Li-Ning teams with NBA for youth lure

The three-year deal will give Li-Ning the right to use the logos and names owned by NBA Properties and see it designated as the 'Official sponsor of the NBA' for the promotion of its brand and footwear line. Li-Ning is expected to launch a series of basketball shoes for the first time later this year. NBA players will also make annual appearances in China to take part in promotional campaigns for the sports brand. The US-based basketball association, which held its first China games in Shanghai in October last year, will also provide Li-Ning with commercial timeslots in regular season games telecast by China Central Television (CCTV). "Li-Ning will have brand exposure in NBA programming (on CCTV5), giving it leading brand exposure on TV and on the Chinese-language website (www.NBA.com/ China). It will also work with the NBA to select sponsored players to produce commercials. The new TVC will also feature the NBA's logo," said Kelvin Cheng, MD at Leo Burnett Beijing, Li-Ning's advertising agency. The deal will enable Li-Ning to support grassroots level activities to further the development of basketball in China's second and third-tier cities. "Basketball is fundamentally the most popular sport for teens. Li-Ning has had its brand related to Chinese sports, but basketball allows people to watch games and follow leagues, (building fan loyalty)," he added. Rival brand Adidas, which beat Li-Ning, as well as Nike, in the bid for the Beijing 2008 Olympics, is also involved in basketball in China. It signed its first contract with the Chinese Basketball Association in 1985 and has sponsored different teams and athletes in China over the last few years. Li-Ning, which is on an aggressive expansion drive ahead of the 2008 Olympics, has 200,000 stores across the mainland. Li-Ning has also extended its contract with Burnett to 2008.