Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 112: Endorsement price increase and down-to-earth attitude (4000 words, [-] updates completed!)
"A talented boy born for tennis!" This was a special feature on CCTV, which solemnly reported the news of Chen Ran's victory.

CCTV C5 Sports has always insisted on producing specially focused documentary features.

From legendary superstars to potential rising stars, from popular figures born out of the blue to legendary figures who have gone through many vicissitudes of life, from football with the greatest influence in the world to table tennis, known as the national sport, there are countless topics.

In particular, the quality of these documentary features is generally good, and they are worth talking about individually.

This is the first time that they have made a feature on a local Chinese tennis player.

Not only C5 Sports, but also C1 Comprehensive Channel also reported Chen Ran's news. Although it was not featured on "Xinwen Lianbo", it was also featured on the evening news.

C1 Comprehensive Channel made a grand introduction from another angle.

Since the "International Men's Tennis Professional Tournament" was renamed the "ATP Tour" in 1990, Chen Ran is the second Asian player to win the tour championship after the Thai player Sri Chaphan.

It must be admitted that in the era of traditional television media, CCTV’s influence and dissemination are unparalleled.

Through this huge platform, Chen Ran quickly made himself famous and made himself known to millions of Chinese audiences.

This is not like in the mobile Internet era more than ten years later, many talented staff have switched jobs from CCTV to join major online platforms, and CCTV's influence has also begun to gradually decline.

After the news of "Chen Ran winning the tour championship" was broadcast, many Chinese people also began to have a strong curiosity about tennis.

In the past, they only occasionally saw news about tennis on TV, but never studied it in depth.

After all, the protagonists in tennis news are all foreigners, and I feel very far away from their lives.

But when a Chinese holds the tour championship trophy, the meaning becomes completely different and people's interest is ignited.

Even in Chen Ran’s hometown of Dongzhou City.

The principals of his high school, Dongzhou Middle School, and his junior high school, Dongzhou No. [-] Junior High School, announced that they would build a tennis court for the students.

In fact, the cost of building a tennis court may be less than that of a basketball court. It is just a piece of cake for the school, but it only takes up a lot of space.

A tennis court may seem smaller than a basketball court, but because of the buffer area, a standard tennis court covers an area almost equal to that of a basketball court.

It is not easy for the school to set aside a piece of land to build a tennis court.

At the same time, some foreign media also mentioned the news of "Chen Ran winning the championship" and commented that on the stage of the ATP Tour, the Chinese finally have a place.

But they don't forget to drink cold water either.

At the beginning of the Australian Open, the real top players will not devote themselves fully to a 250 event. Chen Ran still needs to prove his dark horse quality in the Grand Slam stage.

Likewise, these people do not forget to fan the flames.

While CCTV and other Chinese media deliberately ignored the clip of Chen Ran provoking Thai fans, those foreign media with malicious intentions highlighted the matter.

They feel that such individual Chinese athletes really subvert their perceptions.

In my impression, shouldn't Chinese athletes be introverted, shy, and inarticulate? Even when they suffer losses, they should suffer silently and concentrate on the competition with their heads covered?
Even Yao Ming, who plays in the United States, gives the impression that although he is humorous and funny, he still has a good-natured temperament.

But Chen Ran's behavior was too unexpected for them.

The strong mental quality directly provokes thousands of opponents' fans.

He became more and more courageous amidst the boos all over the sky, and even shattered his opponent's mentality.

Who does this remind you of?
For the American media, only one person comes to mind: basketball superstar Michael Jordan.

He is also a guy who likes to stand up to the boos of away fans and then beat them into silence.

These foreign media also mentioned that Chen Ran used ATP rules to directly call a three-minute medical timeout before the start of the No. 12 game of the second set.

Not only did he disrupt the opponent's rhythm, he also took the opportunity to restore his own serving feel and won the next winning game in one fell swoop.

Foreign media's evaluation of this is: a cunning guy who will do whatever it takes to win the game.

"Does Chen Ran represent the personality of the new generation of Chinese athletes born in the 80s, or is he just an exception?"

