First, the concept of sports brand and its classification
1. The concept of sports brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a name, a term, a logo, a symbol or a design, or a combination thereof, in order to identify the products or services of a seller or a group of sellers and distinguish them from those of competitors. As can be seen from the above definition, brand is not an empty concept, but carries a certain spiritual connotation, which is reflected by its carrier (that is, a product or service). Different brands have different connotations, and sports brands have their own unique values because they bear the spirit and characteristics of sports.
According to the definition of brand, according to the author's understanding, sports brand is a symbol of the personality and unique selling point of sports goods represented by the differentiation in the sense of sports marketing, a consumption complex living in consumers' minds, a name, noun, symbol, symbol, or a combination of these factors. Sports brand is jointly created by enterprises and consumers. Enterprises produce products and transmit information to consumers through certain channels. After the demand is met, consumers have a sense of identity with the product, and then establish a good relationship with the brand, forming "loyalty" in consumption. At the same time, after the brand has been tested by consumers, it will constantly improve itself in the long-term operation in the future, forming a unique "brand culture" and eventually forming a "brand".
2. Classification of sports brands
Judging from the current practice of sports marketing at home and abroad, sports brands mainly include the following categories: First, sports core industry brands. Sports core industries include competitive performance industry, fitness and entertainment industry, etc. The sports brands formed in this industry include sports event brands and sports athlete brands. The second is the brand of sports events. Sports events are the core of sports, which can best show the vitality and charm of sports and best reflect the spirit and concept of sports. The third is the brand of sports athletes. Sports athletes are the participants and the core of sports activities, and play a main role in sports activities. It is they who present the charm of sports to the audience and let people feel their spirit and strong will in the sports field. They are the embodiment of strength and beauty, and the carriers of sports ideas. Fourth, sports support industrial brands. Sports supporting industries include sports goods, equipment, clothing, venues and other industrial fields, and the sports brands formed by this industry include sports goods brands and sports facilities brands. The fifth is the brand of sporting goods. Sporting goods brand refers to the products created by sports enterprises in the market competition and recognized by the society. Compared with similar sporting goods, it has high popularity, high reputation, long service life, high efficiency and high trademark price, ranking among the best.
Second, analyze the current situation and existing problems of sports brand development in China.
1. Analysis on the Development Status of Sports Brands in China
Sporting goods industry is an important part of sports industry. It is the earliest, oldest and most mature area in China and the most competitive industry in the sports industry. In recent years, China's sporting goods industry has developed rapidly, and the national expenditure on sporting goods has ranked sixth in the important consumption expenditure besides daily basic living consumption. The total output value of the national sporting goods industry is growing at an annual scale of 49.3 billion yuan. At present, the annual sales of sporting goods in China is 300-40 billion yuan. In terms of geographical distribution, since the 1990s, China's sporting goods production has been mainly concentrated in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Fujian and Guangdong, especially in Fujian and Guangdong, with more and more sporting goods production enterprises. At present, there are more than 4 million sporting goods enterprises in China, the sports market in China is unprecedentedly prosperous, and the competition among domestic independent sports brands is becoming more and more fierce.
2. Problems in the development of sports brands in China.
(1) The scientific and technological content of sporting goods in China is relatively low. Most sporting goods enterprises in China are backward in production technology, R&D is in the stage of inclusive imitation, and lack of professional sports. In China's production enterprises, the phenomenon of "emphasizing production" and "neglecting R&D" is still very common. Most enterprises don't have their own R&D team, lack independent intellectual property rights, lack forward-looking awareness of constantly upgrading traditional products, lack of mastery of domestic and foreign market information and accurate judgment of future trends. Enterprises don't pay enough attention to product research and development, and the capital investment is insufficient, which directly leads to the low grade, scientific and technological content and added value of sporting goods produced, poor anti-risk ability and no competitive ability to participate in the international market. Therefore, it is not conducive to the rapid development of sports brands in China.
