Chinese telecoms firm Huawei signs Messi to help drive global expansion
Telecoms firm Huawei has agreed terms with Lionel Messi to make him a global brand ambassador and help the company grow its marketshare in the European and Latin American markets.
Messi Huawei partnership
The Chinese firm will attempt to drive forward its expansion plans in Europe, Asia, and Latin America by capitalising on the Argentine and Barcelona star’s global recognition.
Huawei's #ConnectingGreatness campaign with the 28-year-old footballer builds on its investment into sports marketing, and football in particular, by agreeing various sponsor partnerships with football clubs in its key markets. It has formed relationships with top clubs in Mexico, Peru, Colombia, as well as European clubs Arsenal, Atlético de Madrid and the AC Milan.
President of the mobile phone company, Kevin Ho, said: “Lionel Messi will help our brand to encourage people to focus, persevere and breakthrough; to connect with greatness, especially in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, where Huawei is devoting its efforts.”
The company’s European head, Walter Ji, said: “We are delighted to have found such a perfect counterpart in Lionel Messi, especially as the Western European region is so passionate about football.”
Ji added that the company has been “investing heavily in innovation and talent to produce exactly the premium devices consumers ask for – this has put us among the top 3 smartphone providers worldwide and we are not stopping here.”
Touching on the brand’s ambition to become successful in the fiercely competitive smartphone market, Messi said: “You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and go all in, always looking forward to achieving greatness. The day you think there are no improvements to be made, you have to keep working and reach for the next achievement.”
Messi has been very active on the sponsorship front and recently fronted an anti-bullying campaign for Qatari-based telecoms company Ooredoo.