In Which We Praise Yao

The Economist
The number of Internet users in China grew an astonishing 50 percent in 2007, ending the year at 210 million users, according to the Chinese government. And there's still a long, long way to grow, as 210 million represents just 16 percent of the Chinese population.

More than 70 percent of China's Internet population is under 30. As such, "there is enormous pent-up demand for entertainment, amusement and social interaction," says Richard Ji, an analyst at Morgan Stanley. Chinese Internet companies have seen their share prices rise sharply; their collective market cap is now above $50 billion, having doubled just about every year since 2003, according to the Economist.

Welcome, Chinese readers who know enough English to do a Google search for Yao Ming! We're sure that you'll find lots to like here at FTT, including lots of text mentions of Yao Ming, because we're sure you all love that Yao Ming nearly as much as you like the image we found for you.

Yao's on my fantasy team, so I like him too!

(Goes to check Web logs to see if there's anything. Nothing. Not even a Chinese cricket, or an insulting SalesGenie ad search.)

Screw you people. Your cheap electronics and sweatshop labor practices have done more to ruin the economy and ecology than Hummer and Haliburton combined. The upcoming Olympics are going to make Munich '36 look like Light N' Easy Propaganda. You are firing freaking *rockets* in the air to stop the horror of rain. And your new love for inflation is going to be the death blow for the American economy, and ensure that my kids will grow up in squalor and deprivation, regardless of my bad gambling picks. Yao's gutless, too. 7'-6" and he can't play defense. I wash my hands of you. Fah.

(Sudden realization that the time zone difference could be the cause of lack of traffic...) Hey, did you know that Yao's up to 2.2 blocked shots per game now? That's a career high!

Where's My Money?

Olympic athletes in low-wattage sports like badminton, kayaking, fencing and water polo are to appear in a series of ads for Bank of America--including posters in bank branches and online spots--before the Beijing Games in August. The perceived purity of smaller sports plays a big role in BOA's choices, says bank spokesman Joseph Goode. Many major sports have been beset by scandal.

Home Depot also has had a policy of hiring lesser-known Olympic hopefuls with full pay and benefits, while requiring them to work 20-hour weeks with schedules that allow flexibility for training. And Visa has made it a point to sponsor athletes in new medal sports, including women's pole vault and women's bobsled.

A bonus for marketers backing new or lesser-known sports is that athletes come cheaply. BOA says it pays them low five-figure sums. Paul Swangard, managing director of the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center, calls BOAs approach "almost like a mutual-fund strategy"--picking a larger group of lesser-known athletes, which can yield a few stories that capture fans' attention.

The Wall Street Journal

A small note to anyone serious marketing types reading this (and there are some, if only for the fact that's what I do for a living)... if you are looking for a lesser-known Olympic hopeful who can keep his nose clean for that critical endorsement season, I'm your man. Besides, you can call me a badminton champion. Like anyone's going to know?