"Asians are young in your eyes."
Facing the other party's habitual age misunderstanding, Lu Ke smiled and responded in a relaxed and joking manner. Such a graceful gesture made the middle-aged man in suits and ties in front of him also smile and said, " So, do all Americans look old to you?”
For such a difficult question, Lu Ke did not panic at all and answered calmly, "It depends on whether the other party is a man or a woman."
The middle-aged man paused for a moment, then savored the deep meaning of this sentence, laughed happily, held Lu Ke's right hand, applied a little force, and shook it slightly, "I like this answer. You should write it down in the meeting and remember to apply it in the future." Then, the middle-aged man released his right hand, turned around and walked towards the sofa area, stretched out his hand and extended an invitation, "Please sit down."
There was no self-introduction and no preview of what was going to happen, everything seemed haphazard.
From the corner of his vision, he could catch the figure of Laihe walking up, but everyone was present at this time, so it was obviously not a good time for the two of them to communicate in private. During the previous phone call, Lech did not give any advance warning. For a senior agent, he would definitely not make such a low-level mistake, which means that either Lech did it intentionally or the other party deliberately requested it.
No matter what the situation was, Lu Ke calmed down for the time being. He did not cast a look at Laihe for help, nor did he panic to ask about the specific situation. Instead, he took steps and walked forward calmly. He sat down on the sofa directly opposite him, feeling relaxed and relaxed, and then Laihe also sat down next to him.
The middle-aged man took the lead and sat down, always looking at Lu Ke. The middle-aged man retracted his chin slightly and showed satisfaction in his posture that was neither humble nor arrogant, but he still didn't hurry to get to the point. Instead, he took a serious look at Lu Ke's dress.
Today, Lu Ke changed his usual sports equipment and chose a white shirt and jeans, paired with a pair of skateboard shoes with a lake blue sole and dark brown trim. The simple and elegant dress made him look like an ordinary college student; however, , has a slender body, a handsome face, and a soothing temperament. He has the unique bookishness of Asians, is young and energetic, handsome and sunny.
The middle-aged man couldn't help but chin his head slightly and said with a smile, "Has anyone ever said that you are a handsome young man?"
Lu Ke's head was full of questions: In the atmosphere of the hotel, the other party asked such a question. If Lu Ke was not very sure that Lech Steinberg was a serious and formal agent, it would be difficult for him not to think wrong at this time. .
The smile on the corner of his mouth couldn't help but rise up, and Lu Ke replied, "As a man, this is the first time."
The witty and humorous answer not only made fun of himself, but also made fun of the atmosphere of the scene. Such a cutting angle was indeed ingenious. The other party was stunned, and then clapped his hands and burst into laughter; even Laihe, who was sitting next to him, was a little surprised. Unexpectedly, I burst into laughter.
The middle-aged man waved his hand and explained, "I mean, your image is very good. You should know that the image of a professional player also has commercial value, right? This is unfair, but it is reality. There is something else outside of the game, outside of winning."
This is the law of business. Just like Tom Brady, he is a handsome guy, so his commercial value and market potential are even more outstanding. David Beckham in football, Roger Federer in tennis, LeBron James in basketball, they all are like this.
This is a world that values appearance, and sports arenas are no exception.
At this time, Lu Ke understood one thing. On the phone just now, Laihe asked him to wear private clothes. Now the purpose has been found; but more question marks have been added. What is the reason? What about the other party’s identity? What is the content of this meeting?
There was no need for Lu Ke to ask questions. Laihe took advantage of the opportunity to cut into the topic and divert attention. He calmly answered the question for Lu Ke and introduced the topic, "Lu Ke, this is Under-armour." ) General Manager of the West Coast Marketing Department, Sean Callo; Sean, this is the San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Lu Ke.”
Under Armor, this brand is relatively unknown to the Asian market. When people mention sports brands, they always think of the two giants Nike and Adidas, which compete in various fields of competitive sports; but in the United States, Under Armor is a very important brand.
Under Armor is very young, founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank, a former professional football player.
This player had a pretty good college career, but he did not enter the NFL and become a professional football player. Instead, he started a business after graduating from college. When playing ball, pure cotton T-shirts would always get soaked with sweat, making people feel very uncomfortable. So Plank came up with a business idea.
Develop a raw material that allows athletes to keep their bodies dry and light during intense exercise.
