...but David Stern's no George Martin... http://online.wsj.com/search#SB109778113798245661 -- Yao-Mania: Hoop Star's Visit To China Evokes Beatles, 1964 By PETER WONACOTT Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL October 15, 2004 SHANGHAI -- Sports is a big business. China is a big market. But it has taken a big Chinese basketball star to bring the two together. Yao Ming's return to China this week for two preseason National Basketball Association games has put on full display the nation's frenzied embrace of the Houston Rockets' towering center. His reception explains why multinationals are eager to use sports to court the estimated 300 million young Chinese consumers, who are emerging as a critical audience for global marketing campaigns. Tickets sold out in within hours to games pitting Houston against the Sacramento Kings, played yesterday in Shanghai and set for Beijing on Sunday. A courtside seat went for $2,500, more than twice the annual income of an average Chinese. Some of Mr. Yao's public appearances weren't disclosed in advance to keep crowds in check. At an event to launch Reebok's new Yao Ming signature shoe Wednesday night, dozens of fans broke through a police barricade and pounded Mr. Yao's departing van. Among them was a reed-thin lady in librarian glasses, who pursued the vehicle through Shanghai's rush-hour traffic. Advertisers paid some $10 million to sponsor two games and ally themselves with Yao Ming. "It's like the Beatles on tour," says NBA Commissioner David Stern, who has led a China expansion that is now the cornerstone of the league's global marketing strategy. "We are bringing the favorite son home for two concerts." Despite its well-oiled marketing machine, the NBA experienced some glitches with the visit. Shanghai officials were unhappy that the Reebok shoe launch was held on a patchy concrete basketball court that is set to be demolished. Scalpers, who snapped up many of the tickets to the Shanghai game, paid migrant workers to stand in line for hours to buy the maximum four per person; the street sales inflated already-expensive ticket prices. But a local hero is a powerful draw. Mr. Yao, who started in last year's NBA All-Star Game, embodies the hopes of many Chinese for a positive image overseas. Mr. Yao, in turn, says he hopes his commercial appeal can be used to stoke business interest in his home country. "We can use the NBA to promote the China market," he says, once his van had outpaced the last sprinting autograph seeker. "The [sponsors] are helping me and I am helping them. It's mutually beneficial." In return for sponsoring the two NBA games -- at a price tag of nearly $10 million -- companies such as Eastman Kodak Co., Coca-Cola Co., McDonald's Corp., Reebok International Ltd. and Anheuser-Busch Cos. are conducting sales blitzes, often accompanied by Mr. Yao's image. Some are reporting immediate dividends: Kodak says its China stores have seen a 30% rise in digital-printing volume since its Yao Ming promotion began Sept. 10. But most have longer-term goals in mind. Reebok, which signed Mr. Yao last year to a multimillion-dollar shoe deal, recently has been opening a new store in China every other day in a race to catch up to Nike Inc. After missteps in the 1980s, Reebok says it aims to grab a 25% share of what will become a $1.5 billion market for sports apparel in the next five years. "With Yao and our partnership with the NBA, we wanted to come back to China," says Reebok Chairman and Chief Executive Paul Fireman. "It's the No. 1 frontier for growth and, ultimately, China could become the world's biggest market in terms of consumption." Until Mr. Yao, sports were an iffy commercial bet in China. Chinese athletes weren't well-known abroad, nor were they attuned to corporate needs. Shoe executives would complain that athletes would show up at events wearing gear manufactured by their rivals. Much has changed with the approach of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Chinese officials are encouraging teams and athletes to solicit sponsorships and abide by the terms. They have stepped aside during legal tussles, as when Mr. Yao, who has a contract with PepsiCo Inc., sued Coca-Cola last year for unauthorized use of his picture on a bottle. (Mr. Yao dropped the suit after Coke apologized.) "Sports officials for the longest time only paid attention to sports inside the lines," says Terry Rhoads, co-general manager of Zou Marketing, a Shanghai firm that stages sports promotions. "Now they are interested in what goes on outside the lines, the business of sports." The new awareness coincides with global marketing campaigns from professional sports leagues. The NBA had been cultivating ties to China for decades, but only after Mr. Yao joined the league in 2002 did interest here explode. This season, the NBA plans to broadcast eight games a week over 14 networks in China. Last season, a deal with 13 networks reached 314 million Chinese households. Yesterday, in a packed Shanghai stadium, the Rockets defeated the Kings 88-86, with Yao Ming scoring 14 points. Fans banged plastic "thunder sticks," cheered the dancers and chanted "Yao Ming! Yao Ming!" at the end of the game. Heavy emphasis on a single player concerns some executives, who have seen injuries and scandals ruin marriages between companies and athletes. "You can't discount that Yao Ming brings a load of media attention, but it has to be the game at the end of the day," says Tony Ponturo, vice president of global media and sports marketing for Anheuser-Busch. On a Budweiser promotional basketball court outside the Shanghai stadium, Mr. Yao's image shared space with other players. Still, for now, Mr. Yao is one of the few athletes offering marketers access to China's free-spending young urbanites, who are quick to embrace global trends. Even with his help, Reebok doesn't expect to be profitable in China anytime soon, Mr. Fireman says. Just as in the U.S., the China market demands top-line products and the hottest pitchmen. Yao Ming is only one big step, Mr. Fireman says. "We now have to find the athletes of the future."
Beatles went to China in 1966, not 1964. What were they, Santa Claus? Not their fiinest conerts, either. Maybe he just meant the Beatles tours in general, which is a stretch. Back in the day, people wanted to like, eat the Beatles when they toured, and before proper security actually existed. People climbing into 8th floor hotel rooms and stuff. But right, I get it, people are excited. Still, David Stern needs to not jinx Yao by comparing him to the Beatles, it's the kiss of death. Look what happened to Whitney Houston, Duran Duran, The New Kids, The Dave Clark Five and Hall & Oates. Its very bad karma.
He confused the Phillipines with China. The Beatles went to the Phillipines in 1966 and somehow dissed the president's wife, and had to flee the country.
