So i recall a few months ago when i joined this forum board that i read an article how badminton needs yonex for an assorted number of reasons. Today I was thinking at Summersmash at San Gabriel Valley Badminton Club and thought what IF Nike got into the sport? I was actually thinking how much i love nike athletic wear but none the less, every sport that nike gets into does well. Golf is a great example. Its not an unpopular sport but back in the 90's after the picked up Woods WAM! It totally exploded. Now what IF Nike sponsored Lin Dan, Peter Gabe or whoever... Its really not that big of a stretch seeing how nike seized tiger from titleist, the no.1 played ball on tour and i think in the world. First it was Tigers apparel, then his ball, and then his clubs. Additionally Adidas picked up Sergio Garcia. I believe if Yonex had a big name competitor then badminton as a sport would be better off.
nice find cooler. i forgot what the article is, but i guess you found. I think what im saying is according to kwuns theory, that nike or a similar competitor would encourage both to advertise more.
emmm isn't Nike sposoring the China players now?? when they were going to the Asian Games, their apparel was by Nike... hmm...
nike made badminton court shoes, but it wasn't popular. Anyway, Nike is famous for soccer, gold, rugby, basketball, but not badminton. They probably won't be better than yonex or leading brands even if they come in.
Nike should focus what they are good in - i.e. in sport apparels and marketing their players who endorsed their products. If they ever wanted to venture into badminton, let them stick to the shirts, shorts and shoes; and let Yonex and others continue to develop the rackets. This is similar in other sports that Nike is well known in - they are not actually well known for producing the equipment but rather the apparels and the way they market them. To be honest, I do think Yonex is as brilliant on shirts and shoes design. Although they are functional, some of the design is actually quite ugly and do not quite look professionally done.
Nike and Adidas are the top two sports apparel/shoes/equipment companies in the world, if they did enter badminton, I think it would be a strangle-hold between these two, followed by Yonex.
I personally have a knack for Nike apparels , their stylish design are such a eye candy. If Nike were to start developing badminton equipments , it is likely that Nike will not even come close to threaten Yonex in the equipments department because of Nike's inexperience in badminton racquet technology. They might only end up developing average racquets as research takes time. Which might be a reason they don't even plan to start entering the badminton community as they assume that they might not be able to contend Yonex , the current badminton equipment powerhouse. Unless , badminton caught so much of their attention.
Thinking that Nike's sponsorship of badminton will instantly make it popular is a bit short-sighted in my opinion. Sure it'll help but it'll take a lot more than that. In the case of golf and Tiger Woods, it was a good combination because 1) Tiger is a golfer of multiracial descent---he's bound to be noticed 2) Tiger was younger compared to most golfers when he entered 3) Tiger proved he was great at golf From a marketing perspective, badminton will need its own Tiger Woods to help generate interest in people who would otherwise look at the sport as "tennis for girly men." Even then, it won't be a guaranteed success as there are just certain aspects of the sport that won't endear it to wider audiences as easily as other sports...such as TV-friendliness. Also, where I come from, badminton is seen as a more recreational sport, not a competitive one. My two cents
har har "tennis for girly men" i'd be willing to bet that fu hai feng would be able to strangle anyone who said that EASILY with his super muscular hand @@
errr.. at 180 cm and 70 kg = BMI of 21.6, I wouldn't consider that super muscular... face it, badminton players are way towards the skinny end when it comes to athletes
Regretful Reply Hello Everyone, Before we start in to looking for Nike to becoming a major sponsor for our beloved sport of badminton, I believe that we need to look as to the reason why Nike decided to get into the golf industry. I must admit that I do not have any "proof" for this information that I am about to share. This information cam to me "word of mouth" but it just made so much sense that I do not doubt its reasoning. Nike got into the sport of golf because Michael Jordan played golf. Nike had such a good deal with Michael, (back in the 80's and 90's) that they complained when Jordan wared shoes other than Nike. So they decided that they needed to get into golf to ensure that their logo followed M.J. where ever he went. After such an initial investment, they found that they could make some money selling more golf clothing. WHICH brings me to my point.............Nike is in the business of MAKING MONEY. They will not support a sport that will not make them money. NIKE is not a savor for this beloved game of ours. BUT....................rather we need to prove to companies like Nike that there are people willing to spend money on this game that we love. Forgive me for a corny quote... BUT... "if you build it, it will come." When we WORK hard at developing our sport, the sponsors and players, and fans, and coaches, and youth, and ETC........ will come. I am TRULY SORRY for the tone of this email. I must admit that I come from a Capitalistic country, but I have some serious concerns when it comes to asking for companies to "SAVE" badminton. Ok, I know that I have offended some people....Sorry, but I have to give my opinion. Toddster
Your post actually agrees with what I said. It's all about marketing too as marketing is how you sell the sport to other people, not just Nike or apparel makers in particular. Granted Tiger was a good exercise in that, but by no means is he the only reason why Nike's presence in golf has grown over the past seven years. This is why such a view is SHORT-SIGHTED. In the end it's all about having an audience. If Nike or what-have-you realizes that badminton has a big audience base to exploit, that's where the sponsorship will come in...and we know the sponsorship brings really neat stuff brought on by sports R&D such as clothes, shoes, rackets, strings etc. Players make money, sponsors make money, TV stations/syndication services make money, everybody's happy. By the way I never said we needed Nike to SAVE badminton. Where did you get THAT idea? What about badminton needs saving anyway? As long as there are players, the sport ain't dead.
If Nike jumps on the badminton boat then the sports popularity will go up for sure. But currently Nike isn't really into badminton, and hence Yonex is the biggest Corporation that backs the sport. At the moment, we need Yonex to make badminton more popular because other company that makes badminton product are not as involved in the sports as much as Yonex is.
That's.. ..a spiffy looking pair of baddy shoes (or can it be used for volleyball also)??..Btw, does it come with other colors such as blazing red or classic black or dazzling white or bold blue??..