Then, Under Armor was born.
As a brand created by former rugby players, Under Armor also started from rugby. As early as 2006, it signed a contract with the NFL and became the three official sneaker sponsors together with Nike and Reebok. It then used this as a starting point to truly open up its own market.
Now, Under Armor has established a firm foothold in the United States, and has gradually become synonymous with high-end and professionalism. Many professional athletes have become loyal fans, especially the quick-drying clothing series, which has become the first choice for many sports enthusiasts.
Of course, compared with top brands such as Nike and Adidas, Under Armor's market share is still low, and they mainly follow the high-end boutique route, but they are ambitious and are constantly expanding the market.
Last year, Under Armor officially entered the NBA and signed the Golden State Warriors' 2009 rookie player Stephen Curry as its spokesperson, looking forward to opening up the basketball market step by step. It can be said that this is a young brand based on professionalism and looking to the world. It is powerful and full of ambition.
The meeting gradually revealed its true face. I never expected that a temporary unexpected job would be a meeting with the marketing manager of Under Armour.
After realizing this, Lu Ke finally showed his youth and looked at Laihe in surprise and surprise, with excitement and astonishment. It had only been 24 hours since they completed the agency contract, and now Leh has found his first sponsor? And it's Under Armor?
This is not only fast and efficient, it can even be said to be appalling!
Lu Ke is a rookie and has only played three games so far in his career; and, as a Chinese player, his appeal in the North American market is really limited.
In fact, not to mention Lu Ke, even Logan and Marcus have not been able to get advertising sponsorship for the time being. Currently, among all San Francisco 49ers rookies, Aldon Smith is the only one to be sponsored. As a first-round pick, Nike signed Aldon to a sneaker sponsorship.
But now, Lu Ke is sitting directly opposite Sean Carlo. No matter what the final direction of this meeting is; but as a top agent's courage and means, there is no doubt about Lech's ability. Now, Lu Ke finally had a little sense of reality. The name "Mr. Sweetheart" was definitely not just talk.
"Uh..." Lu Ke couldn't help but stumbled over his words, and then he saw Laihe's calm smile and gestured to Sean opposite him with his eyes. Lu Ke then turned his gaze and looked at him again. Sean temporarily sorted out the boiling and noisy thoughts in his mind and returned to the original rhythm of the conversation, "But...in the final analysis, victory is still the most important, isn't it?"
Player image is very important, it is commercial value; but for players, before image, victory is more important. Otherwise, even if you are stunningly handsome, it still won’t work.
Although he was a little flustered, Lu Ke did not lose focus and smoothly connected with the answer and responded to Sean's words. This made Sean nod with satisfaction again, "Yes, winning is always the most important. Fortunately, you have won three consecutive games and the momentum is still rising, so we are sitting here today."
For professional players, performance on the court is one thing, and image in private life is another. Just because he kills everyone on the court doesn't mean he's loved by everyone in private life. However, Sean was very satisfied with Lu Ke's performance. Not only his personal image, but also his conversation, personality and style, and overall personality charm left a deep impression on him.
Everyone is paying attention to Lu Ke.
In addition to Under Armor, the same is true for Nike, Adidas, Puma, Reebok, etc. Because of Lu Ke's Chinese identity, he has created so many topics and attracted so many attentions that it is extremely difficult to ignore them. However, every brand is watching the changes, not only observing the victory, but also observing the market. reaction and Lu Ke’s image.
Everyone is judging and everyone is waiting. For top brands like Nike and Adidas, they can sit firmly on the Diaoyutai, and as long as they wave gently, countless players will nod impatiently; but for Under Armor, they must make more risky choices.
For example, NBA’s Stephen Curry. Another example is Lu Ke in front of him.
Lech-Steinberg is indeed a top figure in the industry. Sean was a little surprised by Leh's call, but he finally agreed to meet today.
Surprisingly, after the real face-to-face conversation, Sean really liked this rookie player. In his eyes, the first thing he saw was an excellent quarterback, and his fighting style in the game also continued. In real life; and then saw the market potential brought by Chinese identity.
For Nike and Adidas, they do not need to sign Lu Ke to expand the Asian market. They have a large number of top basketball and football players from Asia; but Under Armor needs such a breakthrough. Football is Under Armor's starting point, so choosing Lu Ke seems to be the perfect cooperation.
