Collaborations of this sort mark Li Ning’s entrance into a more fashion conscious “Hypebeast” type market.

Li Ning x KAWS

Li Ning x Jim Jarvis
Li Ning is also embracing local creative Chinese design teams for innovation and product designs. Local graphic design agency Jellymon has recently been working with Li Ning on various graphic design and photography projects displaying hip, new youth targeted products made by Li Ning. Our streetwear and youth lifestyle brand eno is also brainstorming and developing innovative concepts to help Li Ning connect with a fashion forward youth audience. And recently, to celebrate Earth Day, Li Ning teamed up with renowned Hong Kong illustrator and toy designer Tim Tsui and Hong Kong based Milk Magazine to produce large, life-like statues made entirely from wood.

Li Ning x Tim Tsui x Milk Magazine

Li Ning x Jellymon

All of these collaborations display innovative approaches to attracting youth markets to Li Ning. We applaud innovation at enoVate and hope Li Ning continues with their innovative ways.

[a Joey Dembs x enoVate production]