Frenchman Jerome Mazet claims to have the biggest network of celebrities and brands in China - and he wants to put his little black book to good use.

Connecting brands, celebrities and consumers is the aim of French businessman Jerome Mazet, 31, who launched a brand consulting company in Shanghai two years ago.

He named his company Mandaray, a word he made up by combining "Mandarin" and "array," hinting at his company's Chinese focus and its wide scope. Mazet helps his clients select the best way to present their brands in China using celebrity endorsement.

"We are the consultants ready to help brands explore the market needs, and find the best celebrity or business partner to match with," says Mazet, who worked as a marketing director at a solar panel company in Changzhou, Jiangsu province for five years before starting his own business in Shanghai.

Mazet's agency specializes in high-profile brand assets such as sports marketing, celebrity endorsement and exclusive entertainment. He also aims to satisfy clients by selecting the right asset for their brand and their marketing goals, articulating a clear marketing strategy around it and driving the highest ROI possible through activation.

So far, most events he has been involved in are sports related, and have come about thanks to the networks he built up in his former job.

"Sponsoring sports events always is the top option for high-end brands to raise awareness from their targeted customer group," Mazet says.

To obtain a win-win result for the brand and sports events, Mazet spends time trying to understand the strategic and geographic needs of the company before recommending the right sport sponsorship to have the greatest impact on the market.

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"For example, a five-star luxury hotel is a good match to sponsor a Formula 1 racing event while a fast fashion brand works better with soccer games as they have the same target consumers that share interests and lifestyles," Mazet says.

He takes a different approach to many other agencies that specialize in specific sports events and try to make different brands on their books fit together. Mazet claims that thanks to his wide network, he can match up two companies that complement each other.

Mazet claims Mandaray probably has the largest network of foreign sports properties and regional celebrities and is one of the few international sport market agencies in China working with leading brands nationwide and worldwide.

"We do not specialize in one sport in particular, which allows us in turn to recommend the best fit for sponsorship, based on brand strategy and business objectives. Our objective is to associate Chinese brands with foreign sport teams and vice-versa," Mazet says.

In order to provide a suitable celebrity or an event for a brand to work with, Mazet has developed a long list of contacts with agencies of more than 200 celebrities throughout Asia, and over 400 Western personalities in entertainment, fashion and sports.

He jokingly refers to himself as a control freak, and insists on being very hands on with the business. He does everything from the initial consultation with the clients to the final decision on which celebrity to use.

"We're doing the hidden hard work behind the event or the final showcase of the projects for the brands – we act like a star's personal stylist to help the brand shine in the spotlight," Mazet says.

Currently, Mandaray deals with more foreign than Chinese companies, which have not yet realized the importance of linking their brands with celebrities and popular events.

"We are looking forward to working with more local brands to achieve both high-quality products and high-end reputations by applying our strategy consulting framework to identify the best asset for those brand and their objectives in the near future," Mazet says.

Fact sheet of Mandaray

Business model: brand consulting agency

Staff: eight people

Start-up capital: $20,000

Turnaround time: within two years

Website: www.mandaray.com

E-mail: info@mandaray.com

Finding solutions

Jerome Mazet intends Mandaray to deal mostly with high-end sports related brands. He researches the target market, allocates the appropriate assets to match the brand culture and comes up with a solution to raise public awareness. Here are three major services Mazet and his team offer to their clients.

Sports Marketing

Mandaray harnesses the excitement of sports to create business solutions for its clients. With their key insight and experience, they assist clients in building clear strategies to achieve measurable objectives.

In 2014, Mandaray facilitated the business relationship between Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts with Ferrari. Through this partnership, Shangri-La's global VIP clients experienced a unique Ferrari experience that included a garage tour; hot laps during the Ferrari Challenge European Series, the Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific Series and the Ferrari Racing Days in China; as well as watching the Formula One World Championship featuring the fastest circuit-racing cars in the world.

Celebrity Endorsement

Mandaray assists its clients in booking the right celebrity for their brand with access to more than 600 celebrities locally and globally.

In 2014, Mandaray worked with Qoros Automobile to book three celebrities to develop a series of teaser clips. Those videos were then released online and through the celebrities’ Weibo accounts.

Ultimate Experiences

Through their unique network, Mandaray can offer "money-can't-buy" experiences and gain access to exclusive events for their clients.

Examples

Sports VIP hospitality such as F1 Team VIP tickets for any F1 race around the world, extreme sailing experiences, and playing golf with a PGA Pro.

Party with the Stars: Oscar's after-party tickets, Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and VIP after-party, Hollywood parties and more.

Other events: Hollywood backstage access, film premieres in the United States and United Kingdom, visit an F1 factory, VIP concert tickets.

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