The battle of Euro Cup sponsors: China takes the title

The Euro Cup is currently delivering thrilling matchups for fans worldwide. Only diehard Chinese fans with the means to travel to Europe have been lucky enough to attend the games in person, but most Chinese fans have been staying up late to watch matches into the early hours of the morning, Beijing time. Nonetheless, for many Chinese brands, this year proved to be a standout.

In Euro Cup 2024, there are a total of 13 official top-tier sponsors. Five of them come from China: Hisense, Alipay, Vivo, AliExpress and BYD. The championship which has been running since 1960, and now in its 16th tournament, only saw its first Chinese sponsor, Hisense, appear in 2016. This year, China has become the largest source of sponsors for the event.

Sponsors list of Euro cup. Images are from 36Kr

Another notable development is that Chinese companies are progressively shifting their sponsorship focus from just financial support, to product and technology sponsorship. As the leading sponsor this year, Hisense provided display technology support for the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) system at this tournament. This marks the first time in Euro Cup history that exclusive VAR display rights have been available.

Hisense has placed many Chinese phrases on the advertising boards at the venue. Images are from RED

Meanwhile, other brands have also deeply integrated into the Euro Cup:

• Alipay: Providing a convenient Chinese-style mobile payment experience.

• AliExpress: Launching the "Euro Cup Special Line."

• Vivo: Its flagship product X100 has become the official smartphone of the European Championship.

• BYD: Providing official vehicles for the Euro cup.

Advertisements and exhibitions of other sponsors from China. Images are from Weibo and RED

In the past, Chinese brands sponsoring international events was to build credibility within the China market. Now many are sponsoring events to help build their brand value globally and expand internationally. Hisense has been among the first to reap the benefits. According to third-party research, Hisense’s brand awareness has grown from 37% when it first sponsorted the Euro Cup in 2016, to 54% in 2023. For seven consecutive years, Hisense has been ranked among the top 10 global brands from China internationally.

Similarly, BYD’s sponsorship has been so successful in the Euro Cup host country of Germany, that adult toy site byd.de has been so inundated with enquiries that it up a notice on its site referring visitors to the byd.com site.

Screenshot from the byd.de site referring people to byd.com.

The five Chinese brands sponsoring the Euro Cup are part of a wider trend which is seeing more Chinese brands spread their wings. Having conditioned themselves in the hyper-competitive Chinese market, they will be brands to watch and understand in many markets.