Why are there so many sponsors from China in the European Cup?

the Euro 2024 This means that the national team championship will return to normal. after The multinational experience for the 2020 editionIt was played after a year due to the epidemic, the tournament being held until the fourteenth of this month Germany It has regained its single-country headquarters and pre-coronavirus income numbers. Pastors wanted to position themselves to benefit from this reassessment, Especially Chinese brands. Five of the 13 major global trading partners (total portfolio 18) of European Football Association For this competition they are from the Asian giant.

The euro between China and German shepherds

UEFA expects revenues slightly higher than that 2,409 million euroswhich is the number representing A 26% more than what was collected in France 2016, according to 2PlayBook data. This is the first time that the 2,000 million mark has been exceeded, which is possible thanks to the increase in income from TV rights and sponsorship, by 21% compared to Euro 2020. Tickets have risen significantly (300 million, double that of the previous edition). Audiences appear in countries such as: Spainwhere TVE The matches are broadcast publicly, and the interest generated by the tournament (Spanish parties are approaching 60% of the share).

This attractive context is what Chinese brands have benefited from: Hisensea manufacturer of televisions and home appliances; AliExpressAlibaba’s “marketplace”; Alipay+Ant Group financial technology payment service; AliveSmartphone brand; And BYDelectric car maker. The latter replaced German company Volkswagen as UEFA’s mobility partnerThis category was held between 2018 and December 2013. A major change that demonstrates the changing times in sports sponsorship. The place that Chinese brands now occupy was once territorial Carlsberg, McDonald’s, Canon or JVC.

This does not mean that European companies ignored the Euro Cup. On the contrary, with a focus on Germany, the brand ecosystem has been renationalised, as evidenced by agreements with German companies. Lidl, a chain of markets; Or Strauss, intended for work clothes. In addition to these great alliances, there are other alliances at a lower level, such as the brewery Bitburger; Transport operator Deutsche Bahn; “Telecommunications” Detouch Telekom; Insurance chain Subsequently; And meat Wesinhof, which once sponsored a Pro Tour cycling team.

Adidas, Coca-Cola, booking or visiting Qatar

Despite the transformation witnessed in recent releases, there are loyal partners such as Adidas company also coca cola“Main Partners” of the European Cup along with Booking.com, a tourist complex based in Amsterdam. Another of the main sponsors of the tournament held in Germany Visit Qataran initiative by the government that hosted the last World Cup finals, is a site that has come under heavy criticism in the country where the emirate’s name is everywhere these days.

“In general, brands Chinaand other Asian countries, use major sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup, the Basketball World Cup, and the UEFA Cup itself, To try to gain visibility and thus increase awareness of its brand around the world. This is the main sponsorship goal, which is the visibility of the brand, given that its bad reputation in Europe still has a lot of room for improvement,” Carlos Cantú, CEO of SPSG Consulting, a consultancy specializing in the sports industry, explains to this newspaper.

“On the contrary, the most famous brands in Europe, e.g Coca-Cola, Lidl, Booking.com, to name a few of the current Euro 2024 ones; They activate their compatible care with additional goals. This is the case for VIP hospitality, ‘engagement’, generating income and/or improving brand reputation, usually through developing Labeled projects related to environmental and/or social sustainability“To explain the differences between the motivations that drive brands traditionally associated with the European Cup and those that seek fame through it,” Cantu adds.

David Beckham, AliExpress Ambassador to the Euro

When it comes to understanding the sustainability vector, proposals such as Lidl’s, which promotes a healthy lifestyle by offering fresh fruit in ‘fan zones’, are useful. While Coca-Cola encourages its followers to recycle their beverage containersDeutsche Bahn offers discounts on trains in Germany and BYD provides a fleet of electric cars.

For the car manufacturer, the European Cup represents a real challenge in a constantly contested market. On 12 June, the European Commission announced, shortly before the opening of the tournament, that from 4 July Chinese producers of “zero emission” vehicles would be subject to an additional tariff of up to 10% that they had already paid (between 17.4 and 38.1%). ). Still, BYD takes it An example of this is what happened with Hisense in the 2016 European ChampionshipIt was his first appearance, which allowed for an increase in sales abroad by 83%.

The same thing happened with Timo, Shen’s competitor, both “market” from China, who have invested tens of millions of tens of euros In a Super Bowl marketing campaign. Advertisements and gift vouchers made up the bulk of the action that allowed it to gain a foothold in the American market. Companies from the Asian country have a national income that allows them to expand very quickly, as evidenced by the strong Euro Cup activation.

To increase conversion rates, AliExpress, which is available in all forms, has used former footballer David Beckham as its brand ambassador. In this way, Chinese companies aim to improve their market shares in Europe, where they remain relatively low. To do this, they take advantage of the most global of sports, through which they reach a global audience. All this, against the backdrop of a winning project like the European Cup, which, according to Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA Marketing Director, will exceed 5,000 million users in the accumulated audience.