Chinese medalists create golden sponsorship deals

The latest generation of young Chinese athletes have been sought after by major enterprises for sponsorship deals, with gold medalists' commercial value reaching new peaks after the recently completed Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Such sponsorships have helped companies garner more brand cachet after the global sporting extravaganza. In fact, major brands began to sign cooperation deals with athletes of different sports even before the Games got underway, as companies aim to seize the significant marketing opportunities from the competitions.

One of the most noteworthy cases is the bet made by various brands on Chinese tennis player Zheng Qinwen, after she clinched a gold for China in women's singles at the Paris Games.

Even before the opening ceremony, Zheng signed cooperation deals with nearly 10 major brands, covering a wide range of sectors such as sports, luxury products, cosmetics, finance companies and catering firms. These include Nike, Lancome, dairy group Yili, vitamin brand Swisse, McDonald's and Rolex.

According to Forbes rankings of the world's Top 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 from sponsorship deals. Zheng became the second Chinese tennis player to make the list after retired two-time Grand Slam winner Li Na.

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

In previous Olympics, Chinese athletes of table tennis, swimming, diving, gymnastics and shooting have been favored by brands for sponsorship deals, industry experts said.

"The commercial value of athletes is mainly reflected in commercial sponsorship deals. If athletes would like to achieve higher commercial value, it is necessary for them to continuously refresh records to maintain frequent exposure," said Zhang Shule, an independent internet sector analyst.

"The Olympic Games attract high global attention as a comprehensive international sporting event. Gold medalists usually draw attention from wide audience groups, including those 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 like world championships or regional comprehensive events such as the Asian Games.

This year, China's online travel agency Trip.com Group signed sponsorship deals with four male Chinese athletes before the Paris Olympic Games, including record-breaking swimmer Pan Zhanle, and it turned out the company made a good investment.

Pan signed cooperation deals with multiple brands before the Games, with companies covering sectors such as personal care, tourism, foodstuffs and autos.

Trip.com said it projected that Pan would be the world's fastest swimmer after the company saw his outstanding performance during the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023.

"Compared with table tennis and diving, swimming usually garners greater global attention and generates greater influence, thus leading us to sign the sponsorship deal with Pan," said Ding Lu, general manager of brand integrated marketing at Trip.com.

"Compared with other fields, sports stars can better represent the positive image of a country. Regularly, we won't adjust the price of sponsorship deals based on the result of gold, silver or bronze medals won," Ding said.

Ding added that some consumer product makers usually have higher budgets when signing sponsorship deals with athletes, and they may choose to cooperate with the whole national team of a particular sport.

Companies may consider several elements of athletes when deciding on endorsement deals. Those elements include age, appearance, historic competition results, if the particular sport category attracts global attention, and if the athlete garners enough attention on social media platforms.