Yingli Chooses SportsMark for FIFA Activation
The first Chinese company to sign a global sponsorship deal with FIFA, Yingli Green Energy, has selected SportsMark to develop Yingli’s sponsorship activation platform for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Yingli Green Energy, which has been heavily promoting its Yingli Solar brand, last month became the first renewable energy company to sponsor the FIFA World Cup.
SportsMark has been selected to provide Yingli Green Energy with strategic planning and program development services around the World Cup sponsorship -- from initial consultation to on-site activation.
Dr. Yaocheng Jason Liu, Vice President of Marketing for Yingli Green Energy, commented, “As one of the world’s leading solar companies, we are excited to be joining other world-class brands as an international sponsor of the FIFA World Cup. This sponsorship links Yingli Green Energy to the world’s most popular and passionately followed sport. We needed an agency that understands the FIFA World Cup and has deep knowledge and relationships inside FIFA and MATCH, and SportsMark was that agency. We look forward to leveraging SportsMark’s expertise in the development of our global hospitality, ticketing, and event management programs.”
“We are thrilled to be working with Yingli, and it is an honor to partner with the first China-based and the first renewable energy corporate sponsor of FIFA”, said Keith Bruce, President of SportsMark. “This assignment reinforces SportsMark’s growing global reputation in football sponsorship management and leading agency status in FIFA World Cup ticketing and hospitality. We look forward to working with Yingli and maximizing the impact of their sponsorship in the lead up to the FIFA World Cup, as well as on- site in South Africa.”
Yingli Chairman and CEO commented on the company's sponsorship strategy during yesterday's annual conference call stating:
"Throughout 2009, we’ve focused on promoting our Yingli Solar brand. To deepen our relationships with existing customers and reach out to more potential customers, we joined the privileged ranks of official sponsors of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. This step is part of our global marketing strategy to increase our brand awareness worldwide by associating our brand that one of the world’s most popular sporting events. We look forward to better communicating our brands, and demonstrating our commitment to making solar energy, a clean, enduring, and cost-effective energy solution for all mankind."
For more on Yingli's FIFA sponsorship, see Solar Company Becomes First Chinese World Cup Sponsor
