What criteria Lenovo ought to consider when selecting such a celebrity endorser?

- There is a match between the endorser and the target market Members of target market accepts the endorser as a source of information Lifestyle and demographic of the endorser resonates with the target market, more likely to be effective in influencing purchase behaviour.

- He is known to the public and likeable. His popularity will provide Lenovo a sustainable competitive advantage. Fans of him will view product favourably and purchase the product based on the belief that since he owns an IdeaPad Ultrabook, so should they. Or they will buy the product simply out of support for their sports idol.

- His face and name is recognizable -> provides ease of recall Endorser may not be exhibited on all POS displays of Lenovo products Even when likeness of the endorser is not visible, consumer is able to recall the association with him when they see the product, leveraging on Lenovos endorsement effort.

- Has believability Is relevant to the product Is not endorsing another technological gadget from a competitor or it will make it difficult for the consumer to accept any claim of product superiority made on behalf of Lenovo Endorser should truly perceive the product to be superior and worthy of endorsing o Enables spontaneous promotion by the endorser

- Achievement High achievers set themselves apart from the crowd, convey sought after qualities of reliable, pursue excellence in all they do, which is congruent with the image of the product Lenovo is trying to portray. The partnership epitomizes the brands objective by highlighting how their devices give someone as accomplished an athlete as Kobe Bryant, the tools to do more and to continue inspiring generations of fans around the world to pursue their dreams.

- Good continuity prospects Endorsements more effective when an on-going long-term relationship is established. However, length of relationship depends on the athletes market appeal. If athletes fame is deemed to be shortlived, he should less likely be considered as an endorser. Endorsement effort is wasted if he loses his influence on target market easily.

- Physically attractive Improves consumers overall evaluation of the advertisement Consumers perception of the product is related to the attractiveness of the endorser

Discuss how Lenovo could utilize a sports overlay to market its new Ultrabook?
Marketing objectives: - Not to target technology enthusiasts but to create brand awareness and develop a new market segment, hence hopefully drive sales. - Market segment: Male 18-35 year olds

- Sponsorship In July 2012, Lenovo and the National Football League (NFL) announced that Lenovo had become the NFL's "Official Laptop, Desktop and Workstation Sponsor." Lenovo said that this was its largest sponsorship deal ever in the United States. Lenovo will receive advertising space in NFL venues and events and be allowed to use the NFL logo on its products and ads. Lenovo said that this sponsorship would boost its efforts to market to the key 18-to-35-year-old male demographic. The NFL has been a Lenovo customer since 2007 and the sponsorship resulted from that relationship. NFL stars Jerry Rice, DeAngelo Williams, and Torry Holt were on hand for the announcement and a celebration with 1,500 Lenovo employees. Lenovo's sponsorship will last at least three years. - Endorsement by a sports celebrity - Mainstream strategies Price (Offer discounts to ticket holders of sports events) Place (Sell the Ultrabook at a sports venue -> NCAA competitions to target university level students) Promotion 1. Advertising Ad in a sports magazine Ad during the telecast of NFL matches Creative aspect of ad featuring actors in sports settings (convey the message that Lenovo is competitive with a drive for excellence, and this is epitomized by its release of the state-of-the-art Ultrabook) Advertise during sports programme on the radio Advertise at sports venue Advertise on a sports website with high traffic (ESPN) 2. Sales promotion Set up a booth displaying Lenovo Ultrabook at sports expos, particularly at sports that require use of technology or are associated with high technological advances. Contests chance to win event tickets if they purchase an Ultrabook POS Display: Signage features a sports theme at retail outlets selling the Ultrabook

Novak Djokovic - Jovial, extroverted personality

- Active and likeable on social media (connection with fans) - Achievements on court 6 grand slam titles World number 1 in 2011 and held that title for more than 100 weeks

