Despite hosting the European football championships, things have not gone well for Germany. Their team was knocked out by a rampant Spain. And a Chinese car company has stolen pride of place as official sponsor. Chinese! In the home of BMW, Audi and Porsche!
If you have watched any of the games you will have seen the BYD logo emblazoned across the pitch perimeters and in the TV bumpers. BYD (which stands for Build Your Dreams) was virtually unknown outside China until a couple of years ago. Now it has the temerity to be playing on the legacy auto industry’s home turf.
The fact that BYD secured this landmark sponsorship agreement for the Euro 2024 football championship underscores the company’s ambitious European (let’s call that global) growth ambitions. The tournament, taking place across Germany, offers BYD a platform to significantly enhance its brand visibility and use it as a platform to show its commitment to sustainability and New Energy Vehicle (“NEV”) innovation.
“Euro 2024 represents a unique opportunity for BYD to connect with millions of passionate football fans across Europe,” said Michael Shu, Managing Director of BYD Europe. “We believe this partnership will highlight our dedication to innovation and sustainability.”
On the ground in Germany
As part of the sponsorship, BYD has rolled out a series of on-the-ground (or more accurately, near the ground) activations to engage football fans. These are happening in cities hosting the matches, including Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, and Stuttgart.
In Munich, BYD has set up interactive EV exhibitions near the Allianz Arena, where fans can experience the brand’s latest electric cars first-hand. These exhibitions feature test drives, showcasing BYD’s prowess in battery technology and vehicle design.
In Berlin, BYD has installed mobile charging stations in collaboration with local authorities to support the influx of visitors and EV drivers during the tournament. These stations are strategically located around key transportation hubs and stadiums, ensuring easy access for both locals and tourists.
Hamburg also has an array of community engagement activities, including football clinics for young enthusiasts in partnership with local clubs. These initiatives aim to foster grassroots football and promote physical fitness among young people as a way to show BYD’s brand values of sustainability and innovation.
In Stuttgart, BYD has partnered with local schools for educational sessions on renewable energy and electric mobility. These sessions are designed to instill awareness about the environmental benefits of EVs and encourage the younger generation to adopt green technologies.
So it’s not just branding, but some useful and meaningful activities for local communities.
Hasan Nergiz, MD of Al-Futtaim Electric Mobility Company (left) gets into the spirit of the tournament.
What are they doing in the UAE?
Football fans watching the tournament in the UAE – and there are lots of them – will have seen BYD all over their screens in ads and in-match branding.
But the brand has also been doing a lot of other engaging marketing activity in Dubai in particular.
For a start, there’s the BYD Fan Zone by McGettigans which has been booked out for the whole tournament.
And there’s lots of traditional media such as TV, radio, and outdoor advertising including a giant billboard featuring the BYD SEAL near Jumeirah Lakes Towers. This uses the Euro 2024 sponsorship branding, but particularly highlights the speedy 3.8 seconds it takes for the SEAL to accelerate from 0 to 100km/h.
This is also the focus of a fun BYD TikTok filter where players need to stop a video at 3.8 seconds.
BYD has also done a media partnership with kooora.com and goalzz.com to produce exclusive video and written content.
So it’s likely that BYD is going to be more burned into your brain after the Euros – even if you hadn’t read this article!
The giant billboard featuring the BYD SEAL near Jumeirah Lakes Towers.
Is it all worth it for BYD?
While the tournament is still going on, BYD haven’t released too much information about the results of their activities, but some have been emerging.
In the UK, Autotrader, which is the leading site for buying cars, reported an increase in searches for BYD cars of 69%. The SEAL was the most viewed BYD Model in overall second place in the EV category to the Ioniq 5.
Hasan Nergiz, MD of Al-Futtaim Electric Mobility Company, BYD’s representative in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, outlined some of the results they’ve seen up to the start of the quarter finals in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
“In the UAE, the campaign has seen a record number of engagement, with Video Views up 714%, Impressions up 71% and an increase in leads/enquiries by 4%,” he explained. “All our Euro 2024 activities and communication campaigns have definitely caught the attention of the region’s customers, take for example in Saudi Arabia where we have seen an increase in web traffic by a whopping 66% and as well as a rise in engagement by 1900%.”
So it really does seem to be working! BYD has risen to be the world’s number one NEV company, seemingly overnight if you don’t live in China. The combination of high-quality, reasonably-priced cars coupled with concerted and global brand-building is a very potent force.
It’s also worth noting that BYD is not the only Chinese brand that’s got involved in the Euros; Alibaba’s Ali Express is also a headline sponsor. A new era is most definitely here, with the old guard of European and American brands increasingly shunted out by younger, ambitious newcomers. Rather like new football players benching the old legends.
