Infront signs Pearl River as the Official Beer of Team China Basketball
Sport:
The Pearl River Brewery (Chinese name: Zhujiang Brewery) has become the Official Beer of the Team China Basketball. The brand will benefit from a comprehensive package of exclusive marketing rights and will support the Team China Basketball in its preparations for the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
The announcement was made as Team China Basketball is busy training in Beijing for a Four-Nation Men’s Basketball Invitational Tournament that takes place in June next month. This tournament is part of an intensive technical preparation programme for the national team, which has been designed by Infront as part of its in-depth partnership with the CBA. It involves China, Australia, Croatia and Italy.
Mr. Fang Guiquan, Chairman of the Board and General Manager of Zhujiang Brewery Group, said: “As a leading Chinese beer brand, Pearl River has a natural affinity with the development of sport in China. We believe that the national basketball team has exciting prospects in the forthcoming Olympics. We want to tap into this sense of national pride and anticipation and benefit from the association it brings to our brand”. He added: “No matter whether playing on the court or cheering from the sidelines, you can cheer for Chinese basketball in your own way.”
Pearl River’s new business strategy is to cover the whole country from its base in Guangdong. Several players in the Team China line-up are also from Guangdong, which adds special meaning to this cooperation.
Vice-president of the CBA, Mr. Hu Jiashi, said: “The great support from Pearl River is a further endorsement for the appeal of Chinese basketball and will give even more motivation for the national team to perform. The Chinese basketball industry values the support we receive from our commercial partners such as Pearl River.”
As part of the sponsorship, there will be a special, promotional “Cheers for Chinese Basketball” series of events including a Pearl River basketball competition held for basketball fans in communities covering more than 20 key cities.
Paul Wong, Managing Director of Infront China, added: “We are receiving tremendous support for the national basketball team from leading Chinese corporations and warmly welcome the addition of Pearl River. There are 300 million basketball fans in China, which gives so much scope for a leading beer brand to activate this sponsorship to maximum effect.”
About Pearl River / Zhujiang Brewery Group Co.Ltd.
Zhujiang Brewery Group Co.Ltd. (http://www.zhujiangbeer.com/english/) was established in 1985 and is a large Chinese state-owned enterprise which deals mainly in beer and its relative products. Pearl River/Zhujiang beer is one of three national beer brands in China and is the second largest in national brand sale. The brand is part of the InBev family of products. InBev is the biggest brewer in the industry, realising 13.3 billion Euros in 2006. The group has a strong, balanced portfolio, holding the number one or number two position in over 20 key markets – more than any other brewer. Headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, InBev employs more than 86,000 people worldwide and has sales in over 130 countries.
For further information, please contact:
Jörg Polzer
Manager, Communication & PR
Infront Sports & Media AG
Tel. +41-41-723 15 15
Fax +41-41-723 15 16
press@infrontsports.com
www.infrontsports.com