- Not over-exposed - No controversies. Novak Djokovic is a hugely popular figure in China after his success in Beijing and Shanghai over the past few years. The Serb first established himself as a firm fan favourite in Asia back in 2008 when he won the World Tour Finals for the first time, back when it was still held in Shanghai. Since then hes gone on to win four Beijing titles and the Shanghai Masters twice. Most Serbs agree that Novak Djokovic is the country's number one public relations asset at the moment and many argue he has single-handedly improved Serbia's image in the world. "Young Djokovic creates an image of Serbia as a country whose troubles are increasingly fading". "What Djokovic possesses are a positive spirit and a cheerful nature, and that is exactly what Serbia needs after the difficult years of war and isolation." Djokovic projects an image of Serbia as young, dynamic and promising. For Serbs, a key element of Djokovic's appeal is that he exemplifies love of country without slipping into the ugly excesses of ultranationalism. He always declares himself a patriot and does not miss an opportunity to point out he is from Serbia. Belgrade awarded Djokovic with the "Best Serbian brand in 2010" and the "Oscar for popularity". He has been widely admired for his humanitarian efforts, demonstrated most recently by his response to the disaster in Japan.

Increase awareness of the sports event

Promotional messages can easily become simply noise. They crowd the marketplace and make everything more confusing for consumers. This creates a marketing problem. To address this problem, some marketers look for new ways to communicate with consumers. They seek to break the traditional rules of marketing by reaching consumers in innovative ways, creating a lasting impression on consumers. Advertising. This type of promotion usually delivers messages to a wide audience using the press, television, radio and the internet. Although this makes it easy to reach a large audience, it is more difficult to deliver a memorable message that is tailored to a specific target market. It can be costly: for example, television adverts at prime time are very expensive. In addition, businesses cannot completely control who sees or hears their adverts or how they respond.

Developing the event as a brand Clipper Yacht Race provides experiences that excite, surprise and challenge participants and spectators. It creates genuine relationships with individual athletes. Portray the image that it is a fun event that enables people from all walks of life to achieve their life-long dream of sailing around the world and support these athletes in pushing themselves beyond the limits. Capitalize on positive

messages such as how the event has benefited the host country as a whole, how the sport of yachting teaches teamwork, how the event enables amateur athletes to springboard into the international race scene. This can be done through public relations strategies. Generate significant news about the event to earn a favourable presentation of it in the media. Media coverage can encourage consumers to find out more about the event. However, the onus is on the media to create content, not on Clippers to provide it.

Engaging with customers Advertising through social media. o These tools provide direct and relevant lines of communication with core youth audience. Facebook, Twitter and online blogs make it easy for people to exchange information quickly between themselves. These channels of communication make word-of-mouth and other pull marketing strategies more effective. o Provide behind the scenes updates leading up to the event, interview of athletes to get consumers excited about the event and convey this excitement to their family and friends. o Promote the qualities of the venue in which it is held. (award-winning Marina at Keppel Bay, beautiful skyline). o It helps to generate momentum through creating interesting stories for people to talk about, which creates awareness and may translate to ticket sales.

To remain competitive and interact with consumers, constantly creating new ways of reaching its audiences online. Partner with a variety of smart phone applications to promote its campaigns through real-world community, activation and virality. o App can provide recommendations, rewards (ticket deals, locations and dates/times of race take off parties) and insider knowledge of whats cool to do in Singapore so fans can experience the city through their eyes. o These methods allow Clipper to drive real-world activity among supporter of the event and build loyalty. They create connections with consumers which minimise the risk of noise affecting the promotional message.

Unlike advertising campaigns which have to be planned months in advance, the great advantage of these techniques is that they are easy to adapt and refine.

