How China’s Fashion Industry Leveraged the Olympics

From Christian Dior to Fenty Beauty, fashion and beauty brands from across the globe have gained exposure from the Paris Olympic Games. The marketing value of these varied activations has yet to be tallied but one of the biggest winners in China might end up being Maogeping, a cosmetic brand enlisted by the country to be its official team provider. Helmed by its namesake founder and make-up artist Mao Geping, the brand is on site to ensure the country’s 400-plus athletes present their best selves — both on and off camera.

The partnership has spawned its own hashtag, #TheGloryofChinainParis in Chinese, clocking up millions of views across social media platforms Weibo, Xiaohongshu and Douyin. A more lasting reminder of the brand’s intimate connection with China’s top athletes — a new class of celebrity in the country that’s increasingly popular among fashion and beauty brands seeking endorsements beyond entertainers — is Maogeping’s Olympic-themed makeup range.

So far, China’s fashion industry has focused on coverage of sporting heroes like Zheng Qinwen, a tennis champion who looked immaculate blasting her opponents on the court in Paris, and off-duty images of Wu Yanni, a hurdler who makes headlines as much for her tattoo and makeup routines as for her speed on the track.

The Maogeping deal is one of many that Chinese companies have struck in a bid to associate themselves with the apex event in sporting excellence.

Alibaba Group, which owns e-commerce platform Tmall and other companies that are key fashion retail channels, has become an official Olympic sponsor. Rival JD.com launched a campaign offering customers a selection of champion-worn gear. Local sportswear conglomerate Anta sponsored the Chinese Olympics Committee and its competitor Li Ning created a high-tech suit for the table tennis team. Expanding its marketing footprint beyond China is Fujian-based sporting goods company Peak which provided clothing for several international Olympic teams including the Philippines and Belgium.

Companies like cosmetics brand Chando have been long-term partners of Chinese sporting teams, in its case diving. Other fashion and beauty brands have chosen to hire individual athletes as ambassadors or for other product endorsements.

“This reduces the risk in the investment compared to say a C-pop star [since the local music industry is one] that’s more scandal-prone,” said Allison Malmsten, strategy consultant at Shanghai-based marketing agency Daxue Consulting, noting that athletes are generally considered strong role models in the China market, standing for good sportsmanship, discipline and hard work.

Luxury’s bet on Chinese Olympians

Long before anyone could have imagined an LVMH-sponsored Olympics, the idea of Chinese athletes representing global luxury brands was unheard of. However, the legacy of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics marked their “coming of age,” said sports industry expert Li Sheng in a recent documentary about the games. “Many athletes became household names” after “a media awakening turned many into stars,” he added, which led to brands discovering their potential as celebrity marketing vehicles.

Fast forward to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and a few athletes rose to superstar status such as freestyle skier Eileen Gu, who has links with Louis Vuitton and IWC Schaffhausen and snowboarder Su Yiming, whose social media feed has recently been filled with references to Cartier, Louis Vuitton and Adidas.

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Then came the run-up to this year’s Paris games. Dior China reportedly announced that sprint freestyle swimmer Zhang Yufei would represent the brand; Jaeger-LeCoultre and Boss linked hands with champion medley swimmer Wang Shun; and watchmaker Tag Heuer tied up with 200-metre breaststroke world record holder Qin Haiyang. Qin was also tapped by Louis Vuitton, alongside basketball player Yang Liwei, to be a ‘friend of the house.’

For some brands, however, recent Olympic games have shown that athlete partners are not without risks, whatever their nationality. In the case of China, its swimming team has been embroiled in doping allegations.

But overall, the perception of these stars as healthy, dedicated and morally upright role models “aligns well with the values of luxury brands [in the China market],” said Olivia Plotnick, founder of media agency Wai Social. It helps that athlete-brand partnerships also align with what the Chinese government wishes to promote on a national level: a prioritisation of health and fitness and ambitious goals for China’s sports economy.

“Investing in sports, therefore, is an excellent move, especially for luxury brands urgently looking for new growth drivers that match their brand personality,” said Mintel’s senior analyst Blaire Zhang, referring to brands that are increasingly worried by the slowdown in the China luxury market.

Prada was an early adopter of the trend, first dressing Chinese athletes in 2022. The following year it sponsored the women’s football team in a partnership that included the Asian Games and the Olympics. Table tennis captain Ma Long acts as an ambassador for the Italian luxury house and for watchmaker Omega.

Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton, Swatch, Audemars Piguet and Loewe are all picking up momentum on Chinese social media due to athlete affiliations. For its campaign celebrating China’s 520 romantic holiday, Bottega Veneta featured Xu Xin, a champion table tennis player who missed this year’s games, golfer Ning Zetao and multiple gold medal-winning diver Guo Jingjing, who is now a judge at the Paris games.

Kantar’s Vesper Wang explains the appeal of such marketing activations. “These go beyond immediate sales revenue, including the enhancement of brand equity and the strengthening of market position,” said the associate manager of the insights division at the market data provider’s Greater China office. Although initial investment may be high, Wang says, the potential returns in brand loyalty, market penetration and financial performance can be “considerable.”

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Quick gains can also be made from product placement during high-profile moments, unboxing or ‘warming up’ videos. After Hong Kong fencing champion Cheung Ka-Long won gold wearing a recognisable bracelet, Malmsten said searches for jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels spiked on Google Trends data in Hong Kong, which competes at the Olympics with its own team. Cheung has been on the luxury industry’s radar for some time, having featured on the cover of Vogue Hong Kong last year.

“Brands can easily livestream particularly [popular] products [in China] for a quick sales boost,” Plotnick remarked. During the Beijing winter games, a Tiffany bracelet worn by Eileen Gu went viral and reportedly sold out.

