[Saberq]

Mountaindewslave take a fucking break you insecure bitter Rafatard ok................If I were you I would pray that Rafa wins Chile Open not trolling

[howyesno]

why is it so hard for fellow nole fans to admit he will never have an endorsement appeal of nadal or federer? it is nothing to be ashamed of. it's not like he has no potential at all, noone is saying that. but to claim he can reach federer in that area (seriously?) just shows how insecure are some people here. I truly expect for someone on this site to question if einstein beats nole in nuclear physics.

[Time Violation]

I guess most fans (of any player) couldn't care less how much money they are making, it's not like they (top players) don't have enough of it already

[MIMIC]

Originally Posted by leng jai

I don't see how discussing the marketability of players is any worse than the glory hunting or off court tripe that frequently gets discussed here.

This thread IS pretty bad. I don't even know why I'm here. This just seems like a watering hole for Federer fans.

"Is Novak Djokovic going to rival the popularity of the greatest tennis player of all time.....and his rival?"

Really? I wanted to say why this question was even being asked, but it looked like the OP didn't have ulterior motives, so I bit my tongue. But still....

[Depeche]

Minus some of the unnecessary belittling of the opinions of some of his fans, I think this is a really fascinating thread.

Originally Posted by Caesar1844

If Djokovic wants to be commercially successful, he needs to fashion himself an image - something that he will be automatically equated with whenever someone sees him. As people have mentioned, I think the whole shirt-ripping thing is a bit of an attempt to build that warrior image. But it's not really something that is obvious in every aspect of his public life and his game so I don't know how successful it will be.

Basically I think his biggest problem is that his career is half over, and until recently he's never tried to come across as anything other than a normal dude. An effective brand requires years of cultivation, which for sports stars means they have to start very early.

...

Some players have a knack for marketing themselves, others don't. Djokovic, for all his advantages, seems to fall into the latter category.

Again, I agree with your points, although I would argue that I don't think the shirt ripping, screaming, and general "warrior"-like behavior is premeditated or a conscious attempt to create a brand. My impression is that Djokovic genuinely is that intense on court, and I don't think he's thinking that hard after a crazy 5+ hour match anyway. But this speaks to part of the "problem": I think he's both genuinely "warrior-like" on court and then a generally friendly, comedic guy off court. Like you said, it's not as if you can discern warrior-like qualities from an interview with him.

I also think you may be underestimating the power of the Fedal duopoly. Even if Djokovic had a clear marketing agenda, their power would still be difficult to overcome. He started at a disadvantage on that front.

Originally Posted by tripwires

That would probably be the worst part of his image. It just feeds into the negative stereotypes that people have of Serbians/perhaps Eastern Europeans more generally (though I wouldn't claim to know this because I'm not familiar with the region/its people).

Just speaking for myself, but the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Nole off-court is that he's a comedian. That's the thing that sets him apart the most from Roger and Rafa, both of whom aren't particularly funny (Roger tries hard but sometimes he fails and only tards like myself think it's funny). In that sense, he's not really a Rolex or Mercedes kind of guy; he skews a younger, trendier, more light-hearted crowd that doesn't take things too seriously. Of course, I have no idea if this 'crowd' actually exists, but that's just my impression anyway.

I understand your point but it's the only part of his persona that one can really latch onto in an analogous way to Federer and classiness. And in my view, I just don't think the joker thing is a viable marketing strategy. Unless he becomes all-out goofy at all times, how is he going to get that image across... and would that even be desirable? I don't think he would even want that; my impression is that he wants to be taken seriously as the #1.

For the record, like some of his other fans on this thread, I don't really care if he is a marketing hit or not. I personally like the guy either way. But if he is looking to maximize his brand, I would be at a loss as to what to suggest other than perhaps the warrior/ironman trope.

[Looner]

Originally Posted by MIMIC

This thread IS pretty bad. I don't even know why I'm here. This just seems like a watering hole for Federer fans.

"Is Novak Djokovic going to rival the popularity of the greatest tennis player of all time.....and his rival?"

Really? I wanted to say why this question was even being asked, but it looked like the OP didn't have ulterior motives, so I bit my tongue. But still....

Not sure about the thread but this post is awful.

