The glass walls with bright windows can clearly see the skyline of the whole city, without the crowding of New York, without the regularity of Los Angeles, but outlining the compact and retro exclusive to San Francisco, and the steep coastline at the end of the line of sight looms in the mist that has not yet dissipated in the early morning, adding a touch of magnificence; The outline of the Golden Gate Bridge can be faintly seen, and the billowing fog is fading, like a fairyland.

Today's contract was signed in San Francisco's historic Montgomery district, in fact, the city center of the city is not large, Union Square is not far away, next to Little Italy and Little Tokyo; It is the commercial center of San Francisco, similar to Wall Street in New York, and the towering Pan American Pyramid is one of the city's key landmarks.

This is San Francisco, where the intermingling and blending of different cultures can be clearly felt in the streets and alleys.

"Good morning, good morning." The glass door of the conference room was pushed open, and a calm, powerful, mature and magnetic voice spoke, with a hint of lightness and friendliness in the words, "I hope I didn't keep the guests waiting for a long time, otherwise this would be my faux pas." Please accept my apologies for not being the first to greet me. ”

"If you feel sorry, it means that my strategy has worked, and we arrived twenty minutes early, apparently to take the initiative in the negotiations." Lech stepped forward and made a harmless joke.

The other party shook Lech's right hand in a friendly manner, "So, is this an American-style joke?" If we read it according to the Swiss understanding, then we can now despise each other. The gentle words did not have too many waves, but I could feel a faint joke from the tone between the lines, which was more elegant and calm.

"It's a great honor to finally meet, Mr. Lu. I'm Wolfgang-Muller, and I welcome you today on behalf of Rolex and look forward to our collaboration. Then, the other party came to Lu Ke's face, and took the initiative to hold Lu Ke's right hand again, the handshake was solid and strong, but not too aggressive, showing enough sincerity.

One photo left a deep impression on people.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Müller, and it should be said that it is an honour to have such an opportunity." Lu Ke also expressed his greetings politely, "In fact, I have been worried until now, whether there is any misunderstanding between us, whether you have found the wrong person, maybe it is another player named Luke." ”

"People always say that humility is a virtue of China/country/people, and I think you should inherit the traditional culture of your ancestors." Wolfgang's response was still appropriate, like a spring breeze, "Even if we really find the wrong person, it is certain that when we meet today, the misunderstanding should be resolved." ”

It's a meme for Asian players. But on the same topic, Wolfgang expressed it in a relaxed and friendly tone, not only did not feel offended, but also made people smile.

"For now, though, I should invite you to take a seat. So, I think, the misunderstanding should be resolved. A pun, on the surface, is a response to Lu Ke's "misunderstanding" just now, but the real meaning is that Lu Ke's thoughts are a "misunderstanding", this kind of wisdom hidden in the words is indeed different.

Wolfgang then took a half-step back and made an inviting gesture for everyone to take their seats.

"How's it going, what's the view from the window?" Wolfgang's opening remarks were slightly surprised, skipping Lech and talking directly to Lu Ke, and the content of the conversation also implied that he had noticed Lu Ke's figure before entering the door.

Compared with Under Armour a year ago, Lu Ke has also grown up, although he is still a little excited and nervous, but the whole person is still relatively stable, "I finally understand now why people always like to climb high, not only because they overlook all beings, but also because they stand high and see far away, when the field of vision is boundless and expanding, such a scene is really hard to buy." ”

Wolfgang raised his eyebrows slightly, "I don't know, you're still a philosopher." It was a positive affirmation, and he added, "In Europe, we like philosophy." "The subtext is that in the United States, it ......

The two exchanged glances, a smile appeared in their eyes, and Lech, who was sitting next to him, shook his head helplessly, complaining weakly.

"But not everybody is at the top. The scenery at the summit is beautiful because it is rare. Wolfgang then added, cutting straight to the point, "It's our Rolex motto. ”

Lu Ke pursed his lips and laughed, gently bowed his head, and teased, "Turn beautifully." ”

In the face of ridicule, Wolfgang accepted it calmly, and continued, "This is also the reason why we Rolex want to cooperate with Mr. Lu. Then, Wolfgang noticed that Lu Ke seemed to be about to speak, but he turned his head to look at Lech, with a light smile on the corner of his mouth, Wolfgang took the initiative to say, "If you have any questions, you are always welcome to ask." ”

Lech spread his hands, no affirmation but no denial.