……

"Is this a break from the contract?" Dong Bing, the vice president of Nike China, should have been excited by Chen Ran's wonderful performance.

But she had to accept a fact that made her laugh or cry. After Chen Ran won a tour championship, he had the right to break out of the contract and re-sign.

Of course, the so-called "break out of the contract and re-sign" here does not mean that Chen Ran can take the opportunity to jump to another company, but that he has the power to increase his endorsement fee once during the contract period.

The previous endorsement fee was 50 per year after tax for four years.

How long has the contract just been executed?Only three months!
This is going too fast!

The leaders of the US headquarters have issued an order to retain Chen Ran at any cost.

Once you lose this rising super star, you can voluntarily resign and leave.

From Dong Bing's perspective, being able to sign Chen Ran may be the most shining move in her career resume.

This is because of her discernment, and it is not impossible for her to even be promoted to the next level and become the president of the Huaxia District.

We must seize the opportunity to renegotiate the contract.

Dong Bing thought about it in his mind, then took out his mobile phone and found the phone number of IMG in the address book.

However, Chen Ran, who is far away in New Zealand at the moment, has long forgotten the "break out of the contract and re-sign" clause with Nike because he is overwhelmed by the joy of winning.

He was enjoying the New Zealand sunshine comfortably by the hotel's outdoor swimming pool.

Behind him was his physical trainer, the Russian burly Sergey, giving Chen Ran some restorative massage.

The only fly in the ointment is that the swimming pool is empty, without a bikini beauty to decorate the scenery.

At this time, Xue Peng, who was in charge of brokerage affairs, called him again.

The two chatted a lot, and then he remembered the special terms with Nike.

The other party asked himself what his ideal psychological price is?
This time Nike does not want to set up special terms.

They made a very sincere offer.

The current quotation has increased from RMB 50 to US$50.

If Chen Ran can win the Masters Championship, the endorsement fee in the contract will automatically increase to US$200 million; if Chen Ran can reach the Grand Slam finals, the endorsement fee will increase to US$300 million.

If Chen Ran wins a Grand Slam, the endorsement fee in the contract will be directly 500 million US dollars.

Chen Ran felt happy after hearing this.

"The difference in endorsement fees between the Grand Slam champion and the runner-up is exactly the same as the bonus and points." The points for the Grand Slam champion are 2000 points, and the runner-up is 1200 points. Similarly, the bonus for the latter is 60% of the former.

The endorsement fee given by Nike is also in this proportion.

"Chen Ran, let alone your ambition to win a Grand Slam. Even if you win the Masters, this endorsement fee will be unique in the entire Chinese sports world. There is almost no one in the entertainment industry who can match you."

"I know." Chen Ran nodded and continued: "What I'm also interested in is, if Nike opens a dedicated line for me, what grades are required?"

Before, Chen Ran didn't have enough grades, so there was no point in asking, but now he finally spoke.

Nike has a tradition of opening dedicated lines for its top athletes, designing personal jerseys and sneakers for the players and giving them a certain amount of sales share.

"You actually know about the dedicated line." Xue Peng didn't expect that Chen Ran had done this homework.

"Do I have to win a Grand Slam?" Chen Ran continued to ask.

Xue Peng thought for a while and said slowly: "Under normal circumstances, one Grand Slam may not be enough for those European and American players. They need at least two, and they must remain competitive enough for a long time."

"But you are Chinese, and with the vast Chinese market behind you, your requirements may not be so high."

"But I am optimistic. You need at least one Grand Slam runner-up."

The runner-up in a Grand Slam can earn US$300 million in endorsement fees, which will indeed make those European and American athletes jealous.

The business myth that unfolded on Yao Ming is entirely possible to be replicated on Chen Ran.

Chen Ran remembered that after Liu Xiang won the 2004 Athens Olympics, the endorsement fee given by Nike was almost more than 2000 million Chinese coins, equivalent to 300 million U.S. dollars. They also opened a special line for Liu Xiang.

It can also be deduced from the price here that as a Chinese, Chen Ran can get Nike to open a dedicated line if he wins a Grand Slam runner-up.

"Okay, I understand."

