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Marketing and Sponsorship

Chinese Brands Look To Make Mark On Soccer With World Cup Deals

Vivo held events featuring former soccer players promoting its FIFA relationshipGETTY IMAGES

Chinese companies advertising during the FIFA World Cup "aren't selling much that is related to soccer," and though its national team is not competing, the country has "made no secret of its soccer ambitions," according to Brook Larmer of N.Y. TIMES MAGAZINE. The last time FIFA signed a "Western sponsor" was in '11, when the corruption investigation "began coming to light." For this year's tourney, it had been "unable to fill more than a dozen sponsorship positions, with the most glaring absences in the lower tier of 'regional supporters.'” But FIFA got a "lifeline" from a "cluster of Chinese companies willing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars and save the day." Leaping into the "void left by the West gives Chinese companies a way to promote their brands globally -- and to flaunt their patriotism." Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group signed a $150M top-tier FIFA deal in '16, and over the past 18 months, partners like Hisense (electronics), Vivo (smartphones), Mengniu (dairy products) and Yadea (electric scooters) "have answered the call." While it is "hard to say whether these Chinese companies will become household names outside their home country," FIFA sponsorship is a "clear bid to acquire what many corporations covet: a global audience and the legitimacy that comes from sharing airtime with Western giants like McDonald’s." The "most salient effect may lie in the realm of soft power, helping to solidify China’s growing bond with Russia and signal a global economic shift from West to East" (N.Y. TIMES MAGAZINE, 6/3 issue).

PREPPING FOR THE FUTURE: U.K.-based sports reputation management firm JTA Founder & Chair Jon Tibbs said, “It is widely believed that China will bid for the 2030 World Cup, obviously if there are a large number of Chinese sponsors helping to prop up FIFA that is a very good starting point.” The GUARDIAN’s Rupert Neate noted Vivo agreed to a six-year deal and has signed former Brazilian F José Roberto Gama de Oliveira and former Netherlands MF Ruud Gullit to "front its World Cup campaign” (THEGUARDIAN.com, 6/1).

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