"Asians are young in your eyes."

In the face of the other party's habitual age misunderstanding, Lu Ke smiled and responded in a relaxed and playful way, such a down-and-out and generous gesture made the middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes in front of him also smile, and said, "So, are Americans old in your eyes?" ”

With such a tricky question, Lu Ke did not panic at all, and replied freely, "Then it depends on whether the other party is a man or a woman." ”

The middle-aged man paused slightly for a moment, then tasted the deep meaning of this sentence, laughed happily, held Lu Ke's right hand, shook it a few times with a little force, "I like this answer, I should write it down later, and remember to apply it later." Then, the middle-aged man let go of his right hand, took the initiative to turn around and walked to the sofa area, stretched out his hand and sent out an invitation, "Please take a seat." ”

There was no self-introduction, no notice, and everything seemed clueless.

The eye could catch Lech walking up, but everyone was present at this time, and it was obviously not a good time for the two of them to communicate in private. In the phone call before, Lech did not warn in advance, 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 asked for it.

No matter what the situation was, Lu Ke calmed down temporarily, did not cast a look at Lehe for help, nor did he ask about the specific situation in a panic, but took a step, walked forward calmly, and sat down on the sofa directly opposite the other party, relaxed, and then, Lehe also sat down beside him.

The middle-aged man took the lead in sitting down, always keeping an eye on Lu Ke. The gesture of not being humble, not arrogant, and not in a hurry made the middle-aged man retract his chin slightly, revealing a satisfied look, but he still did not rush to the topic, but carefully looked at Lu Ke's dress.

Today, Lu Ke changed his usual sports equipment, chose a white shirt and jeans, and paired with a pair of skateboarding shoes with dark brown trim on a lake blue bottom. However, he has a slender body, a handsome face, a comfortable temperament, and a bookish atmosphere unique to Asians, young and vibrant, handsome and sunny.

The middle-aged man couldn't help but bow his head lightly and said with a smile, "Has anyone ever said that you are a handsome young man?" ”

Lu Ke's head was full of question marks: in the atmosphere of the hotel, the other party asked such a question, if it weren't for Lu Ke's very sure that Lech Steinberg was a serious and regular agent, it would be difficult for him not to want to be crooked at this time.

The smile on the corner of his mouth couldn't help but sneer, and Lu Ke replied, "If you are a man, this is the first time." ”

The witty and humorous answer is not only self-ridiculous, but also makes fun of the atmosphere of the scene, so cutting into the angle, it is indeed ingenious, so that the other party was stunned, and then clapped his hands and laughed; Even Lech, who was sitting next to him, was a little surprised and smiled dumbly.

The middle-aged man waved his hand and explained, "I mean, you have a good image. You should know that the image of a professional footballer, this is also commercially valuable, right? It's not fair, but it's a reality, outside of the game, outside of the win, there is something else. ”

It's the law of business. It's like Tom Brady, he's a handsome guy, so his business value and market potential are even more outstanding. David Beckham in football, Roger-Federer in tennis, LeBron-James in basketball, they all do.

It's a world of looks, and it's no exception on the sports field.

At this time, Lu Ke understood one thing, just now on the phone, Lehe asked him to wear private casual clothes, and now the purpose has found the source; But it adds more question marks, why? What about the identity of the other party? What about the content of this meeting?

There was no need for Lu Ke to ask questions, Lech appropriately cut into the stitches, while cutting into the topic and diverting attention, while quietly answering for Lu Ke and introducing the main topic, "Lu Ke, this is Sean-Callo, the general manager of Under-Armour's West Coast marketing department; Sean, the rookie quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, is Lu Ke. ”

Under Armour, a relatively new brand to the Asian market. When people think of sports brands, they always think of the two giants of Nike and Adidas, competing in all areas of competitive sports; But in the U.S., Under Armour is a very important brand.

Under Armour is very young, founded in 1996 by Kevin-Plank, a former professional rugby player.

The player had a good college career, but instead of making it to the NFL to become a professional football player, he started his own business after graduating from college. When playing, cotton T-shirts are always soaked with sweat, which makes people feel very uncomfortable, so Planck came up with a business idea -

The result is a raw material that allows athletes to keep their bodies dry and light during intense sports.

