Barcelona are fresh from winning their second title this season, the Copa del Rey (King’s Cup), last night. The Spanish La Liga champions are on course to complete a treble if they can upset Italian champions Juventus in the Champions League next weekend and be crowned European champions for the fifth time. Such levels of success means that the club stands to attract strong partners and pen lucrative sponsorship deals. To our surprise it is Chinese smartphone brand OPPO that will be the club’s official mobile phone partner.
The deal, whose details have not been disclosed, just serves to portray OPPO’s ambitions and plans for the future. It shows that the company will stop at nothing to win more marketshare abroad. Such partnerships, like we have seen with Huawei’s partnership with English club Arsenal FC, mean that there will be strong OPPO brand presence in key Barcelona events like home league matches at the Camp Nou, TV advertising, club tours, fan events and more. Who knows? Barcelona fans may even get some customized OPPO smartphones. Huawei did it so it is not a far-fetched idea.
The move puts OPPO in the same league as rivals Huawei, Samsung and HTC who have significant brand presence in top flight European football thanks to such deals. Chelsea Football Club has had Samsung Electronics for a sponsor for some time (the deal has ended with the end of the 2014/15 season) while HTC has been UEFA’s official mobile phone and tablet computer partner, a position that guarantees it limitless brand visibility during Champions League, Europa League matches and other UEFA-organized football tournaments (deal also ends this season).
