The deal was negotiated in conjunction with Swiss Infront Sport & Media and Shanghai-based Zou Marketing. Ogilvy will be in charge of the PR.
The CBA league had an aggregate audience of 420 million last season, making it the most popular sports league on Chinese TV. Apart from the opening ceremony, the basketball games are also the top-selling tickets for the Beijing Olympics. “We sent a survey to our employees in China, asking them which sports or athletes they admired the most, who resonates the most with them and who echoes what we’re trying to do at UPS,” said Peter Tan, director of the Olympic project at UPS.
The CBA league had an aggregate audience of 420 million last season, making it the most popular sports league on Chinese TV. Apart from the opening ceremony, the basketball games are also the top-selling tickets for the Beijing Olympics. “We sent a survey to our employees in China, asking them which sports or athletes they admired the most, who resonates the most with them and who echoes what we’re trying to do at UPS,” said Peter Tan, director of the Olympic project at UPS.
“The top three were the Chinese women’s national volleyball team, tennis player Peng Shuai and the men’s national basketball team - we now sponsor all of them.”
The exact value of the deal remains undisclosed. Previously a global partner, UPS has struck a sponsorship deal directly with BOCOG for the 2008 Games.
The development comes as the NBA continues to broaden its grassroots efforts in China.
The US league has formed NBA China, a new entity that will handle all of the league’s business in Greater China.
Five strategic partners, including ESPN, Li Ka Shing Foundation, Bank of China Group Investment, China Merchants Investments and Legend Holdings, are set to invest US$253 million to acquire 11 per cent of the company.
“It is an exciting time for sport marketing in China, as Chinese consumers have a growing appetite for high quality sports entertainment: the smartest brands are engaging in the sponsorship process and bringing creativity to the partnership,” added Terry Rhoads, managing director, Zou Marketing.