中國成功殺入世界盃……這回說得是中國公司 | 衛報

07-08

Football fans heading to theWorld Cupthis summer are going to get an education in Chinese TVs, mobile phones, electric scooters and Mongolian dairy products.

今年夏天去看世界盃的足球迷將會看中國電視機、用中國手機、坐中國電動滑板車和喝中國內蒙古奶製品。

As western companies, including Sony, Johnson & Johnson and BP』s Castrol, have pulled out of sponsoring the tournament after theFifa bribery and corruption scandal, Chinese firms have secured an unprecedented presence at Russia 2018.

國際足聯受賄和腐敗醜聞後，索尼、強生和英國嘉實多等西方公司紛紛不再贊助這項賽事，中國公司在2018年俄國世界盃上獲得前所未有的展示機會。

When Russia kicks off against Saudi Arabia in the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow on 14 June, fans will be treated to aseven-minute advert for Mengniu Group』s inner Mongolian milk and drinkable yoghurt.

6月14日，俄國隊在莫斯科盧日尼基體育場亮相對陣沙烏地阿拉伯隊時，球迷將看到蒙牛集團長達7分鐘的奶製品和酸奶廣告。

The commercial will be aired during each of the 64 games in the tournament. Spectators fancying an ice-cream will have to pick from unfamiliar names such as Mood for Green, Ice+ or Suibian SuiXinGuo, after Mengniu secured exclusive rights to sell sweet treats including yoghurt drinks in the stadiums.

64場世界盃比賽都將播送這段廣告。喜歡吃冰淇淋的觀眾必須從「綠色心情」「冰+」和「隨便隨心果」等沒聽說的產品中挑選，蒙牛獲得了在體育場出售酸奶等甜品的獨家經銷權。

Other unfamiliar names to get to grips with during the month-long tournament include: Vivo, a mobile phone firm producing China』s version of the iPhone at a fraction of the price; the TV and fridge maker Hisense; the electric scooter company Yadea; and Dalian Wanda, a conglomerate controlled by the multibillionaire Wang Jianlin.

在一個月的賽事中，你還會遇到其他不熟悉的品牌：廉價的中國版蘋果手機Vivo、電視和冰箱製造商海信、電動滑板車製造商雅迪以及億萬富翁王健林控制的大連萬達集團。

The dominating presence of Chinese brands comes despite the country』s national team failing to qualify forRussia2018 or the previous World Cup in Brazil.

中國品牌大舉進軍世界盃，儘管國家足球隊都沒能獲得進入俄國世界盃和2014年的巴西世界盃。

Simon Chadwick, professor of sports enterprise at Salford University, said: 「As Fifa is now seen as a toxic brand that many western companies do not want to be associated with,Chinais seizing the opportunity."

薩爾福德大學體育產業教授西蒙·查德威克說：「許多西方公司現在把世界盃當做有毒的品牌，他們不願意和世界盃有瓜葛，中國抓住了機會。」

「The Chinese view of ethics and governance is different to western standards, and it is very easy for Chinese companies to say 『Fifa has moved on』. And, that they were not backing the Sepp Blatter-era regime and are supporting a clean Fifa under Gianni Infantino [who replaced Blatter in 2016].」

「中國人的看法與西方標準不同，中國公司會說『國際足聯在進步』，他們也不支持布拉特的那個國際足聯，他們支持2016年取代布拉特的吉安尼·因凡蒂諾領導的更為清廉的國際足聯。」

Chadwick said the lack of demand from western companies to sponsor the World Cup in Russia, and Qatar in 2022, has left Fifa 「desperate for cash, and Chinese companies spotted the opportunity for a relatively cost-effective way to get their brands in front of billions of global eyeballs」.

查德威克說，沒有西方公司資助俄國世界盃和2022年卡達世界盃，國際足聯「急著找錢，中國公司發現了機會，找到性價比較高的方法，將自己的品牌展示給數十億全球觀眾。」

Wang, the fifth-richest person inChinawith a $23.4bn (￡17.6bn) fortune, according to Bloomberg』s billionaires index, said: 「Two or three years ago, Chinese and Asian companies probably wouldn』t even have had a chance to sponsor Fifa even if we wanted to. But because some western companies dropped out, we got the opportunity.」

彭博億萬富翁指數顯示，王健林是中國富豪榜排名第五的人物，身價234億美元。王健林說：「兩三年前，中國和亞洲公司可能有想法但根本沒機會贊助世界盃，但因為西方公司退出了，我們得到了機會。」

Wanda, which owns the British luxury yacht builder Sunseeker, the Hollywood studio that made Godzilla and The Hangover as well as a stake in Atlético Madrid, has signed up as a Fifa partner – the highest level of sponsorship – alongside Coca-Cola, Visa, Adidas and Russia』s Gazprom for the next four World Cups.

