Man City "extended its partnership with specialist business development firm, Zhong An Holdings, in China." The company "has worked with City on developing commercial relationships, media and marketing activity in the region." This includes football reality game show Who Is The King on China Central Television. Based in Shenzhen, it operates across China and Hong Kong and is "supported" by the Chinese government (
PROLIFIC NORTH, 7/7).
GOT YOUR BACK: League One side Charlton Athletic agreed to a deal with ITRM to become a back-of-shirt sponsor for the next two seasons. The partnership announcement comes ahead of Friday’s official home kit reveal and will see ITRM’s logo featured on the back of the new Charlton home and change strips, on perimeter boards at The Valley and on Charlton's press conference backdrop. The deal represents a further step in the longstanding relationship between ITRM and the club which dates back to '11.
As part of the partnership, ITRM is working with the club and fans on the development of a new, interactive official club website which will go live to supporters in time for the '17-18 season. ITRM will also continue as the club’s IT provider (Charlton).
IN FULL SWING: Full Swing Golf and Alisports entered into a partnership to grow the game of golf in China. Full Swing plans to unveil the first Tiger Woods-branded simulator offered as part of a partnership which it believes will be pivotal to help drive interest for golf in China as well as be a pivotal tool in getting more avid golfers into the simulator for the first time. Alisports, founded in September, is a sports platform established with the aim of placing the entire range of services from ticketing and broadcasting rights to rights management in one hand (Alisports).
MARKETING BRIEFS ...
French construction firm Fayat General Dir Laurent Fayat and Top14 rugby side Union Bordeaux Bègles President Laurent Marti announced the renewal of their partnership. The three-year deal will see the Fayat logo appear on the back of the UBB jersey (Fayat).
Sports betting provider Betway signed a partnership with five 2nd Bundesliga clubs. The company will become the official betting partner of St. Pauli, Union Berlin, Eintracht Braunschweig, Karlsruhe SC and Dynamo Dresden. As part of the deals, Betway will receive in-stadium signage (Betway).
Clinic group Euroeyes has signed on to become the new title sponsor of the Cyclassics cycling event in Hamburg. The race will now be called Euroeyes Cyclassics. Previous title sponsor Vattenfall decided to withdraw from the event after 20 years last summer (Cyclassics Hamburg).
Gray-Nicolls announced an exclusive agreement with the Int'l Cricket Council to become its official equipment supplier. As well as offering on-pitch equipment support at the ICC events, Gray-Nicolls will also provide a comprehensive merchandise collection and assist the ICC in its goal of developing cricket around the world (ICC).
Red Bull Racing announced a renewed agreement to team with IBM Spectrum Computing for a further four years, until '20. The team uses IBM Spectrum solutions to manage the data used in the design and development of its '16 challenger, the RB12. The newly extended innovation partner relationship is marked with IBM Spectrum Computing branding on-car and around the garage (Red Bull Racing).
ActivePDF signed new multi-year sponsorship with three-time PGA Tour winner Scott McCarron. McCarron and will wear the ActivePDF logo on the front of his headwear for remainder of the '16 season and all of the '17 season. McCarron will also participate in promotional appearances, meet-and-greet style events, and golf outings with ActivePDF clients (ActivePDF).
Motorstore.com announced a strategic e-commerce partnership with the Sahara Force India F1 team. Motorstore.com will distribute official Sahara Force India replica teamwear, fanwear and accessories, as well as driver collections representing Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez, on a global basis. As part of the agreement, Motorstore.com will exclusively manage and maintain the Sahara Force India e-commerce platform (Motorstore.com).
