The National Basketball Association and Nokia have expanded their current agreement into Greater China.
As part of the deal, Nokia will be the Official Mobile Phone of the NBA in Greater China, and will offer its mobile users there access to embedded NBA video highlights of the 2004-05 NBA season and 2005 All-Star Game. Beginning the second half of this year, Nokia is expected to offer NBA team logos and NBA Java games in its mobile phones.
Nokia will also participate in China’s first-ever NBA Jam Van mobile tour, and will advertise on NBA games televised on Central Chinese Television (CCTV).
China has become a hotbed for the NBA and its sponsors. The popularity of the NBA is “going through the roof,” said Wally Hayward, chairman & CEO, Relay Sponsorship & Event Marketing.
Hayward, whose agency does some work for the NBA in the U.S., said that 85% of Mainland China’s population believes they are NBA fans, and that six of the 10 most popular athletes in the country are NBA players.
“The growth has been driven by (Houston Rockets center) Yao Ming and powerful television ratings on CCTV’s weekly game telecast,” Hayward said. The network draws more than 16 million viewers per weekly telecast.
In addition, the 2008 Summer Games will be played in Beijing.
Earlier this year, McDonald’s expanded its partnership with the NBA by holding promotions in more than 600 restaurants in China and Taiwan. Consumers could collect four NBA-themed cups in a special NBA Combo Meal Ming promoted.
And in January, Chinese apparel maker The Li-Ning Co. and the NBA formed a multi-year marketing partnership that connected the Li-Ning sports brand with the NBA’s global popularity and its players.
The NBA also has a dedicated Web site for China, nba.com/china, and staged exhibition games in Bejing and Shanghai in October 2004. Six brands—McDonald’s, Budweiser, The Coca-Cola Co., Eastman Kodak Co., Reebok and The Walt Disney Co.—were active sponsors at the events.
“The numbers we’ve seen about the popularity of NBA basketball is unbelievable,” Hayward said. “There’s a huge growth in basketball culture in China that is just getting ready to explode.”
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