It has begun. Today, Volvo Cars of North America held a press conference to announce a new marketing partnership with none other than New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin: With the advertising world at his feet, Jeremy Lin decides to endorse Volvos.
That's right. Jeremy Lin's first major post-Linsanity endorsement deal will be as a spokesman for Volvo. It's not necessarily the sexiest brand, but you know, something about it makes perfect sense for Jeremy. There's also an extremely lucrative angle for Volvo, which is trying to boost sales in China:
It was still unclear exactly what the value would be of the deal or what exact terms it would involve, but the invitation to the press conference noted that Mr. Lin is expected to help Volvo’s marketing efforts in several international markets. Previously, people familiar with the matter had said that the deal would cover the greater China market.More here: Volvo, Jeremy Lin to Unveil Marketing Deal Today. All right. So does that make me more likely to drive a Volvo? Eh. But I'm certainly looking forward to seeing Jeremy do his thing in the eventual ad campaign.
The symbolism of such a deal would be rich. Volvo is now owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. The company is trying to boost Volvo sales in China as part of a strategy to double the brand’s global sales to 800,000 vehicles by 2020. Geely plans to invest up to $11 billion in the effort.
Volvo sold about 47,000 cars in the country last year, up 54% from 2010.