Leverage on relationship with sponsors to increase visibility Ensure sponsors actively promote the event through their own marketing strategies (website, social media, press release statements)

Leverage on entities of the event (athletes, yachts, peripheral events) Engage athletes to promote the event (advertise through social media, especially effective for athletes with a large fan base). However, the onus is to provide the athletes with a welcoming reception such that they feel proud to be part of the event and promote it on their own accord. Display yachts prior to the event for free public viewing Take off parties, concerts -> appeal to a wider audience

Recruitment talks by race organiser

Discuss the benefits that Keppel Corporation is likely to receive

Improves image o By sponsoring the Clipper Yacht Race, the automaker believes its association with a sport and an event that both appeal to an upscale market will further enhance its own image o Yachting conveys an image of safety and new technology, which is consistent with the image that Volvo seeks to nurture o Attain positive public relations Sponsoring event which brings about nationwide benefits to the country Capitalize on fans pride and patriotism to create a positive image of itself (Singapore team participating in the race) Create greater awareness o Increase visibility globally (race is exposed to a global audience) Provide hospitality opportunities o Entertain clients and potential clients in hospitality facilities. Favourable reception provide a perfect opportunity for contracts or deals to be signed on the sideline. Enhance employee morale

Discuss the benefits that Singapore is likely to receive by being associated with the Clipper Race
Socio-cultural - Introduce Singaporeans to the sport of yachting Increase participation rate o Capitalize on the fact that participants do not need previous sailing experience o Participation in the race can jumpstart o Yachting has been shown to make a significant contribution to the quality of life of participants -> crew members often form deep bonds and long-lasting friendships. Learn about teamwork. Increase fan base o who in turn influence friends and family to attend the event o Create a community of yachting enthusiasts who take it upon themselves to promote the event/sport in the period leading up to the event, during and after the event. Increase demand for SASS o Most participants have gone on to continue their love of the sea through boat purchases, sailing holidays and jobs in the marine sector o Local retailers who sell yachting-related sports good gain increased sales

- Singaporeans gain pride in their country for hosting such a prestigious global event - Publicity Provides Singapore international acceptance and recognition, valuable hours of international TV exposure Present Singapore a regional sailing hub, destination for international sporting events

Excellent on-going publicity for the award-winning Marina at Keppel Bay

Socio-economic - Provide solid base for the development and expansion of tourist industry (encourage foreign visitors, brings in tourist dollars, revenue and business for hosting city and local traders) - Job opportunities - Develop business and sporting relationships with other stop-over countries

Physical impacts - Do not need to spend large sums of money to construct new sports facilities specially for the event (Marina at Keppel Bay has been built already) - Infrastructure development that is not directly related to the event takes place such as leisure facilities, commercial centres and open spaces, which aim to improve the physical appearance of the host city.

Appeal to the Fans Its no secret that NASCAR has an endless supply of fans that love to watch, attend, and even study the races. NASCAR continues to appeal to them with advertisements, reviews, content, promotions, and many other tactics. Once they got their fans, it was easy for them to keep them and continue to attract new ones at the same time. With over 75 million fans, NASCAR sells over 3 billion dollars to them annually in products and tickets. A great way to try and place this strategy into any business, is first, attract loyal customers who enjoy what you have to offer. Once you have a large enough customer base, you can start sending out special promotions that are exclusive to them or send them related content to keep them interested. There are so many ways to appeal to consumers, but every industry will have different methods that are effective. Web and Digital Content Over the last decade, NASCAR has really bumped up its digital and web content to further market their company. Since almost everyone has access to a computer and internet, it is the most effective way to introduce information about the company directly to their consumers. By posting videos of previous races or interviews with some of the drivers on video sharing sites, people are able to experience what it would be like to be at the actual event and be more interested in watching the upcoming races. The same goes with any written or photo style content. By flooding certain parts of the internet with the best content they can provide, they will attract new fans, keep their current fans interested, and will continue to grow as a business. Any business can use this strategy to expand their company. The best thing about content marketing is that it doesnt have to cost much. Although having a budget would definitely help, it isnt necessary for the marketing campaign to be successful. By blogging or posting quality content to other sites, more people will be exposed to what you have to say and will be willing to find out more about you and your company.