Sportswear brands seek winning formula

Among the many local brands gaining traction at the Olympics, there’s one clear commercial winner, said Paris-based Chinese fashion journalist Liu Ziyi.

Since 2019, Anta has been the official sportswear supplier of the International Olympic Committee, signing up to provide clothing, shoes, and accessories for IOC members and staff until 2027. It designed the Chinese team’s official outfits for Paris, the sleek carbon-neutral uniforms emblazoned with dragon motifs. With revenues last year of 62.3 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) parent company Anta Sports has deep pockets for such sponsorships.

The company’s activations include a new youth-focused Olympic cultural project and Anta Ling Loong, a sub-brand which launched a pop-up store open in upmarket department store SKP in Chengdu. Anta brand ambassador Eileen Gu was reportedly spotted in a Ling Loong T-shirt, at China House, which opened ahead of the games in Paris.

“Even though Gu isn’t taking part in Paris, her appearance [at China House] is a clever use of one of China’s most popular sports athletes among young Chinese fans which is bound to reflect well on Anta,” said Antoaneta Becker, director of consumer economy at the China-Britain Business Council, noting that Gu is reported to have earned around 200 million yuan ($27 million) in endorsement deals in 2021 alone.

In terms of visibility, Plotnick points out that Anta has “overtaken” Li Ning — the sportswear brand founded in 1990 by former Olympic gymnast Li Ning — as the main Chinese sportswear brand at the event. But both brands have been able to take advantage of their position as local players aligning with the ongoing guochao movement that sees patriotic consumers show their pride by buying locally designed or made goods.

For international sportswear brands like Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Puma, New Balance, Under Armour and others, the opportunity to target the China market at the Olympics typically involves partnering with individual athletes or teams.

Adidas is dressing the Chinese women’s volleyball team and athletes like tennis player Wang Xinyu. Puma has entered into endorsement deals with Zhang Ru from the national women’s basketball squad, and Wang Lanqin, Jiang Weize and Zou Yang from the national men’s team. Under Armour has tied up with the county’s 3×3 men’s basketball team and women’s volleyball player Zhu Ting. Fila has designed China’s skateboarding team uniform and Nike has dressed China’s women’s basketball team as part of a long-term collaboration.

Insights from a report on earned media value (EMV) compiled by influencer marketing agency Lefty for BoF show that most sponsors for Chinese athletes are from sportswear, consumer goods and food industries, said Liu Chuhan, business analyst at the firm. Tracking athletes participating in the Olympics from January 1 to July 22, it analysed a total of 297 influencers with a particular emphasis on fashion and beauty category engagements on Weibo.

Despite a controversy on Weibo over its latest video, Nike came out on top as the most visible fashion, sports and beauty brand on Chinese socials — securing EMV of $194,000 through 27 posts. Lefty found runner Wu Yanni and tennis player Zheng Qinwen among the stars amplifying the brand. Prada ranked second, generating an EMV of $127,000 and Adidas third with 108,000 earned from seven posts.

According to Lefty’s methodology, which used a CPM (cost per thousand impressions) of $13.75 for Weibo posts and videos and $5.50 for Douyin videos, the most bankable Olympic athlete was swimmer Zhang Yufei who has partnerships with Omega, generating $419,000 in EMV. Zhang was followed by table tennis player Ma Long, who is linked to Chinese brand Erdos, Omega and Prada. In third place was Sun Yingsha.

Fashion media champion female athletes

In the run up to the Olympics, Chinese fashion publications have been full of sports-related and athlete content.

Balenciaga selected gold medal swimmer Pan Zhanle as its cover star for So Figaro China’s issue which was released on the same day as Balenciaga’s Shanghai show back in May. Brands have also been leaning into the games for advertorials such as Wonderland magazine’s collaboration with Anta.

“It’s the perfect moment for magazines to raise ad income,” journalist Liu said.

Elsewhere, Harper’s Bazaar China featured an off-duty Zheng Qinwen in a black Balenciaga blazer on its August cover — the only nod to her profession was the handle of a tennis racket poking out of a handbag.

Marie Claire China featured theretired Olympic gold medallist ‘diving queen’ Guo Jingjing wearing Bottega Veneta and Cartier shot in Paris. Magazines have also been publishing Olympics-inspired shoots such as August’s Vogue China starring model Ju Xiao Wen and Elle China’s story with model Lina Zhang.

“The Ju Xiao Wen Vogue shoot got very positive feedback,” Liu said.

The editorials of female athletes and fitness-themed models have been amplified on China’s digital channels where the empowerment of women through sports is a particularly hot topic. A recent Douyin report outlined how women athletes now receive much more attention from the public than in the very recent past; half of the top ten most followed athletes on the social platform are now women.

“Ultimately, because the pool interested in sports has widened since China hosted [the Olympics]… it offers [brands and publications] more possibilities — especially for women-centric content,” Liu explains

Malmsten believes that it is female athletes’ proclivity to present themselves as multidimensional figures which can lead to “a high ROI (return on investment) for fashion and lifestyle brand partners.” Seen through this lens, brands that collaborate with the likes of hurdler Wu Yanni, already a personality off the track, could be tipped as marketing winners at this year’s Paris games — especially if she takes home a medal later this week.

Another might be tennis star Zheng Qinwen, who won gold in the women’s singles over the weekend, a first for the Chinese Olympic team. Nike, which had featured Zheng in a new advert just before the games started, wasted no time in celebrating its own marketing gold. Sports Illustrated summed it up with the headline: “Nike takes victory lap [in]…perfectly timed commercial.”