The derby of Milan has been boldly marked by Chinese sponsors. We are not only talking about the time scheduled for the match, carefully planned to be suitable for China, but also in reference to the use of the Chinese language on the led screens positioned off the pitch. Most of the sponsors were part of the strategic approach that the new Inter ownership Suning is putting in place to expand its brand worldwide. From the beginning of this season, Suning is further developing its brand as well as that of the newly created Suning Sports. Suning is the majority shareholder of the Black-and-Blue of Milan as well as the sponsor of the club, of the training uniforms, and owner of the naming rights of the Appiano Gentile sports center.
Through the led screens located at the borders of the pitch, the club is letting supporters know that they can follow Inter on social platforms like Weibo. It’s interesting that also other companies used the off the pitch led screens to get visibility. Pirelli and Cavit sponsored their products using Chinese ideograms. Asia is, therefore, an attractive market for every business. Although the majority of the message exposed during the “derby della Madonnina” were in Italian, we believe that in the short term most of the sponsors revolving around Inter and AC Milan could decide to deliver advertisements in Chinese as well.
Hisense, the Chinese multinational of electronics, appeared on the led screens during the Serie A derby between Inter and AC Milan. Hisense is the partner of Red Bull in Formula 1 and in recent weeks has linked its name to the next 2018 World Cup that will take place in Russia. The Chinese multinational has signed a sponsorship contract to appear at San Siro stadium in the last four Serie A games. This agreement was put in place to understand the return on investment given by this kind of advertisement and to open a possible greater collaboration with Inter in the future.