[Depeche]

Originally Posted by MIMIC

This thread IS pretty bad. I don't even know why I'm here. This just seems like a watering hole for Federer fans.

"Is Novak Djokovic going to rival the popularity of the greatest tennis player of all time.....and his rival?"

Really? I wanted to say why this question was even being asked, but it looked like the OP didn't have ulterior motives, so I bit my tongue. But still....

Some people might just be using this as a roundabout way to diss Novak, but I would hope that others could be interested enough in the actual topic of marketing and branding to attempt some objectivity about the situation and engage in a real discussion. As I said, I'm a Djokovic fan and think this is a dilemma he/his team must face assuming he wants to improve his brand, and I think that it's interesting to brainstorm how he might go about that.

[Alex999]

Originally Posted by leng jai

Nole would benefit from picking better outfits. They are generally too pedestrian and often plain atrocious.

Is this Anna Wintour speaking or is it just our good friend Leng? What kinda outfit you'd like to see? Pink, green, maybe red or pink/orange (not sure what color that is but anyway)? Maybe lavender shoe laces?

what about running shoes with high hills (like 10" high)

[leng jai]

Originally Posted by Alex999

Is this Anna Wintour speaking or is it just our good friend Leng? What kinda outfit you'd like to see? Pink, green, maybe red or pink/orange (not sure what color that is but anyway)? Maybe lavender shoe laces? .

what about running shoes with high hills

If I was anyone from Vogue I'd be Grace Coddington.

[leng jai]

Originally Posted by MIMIC

This thread IS pretty bad. I don't even know why I'm here. This just seems like a watering hole for Federer fans.

"Is Novak Djokovic going to rival the popularity of the greatest tennis player of all time.....and his rival?"

Really? I wanted to say why this question was even being asked, but it looked like the OP didn't have ulterior motives, so I bit my tongue. But still....

The actual thread has merit. It's your own problem is you're going to be sensitive and construe it as a Nole hating thread.

[Looner]

Originally Posted by Depeche

Some people might just be using this as a roundabout way to diss Novak, but I would hope that others could be interested enough in the actual topic of marketing and branding to attempt some objectivity about the situation and engage in a real discussion. As I said, I'm a Djokovic fan and think this is a dilemma he/his team must face assuming he wants to improve his brand, and I think that it's interesting to brainstorm how he might go about that.

Indeed. It was mentioned Djokovic picked Uniqlo because of their aspiration to grow and their lack of association with major players like Fedal.

[MIMIC]

Originally Posted by leng jai

The actual thread has merit. It's your own problem is you're going to be sensitive and construe it as a Nole hating thread.

How am I being sensitive when I already said that I don't care if he gets endorsed by anyone? I'm not trying to make a case for him. I simply don't care.

This thread is what it is.

[leng jai]

Originally Posted by MIMIC

How am I being sensitive when I already said that I don't care if he gets endorsed by anyone? I'm not trying to make a case for him. I simply don't care.

This thread is what it is.

If you don't care then don't post. You questioned the validity of the thread by saying the OP has ulterior motives / in other words Federer ass licking or Nole bashing.

[pepita1964]

Federer helps Nadal to get so marketable because he was the only one who can challenge him ,They had too many exho but i am afraid that this rivalry comes to its end.As you can see since last year AO Nadal made his outburst against Federer no more exho anymore.Federer did not need any of top four and made Federer tour in SA the most lucrative exho someone ever made in this sport, So you can see Fed does not need them at all, I watched his match with Tsonga and Del Potro , It was full there was not empty seat, I was really surprised to see that. I have read that he got from Nike more than $ 15k annually. I do not know how Novak,Murray or Nadal would get to him, He just sell everything. Last year Indian Wells had more than 600 000 attendance when he won but Miami a half of that he lost to Roddick 2rd.So everyone TD or owner of tournament would like to have him,It is a big business. As Mats Wilander said Federer sells tickets

[MIMIC]

Originally Posted by leng jai

If you don't care then don't post. You questioned the validity of the thread by saying the OP has ulterior motives / in other words Federer ass licking or Nole bashing.

Ummmm, I said the OP DIDN'T have ulterior motives (but that it was a silly question).