By Mark Baber
October 15 – Continental Tires, Official Sponsor of the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 wrapped up its Asian Cup Trophy Tour in Shanghai on Monday after bringing the trophy to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu in an event looking forward to next year’s tournament and celebrating the recent signing of a four year collaboration with the Chinese Football Association.
As the tour opened, António Lopes de Seabra, Executive Vice President of Continental’s Business Unit Replacement Asia Pacific, Passenger and Light Truck Tires hailed the Tour saying, “Football, the world’s number one sport, its passion, techniques and spirit of teamwork fits perfectly to the brand DNA of Continental Tires. The trophy tour is one important pillar of our sponsorship activation for the Asian Cup. This sponsorship has the character of a strategic communications platform for our premium tire brand Continental and will help us to connect it with Asian car drivers. We are looking forward to further increase both brand awareness and brand consideration in China, moreover in Asia with the assistance of the Asian Cup.”
At the end of last month, Continental signed up to be the exclusive tire partner and Official Sponsor of Team China, covering all seven of the state-owned national football teams.
Jay Dhillon, General Manager of Continental Tires Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, explained during the signing ceremony: “This is the first time that Continental has invested in national teams in the Asia Pacific region. Such large scale and deep cooperation leave an indelible mark on Continental Tires’ football sponsorship history. This collaboration is another important football related marketing initiative for Continental Tires beside the sponsorship of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup which takes place in Australia in January and underlines both Continental’s passion for football as well as our long-term commitment to extend our presence especially in the Chinese market.”
Continental’s new partnership with China follows in the wake of sponsorship campaigns around major competitions such as the UEFA Champions League (1995 – 2000), the FIFA World Cup’s 2006 in Germany, 2010 in South Africa and 2014 in Brazil as well as the UEFA EURO events 2008 in Austria and Switzerland as well as 2012 in Poland and the Ukraine.
The new focus on the AFC Asian Cup 2015 and the Team China sponsorships mark a new era for the company, as the centre of gravity of world consumer spending shifts eastwards towards the Asia-Pacific region.