(2) China sports products lack brand culture. Brand culture refers to the establishment of a clear brand positioning, on the basis of brand positioning, using various internal and external communication channels to form a high degree of spiritual identity of the audience to the brand, thus forming a cultural atmosphere, and forming a strong customer loyalty through this cultural atmosphere. This kind of loyalty is the realm of high integration of material and spirit, and the unity of characters is the summary of brand culture. It represents the lifestyle, values and personality of a group of people. Brand culture is actually a kind of values, a way of life and habits. Its charm lies in that it not only provides products or services for consumers, but also helps consumers realize their dreams. China's sports brands take culture as the starting point of brand strategy, and rarely understand the brand from the high-end or shape the brand from the macro perspective of culture, so China's sports brands lack cultural foundation as support.
(3) The market development is low and the industry competition is not standardized. In recent years, the active market has played a positive role in the circulation of sports brands. Excessive profit-oriented exhibition activities in a short period of time have caused disorderly competition and provided living conditions for a large number of low-quality counterfeit and shoddy products.
Due to various reasons, the standardization of sports brand industry in China has been lagging behind. Therefore, we must use economic and legal means to strengthen the review of technical grade standards, enterprise measurement standards and enterprise quality management, and limit the production and sales of products with imperfect testing equipment, irregular production and lack of effective quality assurance.
Third, the strategic approach of China sports brand development
Sports brand strategy is market-oriented, establishing brand awareness, starting from product quality, technology, innovation, marketing service, management and other aspects, and through the concerted efforts of internal and external enterprises, creating and issuing domestic well-known brand sporting goods with China characteristics.
1. Focus on brand quality and product innovation.
Brand quality includes the product quality represented by the brand itself and the quality that the brand feels in the eyes of consumers. Brand quality is based on product quality and extends to the quality that consumers feel. Now domestic brands have also noticed this development, but it is far from enough.
Science and technology is the foundation of innovation, and each brand product should have scientific and technological content and know-how that other products do not have. Due to the limitation of equipment, capital, technology and management, China sporting goods enterprises pay more attention to low prices, but ignore the research and development of product technology, especially the research and development of some high-tech sporting goods, such as racing cars, outdoor products and other equipment. The quality of products directly affects the quality that brands feel in consumers' minds. Only by constantly improving the technical content of products and creating enterprises' own patented technology can more consumers be attracted and brand names become permanent brands.
2. Strengthen sports brand culture
High brand awareness does not mean high brand value, but the cultural connotation of the brand is the core resource of brand value. Behind famous brands is culture, products are temporary, culture is eternal, and only culture is classic. Therefore, sporting goods enterprises should attach importance to the cultural connotation of the brand, and strive to inject culture, knowledge and wisdom into the whole process of brand creation, enrich the cultural connotation of the brand and make the brand more competitive. Generally speaking, sporting goods enterprises in China are still in the initial stage. Therefore, we should learn from the mature brand culture ideas and operating experience of well-known foreign sporting goods brands, strive to improve the cultural creativity of enterprises, create brands with culture, and create brand added value with culture, so as to make brand culture an accelerator for the growth of sporting goods brands in China and build a strong brand of world sporting goods in China as soon as possible.
3. Clear market positioning, build brand personality.
At present, many sports brands are gathering and need to segment the market. We can find brand positioning by choosing different sports, targeting different consumer classes and different regional markets. China's entry into WTO marks a great change in the international environment for the development of sporting goods brands in China. Therefore, we must base ourselves on the whole world and look at the world, and plan the development strategy of sporting goods brands in the international market environment. China sporting goods brands should first correctly analyze the market living environment and define the brand positioning. The brand positioning of sporting goods brands in China is generally vague. For example, "Li Ning", as the leading brand of sporting goods in China, has been unable to break through the growth ceiling except for the rapid expansion in the 1990s during the 12 years since the brand was founded, and its turnover has stagnated, with neither consumers buying products repeatedly nor new consumers joining. This result is mainly caused by unclear brand positioning. If China sporting goods brands want to compete with world-famous sporting goods brands in the global market, they must form a clear positioning strategy at the beginning of brand creation, clearly convey the positioning ideas, concepts and principles to the market in the process of brand creation, provide sufficient marketing resources and ensure accurate positioning.
The successful marketing of sports brands can not only promote the great development of sports industry, but also promote the vigorous development of GDP. Sports brand is a potential new marketing point in China. How to correctly understand the development trend of China's sports brands and how to formulate the development strategy suitable for China's sports brands is an important problem to be solved urgently.