Chinese advertisers are dominating the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Russia’s first world cup kicked off yesterday and according to Bloomberg, China’s advertisers are dominating the tournament.
Despite not having a Chinese team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Chinese advertisers have not shied away from the tournament that will attract 3.5 billion television viewers in more than 200 countries.
Dalian Wanda Group Co are the tournament sponsors whilst electronics giant HiSense, smartphone manufacturer Vivo, electronic scooter maker Yadea and China Mengniu Dairy will all have exposure in the tournament.
These sponsorships do not include advertising related to the tournament, which is estimated at an additional $835 million by Chinese companies.
According to Zenith, Chinese brands will account for over one third of the estimated $2.4 billion in additional advertising spending.
“What really struck me is how big a deal the World Cup is in China this year,” said Jonathan Barnard, an executive at Zenith. “It seems to be a new phenomenon. Brands are scrambling to create an association between themselves and sports, in this case football in particular. The associations don’t exist yet.”
Chinese Sports Media has deals with Portugal’s national team to promote a cosmetics brand as well as with Argentina’s team for an online peer-to-peer lending platform.
“This World Cup is the biggest and most important marketing window for Chinese brands,” said Zhao Jun, president of China Sports Media. “More and more brands have come to realize the benefits of sports advertising.”
