Chinese smartphone brand Oppo has signed a new Premium Partner deal with Roland-Garros and the Paris Masters.
Under the three-year deal, Oppo will sponsor the two competitions from 2019 to 2021.
The deal was signed with the French Tennis Federation (FFT) – the owner and commercial operator of Roland-Garros and the Paris Masters.
Oppo is the first Chinese brand to partner with the two competitions, and the deal reflects the FFT’s ambition to reach a larger and younger demographic in China and other territories in Asia.
For Oppo, the partnership is primarily a brand awareness campaign aimed at introducing European consumers to the brand in markets where Oppo has only a small market share.
Brian Shen, vice-president of OPPO, said: “Our partnership with Roland-Garros will play a key role in Oppo’s effort to build deeper connections with our users and engage with a wider demographic across Europe.”
The partnership will focus on the use of Oppo’s smartphone technology at both tournaments, and Oppo will activate around its two flagship camera phones, the Find X and the Reno.
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At this year’s Roland-Garros, Oppo will benefit from extensive visibility on the main courts, and from digital and on-site activations showcasing its flagship smartphones.
In one activation, Oppo will produce a daily ‘Roland-Garros Beauty shot’ video series. Each clip will aim to capture the most dramatic or artistic moment of the day, and will be published at RolandGarros.com and on official social media channels.
Oppo will also have visibility at the Roland-Garros sponsor village, and will have the rights to host an exhibition within the stadium showcasing official photography using the Find X and the Reno.
Lastly, Oppo will title sponsor the ‘Junior Wild Card Series’, where young players who have come through the qualifying stages in China, India and Brazil compete for a place in the official Roland-Garros junior draw.
Roland-Garros is the second tennis Grand Slam to partner with Oppo, after Britain’s Wimbledon championships announced a similar deal last month.
Speaking to SportBusiness Sponsorship at the launch event, Shen said: “Brand awareness is very important for us. We are already the fifth-largest smartphone producer in the world, so sales is not the most important thing at this stage.”
“For us, what we really want is for our brand to be long-lasting, to be healthy and vibrant. That’s why we are working very hard and going step by step. We started in China, then we went to north east Asia, India, and now we are in Europe.”