萬達擁有英國豪華遊艇製造商聖汐克以及製作出《哥斯拉》和《宿醉》的好萊塢工作室，並在持股馬德里競技。萬達如今同可口可樂、威士、阿迪達斯和俄國天然氣工業股份公司一樣，成為國際足聯合作夥伴，即國際足聯的頂級贊助商。

「If more Chinese brother companies become Fifa sponsors like Wanda, we will join forces to advance the interests of China soccer,」 Wang said.

「如果更多的中國兄弟公司像萬達一樣成為國際足聯贊助商，我們將攜手推動中國足球。」王健林說。

Chadwick said the Chinese companies』 Fifa sponsorship deals were encouraged by President Xi Jinping to help fuel his dream of turning China into a 「world football superpower」 by 2050.

查克維克認為，中國公司贊助國際足聯受到要在2050年將中國建成「世界足球強國」夢想的鼓舞。

「China wants to host the the World Cup, China wants to win the World Cup, and I speculate they also want a Chinese president of Fifa,」 Chadwick said. 「Rescuing Fifa financially with these sponsorship deals will help the chances of achieving those dreams immeasurably.」

「中國想主辦世界盃，中國想贏得世界盃，我估計他們還想讓中國當國際足聯主席，」查克維克說。「通過贊助，拿錢拯救國際足聯，這將無法估量地幫助實現他們這些夢想。」

After TV rights sales, sponsorship is Fifa』s biggest income stream and was worth $1.6bn for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The loss of sponsors and the struggle to sign deals after the bribery scandal dragged Fifa to a record $369m loss in 2016.

除電視轉播權外，贊助是國際足聯最大的收入來源，2014年巴西世界盃贊助收入16億美元。醜聞事件後缺少贊助商、簽不下來合同，這讓國際足聯在2016年前所未有地損失3.69億美元。

Jon Tibbs, founder and chair of JTA, a sports reputation management company, said it was sensible of Chinese firms to use football for promotion. 「As the traditional western brands get cold feet and face consumers』 pressure, it is inevitable that Fifa turns to new markets,」 he said.

體育聲譽管理公司JTA創始人和首席執行官喬恩·提布斯說，中國公司借足球來推廣產品是可以理解的。「傳統西方品牌膽怯了，他們面對著來自消費者壓力，國際足聯拓展新市場，這不可避免。」

「For Chinese brands seeking new markets it is relatively very easy and prestigious to partner with Fifa. It is widely believed that China will bid for the 2030 World Cup, obviously if there are a large number of Chinese sponsors helping to prop up Fifa that is a very good starting point.」

「對於中國尋求新市場的中國品牌而言，與國際足聯合作相對容易也很有面子。人們認為中國將申辦2030年世界盃，顯然如果有大量中國贊助商支持國際足聯，這是一個非常好的起點。」

Sam Burne James, news editor of PR Week, said Fifa was 「certainly seen as toxic」 by many British brands, andBoris Johnson』s comparison of the World Cup under Vladimir Putin to the 1936 Olympic Games under Hitlerhad not helped.

《公關周報》的新總編薩姆·波恩·詹姆斯表示，許多英國品牌認為國際足聯「有毒」，鮑里斯·約翰遜甚至把在普京統治下的俄國開世界盃比作在1936年希特勒統治下的德國舉辦奧運會。

「If you look at few tournaments back, most of the brands would be recognisable to western audiences, now several of them are unheard of – and that shift will continue,」 he said.

「前幾屆世界盃上，西方觀眾對大多數品牌耳熟能詳，可這回有一些沒聽說過，這種變化將繼續下去。」他說。

「Chinese companies get two things from sponsoring the World Cup. The first is access to western audiences that they will sooner or later be trying to win over, as their companies expand. The other is a cosmopolitan veneer to their brands, which they hope will resonate with their sizeable domestic markets.」

「中國公司資助世界盃有兩個好處。第一是接觸到西方觀眾，隨著公司擴張，他們或早或晚都要贏得這些客戶。另外一個是品牌的國際轉向，他們希望在國際市場的表現堪比巨大的國內市場。」

Vivo, founded nine years ago, paid €400m (￡350m) for a six-year deal that included Russia 2018, Qatar 2022 and the Confederations Cup.

9年前成立的Vivo，斥資4億歐元，達成6年期合同，涵蓋了2018年俄國世界盃、2022年卡達世界盃和聯合會杯。

It has signed up the Brazilian footballer José Roberto Gama de Oliveira - better known as Bebeto – and Holland』s Ruud Gullit to front its World Cup campaign – and itsadvertising campaign video, launched this week, sums up the opportunity the Chinese corporate sponsors are trying to grab: 「The world is watching,」 Vivo said. 「This is our moment.」

公司還簽約巴西足球運動員貝貝托和荷蘭的路德·古利特推廣公司在世界盃上的商業活動。Vivo本周發布的廣告視頻一語中的，說出了中國商業贊助者試圖要抓住的東西：世界在看，這是我們的時刻。