Chinese medal winners sign gold sponsorship deals

Major corporations are interested in sponsorship deals with the latest generation of young Chinese athletes. The commercial value of gold medalists reached a new high after the recently concluded 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Such sponsorships have helped companies gain brand cachet in the wake of the global sporting extravaganza. In fact, major brands began signing partnerships with athletes from various sports before the Games began, as companies seek to seize the significant marketing opportunities the competitions provide.

One of the most notable cases is the bet that several brands made on Chinese tennis player Zheng Qinwen, after she won gold for China in the women's singles at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Even before the opening ceremony, Zheng signed cooperation agreements with nearly 10 major brands covering a wide range of industries, including sports, luxury goods, cosmetics, financial companies and catering companies. These include Nike, Lancome, dairy group Yili, vitamin brand Swisse, McDonald's and Rolex.

According to Forbes' ranking of the world's 20 highest-paid female athletes in 2023, Zheng ranked 15th with total earnings of $7.2 million, including $1.7 million in tournament prize money and $5.5 million in endorsement deals. Zheng became the second Chinese tennis player to make the list after retired two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na.

The sports agency behind Zheng is New York-based IMG, which also has contracts with Chinese athletes such as freestyle skier Eileen Gu, men's big air champion Su Yiming and Li Na.

According to industry experts, Chinese athletes in table tennis, swimming, diving, gymnastics and shooting have been favoured by brands for sponsorship deals at previous Olympic Games.

“The commercial value of athletes is mainly reflected in commercial sponsorship agreements. If athletes want to achieve higher commercial value, it is necessary for them to continuously refresh their data to maintain frequent exposure,” said Zhang Shule, an independent Internet industry analyst.

“The Olympic Games attract a lot of attention worldwide as a comprehensive international sporting event. Gold medal winners usually attract the attention of a broad audience, including people who are not fans of a particular sport,” Zhang said.

Zhang added that the Olympics make it easier for athletes to gain global attention and recognition. This makes the commercial value of gold medalists exponentially different from winners of specialized competitions such as the world championships or regionally expanded events such as the Asian Games.

This year, Chinese online travel agency Trip.com Group signed sponsorship deals with four Chinese male athletes ahead of the Paris Olympics, including record-breaking swimmer Pan Zhanle. The company proved to have made a good investment.

Pan signed partnership agreements with several brands ahead of the Games, including companies in sectors such as personal care, tourism, food and automotive.

Trip.com predicted that Pan would become the fastest swimmer in the world after seeing his outstanding performance at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.

“Compared with table tennis and diving, swimming generally attracts more global attention and generates more influence. That’s why we signed a sponsorship agreement with Pan,” said Ding Lu, general manager of brand integrated marketing at Trip.com.

“Compared to other fields, sports stars can better represent a country's positive image. We often do not adjust the price of sponsorship agreements based on the gold, silver or bronze medals won,” Ding said.

Ding added that some consumer products companies tend to have higher budgets when they sign sponsorship deals with athletes, sometimes even choosing to partner with the entire national team of a particular sport.

Companies may consider several elements of athletes when deciding on sponsorship deals. These elements include age, appearance, historical competition results, whether the specific sport category attracts global attention and whether the athlete receives sufficient exposure on social media platforms.