IN BRIEF (Page 23)

POKER

Second Yaoji tournament concludes in Beijing

The 2007 Second Yaoji Poker Beijing Masters Tournament came to an end at the Beijing Grand View Garden Hotel on Saturday.

The event, organized by the Beijing Sports Press Association, the Beijing Leisure Sports Administrative Center and the Shanghai Yaoji Poker Co Ltd, started six months ago in Beijing's 552 communities. The top four finishers won 5,000 yuan, 3,000 yuan, 2,000 yuan and 1,000 yuan, respectively.

Yaoji Poker Co Ltd is an avid supporter of China's sports development. It is the title sponsor of China's five major women's soccer tournaments - the national championships, the FA Cup, the Super League, the national league and the Super Cup.

The Beijing Yaoji Poker Game Beijing Masters Tournament will kick off after the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on February 6.

MISCELLANEOUS

International sporting goods show to be held in capital

The 22nd China International Sporting Goods Show (China SportShow 2008) will be held at the newly built China International Exhibition Center on the outskirts of Beijing's Shunyi District from May 29 to June 1.

As the largest show of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region, the 2008 exhibition will cover 100,000 sq m with 5,000 booths hosting 1,000 companies representing more than 3,000 brands from 30 different countries and regions.

The show will be divided into seven specific areas: Fitness & Rehabilitation Equipment, Balls & Other, Sportswear, Outdoor Sports, Stadium & Gym, Tennis & Badminton, and Olympic Hall.

International sports production giants like Nike, Adidas, and North Face, as well as domestic producers like Li-Ning, Anta and Double Fish, are all set to showcase their latest and fashionable sports goods.

"This exhibition is held two months before the Beijing Olympic Games, so it's closely linked to Olympic themes," said Ma Jilong, director of the Administrative Center for Sports Equipment.

China's top-10 sports marketing cases selected

Lenovo and Vatti lead eight other noted national and international brands in the running for the model marketing case awards of the Third China Sports Marketing Classical Cases.

The event, hosted by the CCTV Sports Center, CCTV Advertising Department, the MCCP of Peking University, and Beijing Aoshang Sports Marketing Company, chose Lenovo, Vatti, the People's Insurance Company of China, Li-Ning Co Ltd, McDonalds, China Mobile, Aokang Group, Panasonic, Kappa and Mengniu Dairy Co as the award winners. Also mentioned in the selection were Jianghuai Automobile, Jinlongyu Cooking Oils, Xinfei Electric Appliances, Sichuan Changhong, Sinian, Johnson & Johnson, Pearl River Beer, China Merchants Bank, Uni-President China Holdings Ltd, and Zhonghua Toothpaste.

China's hosting of the 29th Olympic Games in August provided a once-in-a-lifetime platform for marketing opportunities in China for national and world brands, especially the Chinese enterprises. Selection was based on four factors: relevance, creativity, integration and consistency.

(China Daily 01/08/2008 page23)