PARIS: The French Tennis Federation (FFT) and OPPO announced Tuesday the signing of an historic partnership agreement that sees the leading Chinese smartphone brand become a premium partner of Roland-Garros and of the Rolex Paris Masters for the next three years (2019-2021).
The partnership was launched following a ceremonial signing between FFT president Bernard Giudicelli and Brian Shen, vice president of OPPO.
OPPO thus becomes the first Chinese partner of Roland-Garros and this announcement reflects both the aim of developing partnerships with innovative, dynamic brands to ensure Roland-Garros engages with a younger audience, and the FFT’s strategy of increasing the Roland-Garros brand presence in key territories such as China.
The agreeement follows on a little over two weeks after OPPO became not only the first official smartphone partner of the Wimbledon tennis championships, but also the Grand Slam tournament’s first Asian sponsor.
Coming to the present deal, a core element of the partnership, is the combination of the Roland-Garros premium client experience and OPPO’s commitment to product innovation and design. Within the context of the 2019 Roland-Garros tournament (20th May – 9th June), OPPO will benefit from extensive visibility on the stadium’s main courts, and the FFT and OPPO have created unique and engaging activations to bring the OPPO products to life.
For example, as title partner of the “Junior Wild Card Series by OPPO”, young tennis talents who have come through the qualifying stages in China, India and Brazil have the chance to win a wild card for the official junior draw at Roland-Garros. The “Roland-Garros Beauty shot”, a series of videos capturing the day’s most dramatic point or most artistic moment fits with the OPPO vision and will be broadcast on www.rolandgarros.com as well as on the tournament’s social platforms.
In addition, OPPO will have a space in the exclusive sponsor Village as well as being present in the stadium, via a photo exhibition where OPPO’s flagship camera phones, (the Find X and the Reno), will be used to bring to life the unique beauty of Roland-Garros and will allow OPPO to engage and communicate with consumers in a creative and relevant way and on a global scale.
Giudicelli said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome OPPO as the first Chinese partner of Roland-Garros and also of the Rolex Paris Masters. This joint agreement is a great show of confidence from one of the world’s leading smartphones brands. The collaboration, based on the theme of innovation, fits perfectly with the FFT’s international strategy, whose aim is to increase the influence and presence of our tournaments in key markets, such as China.”
“As one of the most popular sports in Europe, tennis not only requires incredible athleticism, but also elegance and artistry. This resonates well with OPPO’s pursuit of the synergy of cutting-edge technology and aesthetic satisfaction,” Shen opined. “Our partnership with Roland-Garros echoes a shared vision and plays a key role in OPPO’s effort to build deeper connections with our users and engage with a wider demographic across Europe.”
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