Chen Ran gave a more positive reply: "This amount is no problem. You can continue to negotiate with them about other details and terms. Just let me know in time."

"Okay!" It went up 300% before.”

Chen Ran fell into a brief silence.

It's not that he's dissatisfied with the price, but the brand's positioning.

In his memory, tennis giants in previous generations basically endorsed high-end or even luxury products, which has almost become their standard.

But does Chen Ran have to imitate them and make himself superior?

You see, many of Jay Chou's endorsements are very close to the people. He even endorses electric cars and hand cakes. In his words, he hopes that his fans can afford the products he endorses.

Think about those young celebrities and popular celebrities. Each one is more pretentious than the other, and they get all the luxury endorsements. Then they cut off a wave of fans and call them "favorite fans". They are really reaping the IQ tax.

As for endorsements, sometimes they don’t need to be so high-end and there’s nothing wrong with being more people-friendly.

What's more, as my other identity is still a student, I have to endorse some products that are closer to the student party.

We cannot stay away from the masses.

Frankly speaking, Nike products are quite expensive, and many students cannot afford them.

In his previous life, Chen Ran was a student and knew that some of his classmates often had to scrimp for several months before they could afford Nike shoes. He understood this very well.

In comparison, Metersbonwe, which is based in the local market, is more affordable and popular among many student groups.

Furthermore, as a local Chinese athlete, Chen Ran has to support local brands.

Metersbonwe is just a casual clothing brand with affordable prices. It is not a financial, dietary, or pyramid-selling product, and there is no risk of explosion.

"Chen Ran...if you think this brand is not high-end enough, then I will reject it?" Xue Peng asked softly.

As Chen Ran's grades continued to soar, he became more and more cautious, fearing that he would make his employer unhappy.

Xue Peng also has several young artists who have just debuted in the entertainment industry.

However, these so-called young artists are already in their early twenties, much older than Chen Ran.

But when he faced these young artists, his attitude became much more arrogant, and they could only be polite and smile.

Of course, this is normal. Young artists who have just debuted in the entertainment industry are like crucian carp crossing the river. They all want to be famous, but the competition is too fierce and too fierce.

A small announcement opportunity, a bunch of people eagerly waiting in line.

Their resources are provided by IMG, otherwise there would be no exposure opportunities.

But Chen Ran is different. He and IMG have a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship. Even when Chen Ran received an honor, IMG also benefited from it.

"No need to refuse!" Chen Ran finally made a decision, "We can't always be high-minded, sometimes we have to endorse some more down-to-earth products. Think about the two contracts I have now, Nike and Wilson racket."

"All in all, these two products are relatively expensive, which is unacceptable to many student parties."

"But don't forget that student parties will be the audience for tennis in the future."

"Tennis is healthy, young and sunny!"

Chen Ran also clearly realized something when chatting privately with Zhou Yuan of "Sports Weekly" and Zhang Sheng of CCTV.

The promotion of tennis in China is mainly aimed at young people, especially those in the student party. Metersbonwe is also positioned in the student party. Doesn't this coincide?

"That's right, you are really thinking far and far!" Xue Peng couldn't help but sigh after coming back to his senses.

Chen Ran is such a smart and thoughtful athlete. It's rare that he has thought of all the problems that his agent didn't think of.

"In terms of endorsement fee, 300 million is just 300 million. Anyway, it only lasts for two years. It's not embarrassing if it's lower than Jay Chou." Chen Ran also seemed very happy. After all, Jay Chou is very popular nowadays and he didn't even get a big award. Through.

But he immediately changed the subject: "But I have a condition. Metersbonwe can design some tennis-themed casual wear, which should be youthful, young and fashionable."

Chen Ran thinks about how to better promote tennis all the time. He doesn't care if he gets a little more money or a little less money.

"Okay, don't worry about this, I will make a request to the factory over there."

Xue Peng promised, and then he seemed to remember something: "By the way, the signing ceremony and meeting are scheduled for the end of next month. I hope you and Jay Chou will attend together."

With Jay Chou?This is quite interesting.

"Okay!" Chen Ran was also looking forward to it.

……

(End of this chapter)