South China Football Club Appoints Saatchi & Saatchi
07 SEP 2009
Hong Kong - The chairman of the South China Football Club, Mr. Steven Lo, has announced the appointment of Saatchi & Saatchi as its advertising agency. This is the first time in Asia that a football team has commissioned a well-known international 4As agency to help raise them to a ‘best-in-class’ sports brand in the region and beyond.
The appointment came out of initial sponsorship cooperation proposals made to the team’s holding company, BMA Investment, followed by further presentations on Saatchi & Saatchi’s Lovemarks philosophy which touched the hearts of the club’s Chairman and CEO.
South China Football Club is looking to build on a very memorable year which saw it celebrate its 100th anniversary, win its 39th Hong Kong Football League championship – and its 3rd in succession, beat UK Premiership team Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the annual Panasonic Cup tournament, and reach the quarter-finals of the Asian Football Cup (AFC).
Saatchi & Saatchi joins an elite list of companies associated with South China Football Club, whose main sponsors for the 2009/10 season include adidas, Panasonic and Emporio Armani.
Pully Chau, CEO Saatchi & Saatchi Guangzhou & Hong Kong, said, “I’ve been blown away by the Club’s passion in working with us, treating us as an important partner alongside their top sponsors. They are truly professional & creative, as was demonstrated in the way they orchestrated the press conference to announce their plans for the coming season. We for sure have something in common: our vision of building South China Football Club as a Lovemark sports brand beyond Asia.”
The Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide Network has a culture of linking with top sports organisation, such as the All Blacks in New Zealand. In fact, the inspirational book "Peak Performance”, co-written by Saatchi & Saatchi WW CEO Kevin Roberts, compares the success of top sporting organisations with that of top businesses and highlights the similar factors driving their winning spirit.