Sales Promotions Almost every business has tried some type of sales promotion. While there are so many different types of promotions, some work better than others. Since NASCAR is widely known and has a fan base that never lets them down, the promotions that are seen usually have to do with third party promotions. For instance, NASCAR gives your local radio station a deal on a limited number of tickets, then the radio station gives them out for free, helping out both NASCAR and the radio station. There are plenty of other promotions on other products that NASCAR offers such as hats, T-shirts, Bumper stickers, and etc. The great thing about having promotions that include products with the NASCAR name on it, is that even if they dont make a large profit, they still get free marketing out of it when people wear the clothing. Its a win-win. Every industry is going to have certain promotions that work better than other, so finding the right one for your company will be the key to a successful promotion. Promote the Experience NASCAR does a really good job of portraying the experience of being a fan that is attending the actual race. Although most fans usually watch it on TV, NASCAR encourages them to attend the actual races. Not only does this help them sell out races to make more profits, but it also shows its fans that it can be much more than just watching it in front of a television, if they just get involved. Once the customer gets involved, there is a much higher chance they will end up buying other products and will be more willing to attend the races. If you try and promote more than just your product or service, but the experience that comes along with it, then you will appeal to your customers at a much higher level. If youre looking back and notice that you cant really offer anything as far as an experience, then you can use this reality check to enhance your customers experience to make your products or services much more desirable.

NBA in China Creating special events in new hosting countries to introduce the sport E.g. NBA China Games 2007, NBA Jam Vam NBAs interactive touring activity for fans to get closer to the game they love is touring in China . Our Recommendation 2:Advertising Campaigns (??) NBA works with DMG to help design the ad campaign for the 2010 NBA Games in Beijing and Taipei. DMG is China's largest media and entertainment business. It's a full-service agency specialising in making international brands a success in China. They are Greater China experts and understand the unique cultural challenges of the Chinese market and has the bespoke tools to help international brands that want to be successful in the world's most populous nation. Reaching out to the locals in a widespread and effective manner. The NBA has nurtured its growth via its relationships with 51 TV stations that provide NBA programming to more than 2 billion viewers. To nurture and satisfy the consumer demand, the league maintains marketing partnerships in China with 20 of the world's leading brands and makes products available to fans in more than 30,000 locations.

NBA sold its broadcasting rights to Chinese sports channels free of charge initially to capture Chinese viewers. Coca-colat & Sports events It is necessary to create 'the right image' of a product, i.e. one that closely matches consumers' feelings of what the product should be like. It is therefore an important part of marketing to build on 'associations' between products and other aspects of life. This case study shows how Coca-Cola and sports share a tradition of close association which dates back nearly a century. Coca-Cola and sports are a natural fit. Coca-Cola strives to be everywhere people gather for fun, recreation and enjoyment - everything which makes sport a popular pastime for so many people around the world. Visit any major sporting event or arena in your neighbourhood and you will see people drinking Coca-Cola before, during and after participating in sports, or when they are spectators because sport is as much for the fans. - consider a range of aspects of the product, products not just purchased to meet a single need. More concerned with the image associated with the product and the image of the company which produces the product. An important ingredient of this image will be the association that the product evokes. Sound marketing to build on these associations The relationship which Coca-Cola has with sport seeks to advance the development of sport overall and to help make sporting competitions possible by supporting events for the participation and pleasure of athletes and spectators. At the same time, the Company benefits from its association with sports in several key ways: Its image is enhanced through association with prestigious sporting events. Promotions and other marketing tie-ins with sports and sporting events have a widespread consumer appeal. The Coca-Cola trademark is highly visible at appropriate venue sites and through promotional activity. Products are sold at major sporting occasions to millions of consumers.

Kia wants to bring a fresh, fun and dynamic approach to the UK car market. Its marketing strategy supports its objectives with a focus on increasing brand awareness. It aims to emphasise the great design and quality of Kias products, while still offering competitive prices. Promotion is about communicating with customers and potential customers. It has a number of purposes, for example: to increase awareness such as the range of vehicles Kia offers to raise brand recognition this is important in an industry with over 30 major players in the UK to increase demand thereby helping to meet the objective of growth in the UK to improve brand perception promotion communicates the fun approach of the Kia brand to highlight the superiority of the product e.g. the high quality and great design of Kia cars.