Shankai’s Feng Tao on China’s World Cup involvement

2:00 – Marathons around the country have been getting postponed or canceled, but Beijing’s big race remains on — for now.

5:54 – China is rumored to be launching a bid for the 2031 Women’s World Cup. What can we read into this?

7:03 – A funny story from the aftermath of the Beijing Olympics, involving a Swiss snowboarder and an unusual tattoo.

9:51 – Our guest this episode is Feng Tao, co-founder of sports marketing firm Shankai Sports, which has brokered some of the biggest deals in Chinese sports industry history and has held exclusive hospitality rights for China for every World Cup since 2010.

12:47 – The history of how many Chinese soccer fans traveled to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, as well as subsequent tournaments.

17:04 – What will it be like if/when China gets back into the World Cup? The number of traveling fans could be insane.

17:54 – This year in Qatar, however, has been a very different picture in terms of Chinese fan involvement.

19:26 – But there are some Chinese sponsors who will have a visible presence throughout the tournament.

22:50 – Most Chinese sponsors have come from the consumer electronics sector, but dairy firm Mengniu has a very different strategy.

25:27 – The challenges of promoting Chinese brands with international markets.

29:23 – Has the global perception of China impacted business around the world?

30:03 – Feng Tao explains what he will be doing on the ground in Qatar later this month.

32:40 – How Alibaba’s multi-year Olympic deal came to be and Jack Ma’s “marriage” with Thomas Bach.

34:40 – How has China’s sports industry adapted to COVID-zero?

36:43 – One side effect of the country’s shutdown has been the growth of the domestic market.

40:27 – That’s resulted in a number of strategy pivots across the board.

42:12 – Some parting words for foreign brands and industry reps on staying involved in China.

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