As covered breathlessly by most English-language media and punters in China already, Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar and LeBron James are going to be in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong this weekend, holding court at various “luxury” establishment and ostensibly promoting the Beats by Dre headphone brand.
Beats by Dre has been in China for quite some time, with the ubiquitous knockoffs at electronic markets to prove it. In that sense, they have recognition from local consumers. From a cost standpoint to the brand, they may not be spending as much money as the names involved would suggest. Kendrick is already in the region for Fuji Rock, Dre has an ownership stake in the company, LeBron has massive pull in this market and is likely here for events with Nike as well, and the venue in Shanghai Cuuve is owned by Haoledi chain of KTV parlors. In terms of music brand events, this one has probably the most direct tie-ins to the brand, meaning there’s very little random about this, which often plagues music brand events here. Dr Dre is one of the founders of the company and his actual name is part of the brand name, LeBron has already done major US TV ads for this company, and Kendrick Lamar is a Dr Dre protege. Finally, Cuuve is seen as the Haoledi family’s effort to get into the live music and club business — therefore more likely that not has a stake in the event either as venue donation or even sponsorship. Having stars like Dre and Kendrick in their space makes it more appealing to other agents of international acts as well.
That being said, we still have some outstanding questions about the event. Hip-hop is not incredibly relevant to the market here, so what will the appeal be for local Chinese? This is especially important in the Shanghai event, which is sans King James. How will such a splashy outing reconcile the tons of fake Beats already flooding the market? Will the luxury surroundings and guests result in more consumers willing to purchase authentic headphones? Finally, will the concept of headphones as lifestyle fashion accessories catch on in China, one of the largest consumers of mobile phones in the world?
We’re curious to find out. If you happen to be at either the Beijing or Shanghai events this weekend, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment!
