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China brands make a splash
There will be no Chinese team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but Chinese teenagers were scheduled to bear FIFA flags and lead players onto the field. The flag-carriers, chosen by tournament sponsor Dalian Wanda Group Co, are part of China’s record promotional blitz at an event expected to draw 3.5 billion television viewers in more than 200 countries, Zenith, a media planning arm of Publicis Groupe SA, said in its report on the World Cup.
Chinese brands will account for more than a third of the estimated $2.4 billion in additional advertising spending worldwide related to the month-long tournament, Zenith estimates.
The sport’s rising commercial profile contrasts with the performance of the national team, which qualified for only one World Cup in 2002, where it didn’t score a single goal.
Some of China’s biggest brands, including Dalian Wanda, television and appliances maker HiSense, smartphone manufacturer Vivo, electronic scooter maker Yadea and China Mengniu Dairy signed on with FIFA as sponsors even as support from other countries waned relative to previous tournaments.
Such sponsorship deals don’t include money spent on advertising related to the tournament. For that, Chinese companies will splash out an additional $835 million, Zenith estimates. Bloomberg
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