If someone accuses the Australian Open of favoring Gawain and driving the whole incident behind the scenes, then Craig Tiley will righteously cry out that he is wronged.
Arranging Gao Wen in the No. 1 press conference room is indeed a coincidence. The only thing that can be said is that Luzhou Laojiao really hopes that Gao Wen can get better treatment, but because the three parties did not complete the contract, Luzhou Laojiao
There are no specific requirements for the cellar.
In the final analysis, it is still the internal decision of the Australian Open officials——
After all, the Australian Open is preparing to expand its market based on the Asia-Pacific region, and Gao Wen, as the new Grand Slam champion, is naturally a top priority.
In fact, not only Gawain, but also Kei Nishikori's treatment at the Australian Open has been significantly improved.
To Terry, this is a game of chess.
Who would have thought that the flames of "Gawain VS Djokovic" would unintentionally create a chemical reaction from then on.
Then……
Then, the final happened like this, the breaking point happened like this, history happened like this, everything was like a violent storm that could no longer be stopped.
Including Luzhou Laojiao and the Australian Open, including Gao Wen and Tobias, none of them expected that the story would finally have such an ending.
Terry swore that although everything seemed to be behind his control, it was indeed an independent decision, with no intention to target Djokovic and no instruction from Luzhou Laojiao.
So, is this a "happy" ending?
For Luzhou Laojiao and the Australian Open, it should be considered.
From New York to Paris and then to Melbourne, Gao Wen's career experienced a triple jump. Luzhou Laojiao's five-year and US$50 million sponsorship contract completed a qualitative change——
A piece of data is also a fact. Currently, in the entire men's professional tennis world, only four players can reach a sponsorship contract of US$10 million per year for a brand:
Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and... Kei Nishikori.
What is a little surprising is that the fourth place is not Murray, but Kei Nishikori. The reason is very simple. In Neon, Kei Nishikori has huge commercial value, and top sponsors support Kei Nishikori in all aspects.
After all, this is the only one among the top 100 neon people in the world.
Things are rare and valuable.
The fact that is true for Gawain is also true for Nishikori Kei.
Moreover, even for these four players, not all brand sponsorships can reach this level. The average annual range of US$2.5 million to US$7 million is the norm.
The reason why tennis is called the most profitable sport in the world is that endorsement and sponsorship fees are part of it, and competition bonuses are another part.
If we talk about endorsements and sponsorships alone, football, known as the world's number one sport, is still the leader, and tennis is still slightly behind.
The "Ten Million Club" is basically the top of the tennis pyramid.
Now, a fifth member has appeared in this club, Gawain!
Even with the addition of women players, there were only two more members in the club, Serena Williams and Sharapova - later, Naomi Osaka also became the third female member of the club, but that was all.
In just half a year, Gao Wen officially surpassed Bouchard and became the player with the fastest rise and the strongest ability to attract money among the new generation. He even rose to the top ranks in one fell swoop, showing incredible market appeal.
but!
Even so, the object of everyone's envy is not Gao Wen, but Luzhou Laojiao.
reason?
Now it is no longer so easy to sign Gao Wen, and it may be difficult to do it simply relying on a blank check.
New York, Grand Slam.
Paris, Masters.
Melbourne, Grand Slam.
In half a year, he won three championships, all from top events. Gao Wen proved himself with unparalleled performance on the field and became the idol of the new generation.
More importantly, in Melbourne, the performance of consecutively defeating three giants to reach the top will probably be talked about for a long, long time.
Gawain deserves it.
Now you can imagine the annoyance and regret of those brand sponsors. If you hesitate even a little, the opportunity will be gone -
It was one quote in New York, one quote in Paris, and now it's another quote after finishing in Melbourne.
Triple jump.
Soar.
There is no doubt that it will be twice as difficult to get Gao Wen's sponsorship contract now. According to Luzhou Laojiao's internal feedback, Tobias hired a team of six people to specialize in
Create Gaowen's brand image, market positioning and selection of endorsement brands.
Professional enough and advanced enough.
It is foreseeable that as he wins his second consecutive Grand Slam championship, Gawain's market value will remain high for a long time to come.
Of course, scoundrels can always find reasons to discredit Gawain's champion if they want:
Nadal, Murray and Djokovic, the three players are not in the best physical condition. Djokovic even injured his finger in the final and had difficulty breathing and thigh cramps. These are all objective reasons on the table.
, Gao Wen's victory was not strong enough, and there was really nothing worth showing off.
A word of "lucky" can easily erase all of Gao Wen's efforts, and ignore the effects of the sweltering and humid heat that Gao Wen himself experienced in the finals.
However, it doesn't matter, these voices have no impact on Gawain's market value.
The envious eyes of Luzhou Laojiao are still busy.
In an interview, Luzhou Laojiao also said that the negotiations were not smooth sailing, and even required more than 12 hours of high-intensity three-party negotiations every day for the last five days:
The focus of the three parties is how to not only ensure the brand effect of the three parties, but also achieve the greatest win-win situation.
At the same time, as Gao Wen advances in Melbourne Park, it also means that Gao Wen's bargaining chips are getting heavier and heavier, which is also the focus of the negotiation situation.
Day by day, situations and situations are changing. Problems are being solved but new problems are faced every day. Variables always exist before the contract is actually signed.
Not only Luzhou Laojiao, but also the Australian Open also has its own insistence. They must emphasize that——
Gao Wen is not the spokesperson of the Australian Open.
In fact, the best benchmark brand for such a three-party cooperation is Kia.
The sponsors of the four Grand Slams are basically divided into three to four levels. The highest level is title sponsorship, which will not only appear on the court, but also in broadcast shots, slow-motion replays, game switching, etc.
Then the levels gradually decrease, and the status and rights also decrease.
Kia is one of the four major brand sponsors of the Australian Open; while Luzhou Laojiao is only a second-level sponsor.
Every year, Kia holds a large number of official promotional activities at the Australian Open, and Nadal, as the global spokesperson of Kia, is bound to attend all activities. This also means that Nadal can indeed receive some preferential treatment at the Australian Open, but it does not mean that
Nadal can represent the official position of the Australian Open.
Now, the same is true for Gawain.
Considering that Gao Wen will definitely appear in all activities that Luzhou Laojiao cooperates with the Australian Open, the Australian Open must also put forward more detailed requirements.
Negotiation is indeed very, very difficult.
According to Luzhou Laojiao's negotiation team, they have prepared for the worst. The team has even bought a ticket to return home, giving up all efforts and operations in the past six months.
finally!
After all the hardships, Luzhou Laojiao has taken a very, very important step, not only reaching a cooperation with Gao Wen, but also officially stepping onto the Grand Slam stage.