Wearing a jersey with a Huawei logo, Iago Falque, a winger with Rayo Vallecano, plays in a La Liga match against Real Madrid on March 29. Provided to China Daily

Chinese companies score with European football club sponsorships

As the curtain begins to fall on another European football season, the ink is still drying on a number of sponsorship deals between top football clubs and Chinese companies looking to grow at home and abroad.

During a recent Spanish La Liga match between Valencia and Athletico Madrid, one of the league title deciders that were broadcast globally, sponsor logos from Chinese companies such as JinkoSolar Holding and Hisense Group could be clearly seen on players' jerseys and video displays in the stadium.

Over the past two years, a growing number of Chinese companies have sponsored European football teams, including those in top divisions in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The most recent deals signed were between Shenzhen-based telecoms major Huawei Technologies and the French top division Ligue 1 team Paris Saint-German FC, and Qingdao-based technology supplier Hisense Group and the La Liga club Valencia.

The English Premier League club Manchester United also announced that it had signed three-year sponsorship deals with the Chinese soft drinks company Wahaha and one of China's Big Four banks, China Construction Bank, in January last year.

Wang Mu, president of the Chinese food company Pinlive Foods, which recently became a sponsor for La Liga, Spain's top division, says: "The La Liga has some of the world's best football players. The division has a clear-cut promotion plan in China. It will definitely help our growth in the Chinese market."

For European leagues and clubs, the vast market of China is one they could not afford to overlook.

Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, says it regards China as one of its key markets.

At a recent promotional event of the La Liga staged by the China Association of International Trade, he says: "We are keenly aware that China not only has the world's largest population, but also the world's largest number of football fans and some of the best enterprises in the world."

To cater to Chinese audiences the La Liga will adjust kick-off times next season so games are aired close to Chinese TV prime time.

Adolfo Bara, marketing director general with the La Liga, says it has experience in helping promote some of the world's leading sports brands, including Nike.

"That experience will facilitate the promotion and internationalization of our other business partners, along with the Spanish clubs that play matches around the world."

La Liga is keen to help Chinese companies that are looking for global marketing, yet he warns that Chinese companies must utilize the platform to increase the recognition of their products.

Branding experts say the Chinese sponsors need a more sophisticated and strategic approach.

"Such (sophisticated and strategic) relationships are not only of high value, but also create business opportunities for both the clubs and their commercial partners," says Simon Chadwick, professor of sports-business strategy and marketing at Coventry University in the United Kingdom.

"It seems to me that Chinese companies do not have the same understanding of football sponsorships as their US or European counterparts. Yes, it gives them visibility. But a strategic sponsorship means much more than that."

Strategic sponsorship means sponsors work more closely with the clubs and offer more value-added features, Chadwick says.

"Whenever they are trying to pitch a new product they need to make sure their products are easily tangible to the fans."

Chadwick cites the example of Formula I sponsorships.

"The sponsors work closely with the teams so their products, such as electronics, are used in the cars. This way they can get feedback on their products in a timely manner."

Ji Ning, CEO of Vning Media, a sports branding agency in Beijing, agrees. Winning over global audiences and increasing interaction with local consumers should be the goal for Chinese sponsors, he says.

"For many Chinese sponsors in European leagues the primary target audience for the branding efforts are in the domestic market.

"Many Chinese sponsors have an understanding of who their sponsorship targets are and that is quite different to that of other international brands. For them, the aim is simply to show off and sell low-end products rather than pursuing international branding."

Many cite the telecommunications company China Kejian in demonstrating the challenges of Chinese sponsorship of European football clubs.

The company was the main sponsor of the English Premier League club Everton FC for the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons but was forced to pull out after those seasons, faced with a massive slump in sales of its mobile handsets.

For many Chinese companies, sponsorship targets mainly Chinese who regularly watch European league matches.

Live broadcasts of matches via major news portals as well as the sports channels of the state broadcaster CCTV and provincial satellite TV have certainly helped.

The popularity of the English Premier League in China can be seen by the number of followers on Sina Weibo. On Weibo, Manchester United FC has more than 3.64 million followers, while Chelsea has 2.01 million and Arsenal 1.87 million.

In March last year, China Construction Bank began marketing credit card products featuring the Manchester United logo two months after it became the club's sponsor. Previously, the bank had also issued credit card products featuring the logo of Arsenal and the Italian top division Serie A club Juventus FC.

Wahaha has also run TV advertisements featuring Manchester United players after sponsorship deals.

One of the main reasons for Suning's partnership with Barcelona is to cater to domestic fans, says a market manager surnamed Zhong with Suning, the Nanjing newspaper Modern Express says.

"Barcelona has a huge fan base in China, and Suning hopes to lift its profile among fan groups."

The increasing efforts by clubs in the big European football leagues to interact with supporters in China has also paved the way for commercial branding efforts.

Many of the clubs have social media accounts with Sina and Tencent weibo, analogous to Twitter, and some of the top players have weibo accounts, too.

Arsenal has held live question and answer sessions with Chinese fans featuring a number of its players through Tencent Weibo.

Tom Fox, chief commercial officer of Arsenal, says the club had its many Chinese fans in mind before it signed its sponsorship deal with Huawei.

On the club's website he says: "This is the first global deal we have signed with a Chinese brand, demonstrating our long-term commitment to the market through pre-season tours and sustained digital fan engagement."

Solar panel producers are another important source of sponsorship in the European leagues.

JinkoSolar Holding, a Chinese producer, announced in 2012 that it would renew a deal with the Spanish team Valencia Club de Futbol as the club's main sponsor for two more seasons.

Modern Express in Nanjing quoted a company executive as saying the company would spend at least 4 million euros a year as the club's main sponsor.

"The European market is one of the earliest markets for new-energy firms," the executive was quoted as saying. "Football can help brands quickly raise their profile."

Chadwick says betting companies have also become some of the main sponsors of such deals. These companies have Chinese websites to cater to Chinese audiences.

The news portal qq.com reported that among a number of the foreign betting companies that have sponsored this season's English Premier League, at least three have Chinese websites targeting Chinese customers.

In England, the proliferation in sport of advertising and sponsorship by gambling companies, many with logos in Chinese, can create problems in sponsoring efforts, he says. That is because viewers can mistakenly presume that any unfamiliar, exotic name they see is that of a gambling company.

"For other Chinese companies, if they want to build a reputation among the fans in Europe, one of the first steps is letting the fans know that they are not a gambling company."

European clubs' inadequate understanding of Chinese fans and Chinese culture is another obstacle, he says. "What is really important is that they (the clubs) have to know China."

European football in China faces competition from other sports and leisure activities, he says.

"The European football clubs have to take the market seriously and be keenly aware that they are in competition."

A coordinating body for different leagues and clubs is also needed to further penetrate the market.

"The best example for European football is the NBA in the US, which has set up an office in China, works closely with the Chinese basketball authorities and has people in China talking to the Chinese people. The European clubs need organization, strategy, infrastructure and orientation in the league level.

"I think the Union of European Football Associations has an important role to play in promoting its tournaments in China. Yet right now, I don't hear anything."

xuwei@chinadaily.com.cn

China Association of International Trade, a division under the Ministry of Commerce, has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with La Liga to help Chinese companies enhance their brand recognition in global markets on April 9. Cui Nan / China News Service

(China Daily European Weekly 05/23/2014 page14)