Chinese brands find fans through football tie-ups
Chinese brands are boosting credibility in Western markets through strategic partnerships with European football clubs.
Chinese brands are boosting credibility in Western markets through strategic partnerships with European football clubs.
Fearless, savvy and ambitious, Chinese brands are shrugging off the critics and taking on the European market in a bid to become household names.
City Football Group (CFG), the parent company of Manchester City FC and three other clubs globally, last month announced a major technology deal with cloud software firm SAP. Marketing Week’s Jonathan Bacon attended the announcement at the City Football Academy in Manchester to hear how technology will underpin CFG’s ‘family of clubs’ business model and its future fan engagement activities.
Since its 2008 takeover by Abu Dhabi investors, Manchester City has established itself not only as one of English football’s most successful clubs but also its most exciting brand, forming a unique ‘family of clubs’ to reach new fans around the world.
Marketing boss Richard Warren claims boards see advertising as a running cost, meaning marketers shouldn’t “cloak” campaigns in the word “investment”.
Overall digital advertising spend grew 11% in 2023 to £29.6bn, according to data from IAB and PwC.
Chief brand officer Ije Nkoworie, who takes over as CEO next year, says marketing can get distracted by trends and risk preventing customers discovering product.
Rather than only prioritising training for their teams, marketing leaders should carve out time for learning and rethink what ‘upskilling’ really means.