As Leicester City and ManU prepare for the Community Shield match, "it is not only the silverware that will be glinting in Asian eyes," according to Bhavan Jaipragas of the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. For King Power, the Thai duty-free conglomerate "closely entwined" with Leicester, the match "represents a triumph of exposure regardless of which team wins." So too for the various Asian sponsors of 20-time champions ManU, from “official diesel engine partner” Yanmar and “official equipment partner” Epson, both from Japan, to Wahaha, its “official soft drinks partner in China.” The brands will be "the most visible of the region's many deep-pocketed corporate sponsors who have bet millions of pounds linking their brands to Premier League teams." Leading Asian brands with prime real estate on Premier League jerseys include -- as well as Hong Kong’s own AIA (Tottenham Hotspur) and GWFX (Swansea City) -- Japan’s Yokohama Tyres (Chelsea), Dubai’s Emirates (Arsenal), Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways (Man City) and Thailand’s Chang beer (Everton). Next season Watford, West Bromwich Albion, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace -- sponsored by Asia-facing betting firms 138.com, UK-K8 and the last two by Mansion, respectively -- "will have Chinese characters on their jerseys." London-based Synergy Sponsorship Chief Strategy Officer Carsten Thode said, "It's just purely about buying exposure or eyeballs. Most of the games are shown live in China and throughout Asia and there are going to be eyeballs no matter who's playing." Mongoose Sports & Entertainment Marketing Dir Rupert Pratt said that Asian firms sponsoring Premier League teams stood to gain "instant credibility and overnight brand awareness" at home and abroad. Pratt: "This comes not from the football on the pitch, but rather the incredible amount of hard work put in by clubs over the last decade to develop and grow their fan bases in Asia." Thode, a former corporate strategist with ManU, said that "Leicester's fairytale victory last season had piqued firms' interest in clubs not among the traditional front runners." Thode: "There is a steep drop-off between the traditional powerhouses and the teams people expect to be more towards the bottom of the table." He added that advertising with lower-tier clubs could “be cost effective but of course King Power would not have been talked about had Leicester been relegated instead." China’s leading corporate brands such as Alibaba, Sinopec and China Construction Bank have "yet to sponsor top European teams, but experts say this may change soon." Daxue Consulting analyst Cathy Ziyi Sun said that China’s "corporate titans were likely to compete for Premier League deals as they sought global exposure, but would also be expected to support the Chinese Super League." Sun said, "Once the Chinese league comes up to the standard of the English Premier League, the companies may face a backlash from the public if they choose not to sponsor the local clubs" (SCMP, 8/7).