Then, Under Armour was born.

As a brand created by former rugby players, Under Armour also got its roots in rugby. As early as 2006, it signed a contract with the NFL, and became the official three sneaker sponsors along with Nike and Reebok, and then used this as a starting point to really open up its own market.

Now, Under Armour has established itself in the United States and has gradually become synonymous with high-end and professionalism, and many professional athletes have become loyal fans, especially the quick-drying clothing line, which has become the first choice of many sports enthusiasts.

Of course, compared with top brands such as Nike and Adidas, Under Armour's market share is still low, mainly taking the high-end boutique route, but they have ambitions and are constantly expanding the market.

Last year, Under Armour officially entered the NBA, signing Golden State Warriors' 2009 rookie Stephen Curry as a spokesperson, looking forward to opening up the basketball market one step at a time. It can be said that this is a young brand based on professionalism and a global outlook, with strength and ambition.

The meeting is gradually revealing its true face. Unexpectedly, the temporary sudden work was actually a meeting with Under Armour's marketing manager.

After realizing this, Lu Ke finally revealed his youth, and looked at Lehe unexpectedly and surprised, both excited and stunned. It's only been 24 hours since they've completed their brokerage contract, and Lech has now found his first sponsor? And is it Under Armour?

It's not just fast and efficient, it's even appalling!

Lu Ke is a rookie who has only played three games in his career so far; Moreover, as a Chinese player, the appeal of 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, of all the rookies in the San Francisco 49ers, Aldon Smith is the only player to be sponsored. As a first-round pick, Nike signed a sneaker sponsorship with Aldon.

But now, Lu Ke is sitting directly across from Sean Carlo. Regardless of the eventual direction of this meeting; But as a top agent, Lech's ability is unquestionable. Now, Lu Ke finally has a little bit of a real feeling, and the name of "Mr. Sweetheart" is definitely not just talking.

"Uh......" Lu Ke's words couldn't help but stumble for a moment, and then he saw Lehe's calm smile, and gestured to Sean opposite with his eyes, Lu Ke turned his gaze and looked at Sean again, temporarily sorted out the boiling and noisy thoughts in his mind, and returned to the original rhythm of conversation, "But...... At the end of the day, victory is still the most important thing, isn't it? ”

The image of the player is very important, this is a commercial value; But for the players, before the image, the victory is more important. Otherwise, even if you are earth-shatteringly handsome, it still won't work.

Although he was a little flustered, Lu Ke still didn't get distracted, and smoothly connected to the answer and responded to Sean's words. This made Sean nod in satisfaction again, "Yes, victory is always the most important thing. Luckily, you've got three wins in a row and the momentum is still rising, so, we're sitting here today. ”

For a professional footballer, the performance on the pitch is one thing, and the image of the private life is another. Killing all sides on the pitch does not mean that everyone is loved 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, which left a deep impression on him.

Everyone is paying attention to Lu Ke.

Outside of Under Armour, Nike, Adidas, Puma, Reebok, and many more are the same. Because of Lu Ke's Chinese identity, there are so many topics created and attracted attention that it is extremely difficult to ignore even if you want to ignore them; But every brand is waiting to see what happens, not only to observe the victory, but also to observe the market's reaction and Lu Ke's image.

Everyone is judging, everyone is waiting. For top brands like Nike and Adidas, they can sit firmly on the Diaoyu Tai, and as long as they wave gently, countless players can't wait to nod their heads; But for Under Armour, they had to make more risky choices.

Take Stephen Curry in the NBA, for example. Another example is Lu Ke in front of him.

Lech Steinberg is indeed the top presence in the industry, and Sean was a little surprised by Lech's call, but finally agreed to meet today.

Surprisingly, after the actual face-to-face conversation, Sean really liked the rookie player, and in his eyes, he saw a great quarterback first, and the style of play in the game also carried over to real life; Then I saw the market potential brought by the Chinese identity.

For Nike and Adidas, they don't need to sign Lu Ke to expand the Asian market at all, they have a lot of top basketball and football players from Asia; But Under Armour needed such a breakthrough. Rugby was originally Under Armour's own starting position, and choosing Lu Ke seems to be the perfect cooperation.