Lu Ke retracted his gaze, the smile stopped at the corner of his mouth for a moment, and finally said frankly, "Why me?" There are so many top players or rookies in the entire NFL, why did you choose me? ”

The reason why this question is asked is because the target is Rolex.

First of all, it should be noted that sports marketing is one of the most important ways to increase market share, thanks to the strong market share of sports projects, the World Cup, the Olympic Games, and the World Championships are incomparable, and it is one of the best choices for enterprises to expand their influence, enhance their visibility, and open up emerging markets.

In the midst of this, the connection between watches and sports is even closer. Because time is one of the basic principles of sports events, all sports need timing, even in field competitions such as the high jump and long jump, there is a time limit between each jump attempt, which also makes timing equipment an indispensable part of sports events.

Many of the top watch brands are integrated with specific sporting events, such as Omega in athletics and swimming; For example, among the four Grand Slams of tennis, France's Longines, the US Open's Citizen, the Australian Open and Wimbledon's Rolex; Another example is the TAG Heuer of Formula 1 racing, and so on and so forth.

Watch brands are always in the most prominent position on the field, which has become their most important bargaining chip for sports marketing. This kind of hot, high-end event viewership is generally the target audience of watch manufacturers, so this is also a relatively accurate and relatively effective marketing strategy.

Rolex is no exception.

But it's a little different.

Rolex's global market share is well deservedly at the top, and even ranked first for many years, they do not need a large number of endorsements to develop the market, but more in the brand image and brand depth of further digging, therefore, for the selection of endorsement partners, they have always been cautious, often each sport will only choose the top few, or even only one.

Prior to this, Rolex had never officially partnered with the four major sports leagues in the United States, not just the NFL, but also the other three leagues – the NBA did not have an official timekeeping sponsor until 2016, Tissot.

This also means that this is the first time that Rolex has cooperated with the four major sports leagues in an official position, and they have chosen Lu Ke. Naturally, this also gave rise to Lu Ke's question:

Why?

After asking the question, Lu Ke himself teased with a dumb smile, "I mean, if the answer to the question may lead to the collapse of today's cooperation, then there is no need for you to answer." ”

Wolfgang didn't smile, but straightened his waist and showed a serious expression - obviously, the way of humor and the way of conversation in Switzerland and the United States are indeed different, "Mr. Lu, do you know what Rolex's criteria are for choosing sports?" ”

Lu Ke did not answer, but showed a focused demeanor and waited quietly.

"We've been working with sailing for more than half a century, and we've built a unique bond with the best of the world, whether it's supporting the highly competitive Rolex Sydney Hobart Race or upholding the traditional glory of the Rolex Superyacht Cup." That's what we're all about. ”

Although Wolfgang only mentioned one project, Lu Ke immediately had more associations in his mind:

Rolex is undoubtedly one of the most enthusiastic brands in the industry to work with sports, even far more than any other watch brand, golf, tennis, motor racing, skiing, sailing, equestrian, adventure and many more.

The common denominator of these projects is that they have a certain threshold and are often accompanied by labels of high-end, prestige or pushing the limits. As one of the world's top watch manufacturers, Rolex has been working with the top competitions and athletes in these sports to create a brand culture label step by step, which also further deepens its influence in the target market.

In other words, Rolex does not cooperate with the four major North American sports leagues such as the NFL and NBA because these sports events are more popular, more popular, and more market-oriented, which is different from Rolex's brand positioning.

After a slight pause, Wolfgang waited for Lu Ke's digestion and reaction before continuing, "There is no doubt that the NFL is not only the number one sport in North America, but also one of the most competitive and challenging sports in the world, and it has always been one of our goals to work with football. ”

"But we didn't have the right opportunity." Wolfgang smiled and cast his gaze towards Lu Ke, "Until you appear." A unique presence in the entire alliance, we knew that the opportunity we had been waiting for had finally arrived, and if we missed it, we didn't know when the next time would be. Do you know the Rolex brand statement? ”

A Rolex, a story.