From Alibaba to BYD, Chinese sponsors jostle for attention at Euro 2024 football tournament
- Five of the championship’s 13 sponsors come from China, as these companies look abroad amid slow growth at home
Chinese technology brands from Alibaba Group Holding to BYD make up a third of Euro 2024 football tournament’s 13 worldwide sponsors, an example of their growing global footprint and commitment to expanding in overseas markets.
With many Chinese companies looking abroad amid slow domestic growth, investing heavily in publicity in major global sporting events has become a key strategy.
E-commerce giant PDD Holdings’ international shopping app Temu spent tens of millions of dollars on a marketing campaign during last year’s Super Bowl, the annual championship of the US National Football League, resulting in a spike in web searches for its name.
“They focus on future international expansion, using their foundation and capital strengths in China to boost overseas market presence and revenues, particularly in Europe,” said Howard Yu, professor at the International Institute for Management Development.
“What’s new and interesting here is that Chinese companies, for the first time, will need to engage the Western market and learn to localise, [changing] their image from being Chinese companies with an international presence to becoming companies that consumers will associate with strong local relevance.”
Chinese brands are doing more than just advertising on the football pitch.
