Up the order: Inside Oppo’s Cricket World Cup consumer drive

“At Oppo, we believe that the role of technology is to be as seamless as possible, to experience and push boundaries; to inspire others and to bring people closer together,” says Oppo’s UK sales director, Terence Tan. “The power of sports entertainment does exactly this.”

2019 has seen one of Asia’s fastest-growing smartphone manufacturers march on European sport, with its latest collaboration, a partnership with the Cricket World Cup, recently announced at one of London’s trading ports.

Tan, went on to explain how, by leveraging sport, the company hopes to raise the brand’s profile in Europe. There has been no secret of Oppo’s desire to turn the tables on the continent. While the fifth most-popular smartphone on the planet, Europe is its primary target for consumer growth, globally, and has been the stage for the company’s most-recent ventures into sports production.

When the firm announced a global content partnership with Wimbledon it represented not only a milestone, becoming the tennis Grand Slam’s first Asian partner, but also a coup for the business. Whilst Oppo has at least 250 million customers around the world it wants to establish a greater connection with consumers in the West.

Derek Sun, Oppo’s global marketing director, made his first visit to London as part of its latest collaboration with the International Cricket Council (ICC), and took time out to speak with SportsPro about the company’s short and long-term plans in sport.

“I would call Europe a brand highland for Oppo,” Sun said. “If you want to be a truly global brand, we have to ensure that we are the favourite brand in Europe. [To do that], we need to find new ways to connect with consumers here and we believe that working with popular sports activities in Europe is a good way for us to connect with those consumers.

“We really believe that, between cricket and Oppo, there is a commonality in terms of brand value and also our spirit. This [partnership] aims to help our consumers [in Europe] understand what Oppo stands for from a brand perspective.”

Within cricket, the company is already into its fourth year as the smartphone partner to the Indian national team, which, as a contender for this year’s World Cup crown, Sun believes will allow Oppo to blend and optimise its audience reach on multiple fronts and across varied campaigns.

“The Cricket World Cup is a very big platform but, also sometimes, we have to drive local relevancy with the local consumers more,” Sun explained. “So, on top of the World Cup and by working more closely with the India national team, we can see a better connection with the Indian consumers.”

As part of its collaboration around the Cricket World Cup and to engage with fans around the spectacle, Oppo has launched a new digital campaign, Be A Shot Maker, which will encourage supporters to share their own video highlights from the tournament.

The company has ambitions to venture further afield, too. While also a long-term partner to the Big Bash League (BBL) cricket team the Melbourne Stars in Australia, as well as Spanish soccer champions Barcelona, the manufacturer had already dipped its toe into the sports market outside Asia before moving into SW19.

A week after its tie-up with Wimbledon, a content collaboration with the French Tennis Federation (FFT), including a marketing deal with the French Open in Paris, was announced as Oppo made good on its international expansion plans.

With two tennis Grand Slams in the partnership portfolio, Sun admits an opportunity to secure deals with the US and Australian Open and have a hand in all four would be an interesting prospect, but only if the market conditions were favourable. 

“Though we have a very clear strategy, as I have mentioned, we also have very clear criteria,” he continued. “Whether we find other platforms or sports activities, it really depends on our marketing activity planning, our internal resources, and [ultimately deciding] where are the key regions we want to focus on.

“Europe and the UK is an important market for us, so for now we focus on this region. In the future, if we want to drive expansion in the other regions, we will definitely consider that opportunity.”

Digital growth in the sports sector will be an amplifier for us

Derek Sun, Oppo global marketing director

For now, Sun says there are no “concrete or confirmed plans” to venture further, though added: “If the brand and the platform is preferred by the consumers, there is no reason for us to stop.”

Whilst providing an insight into what Oppo may have in store for fans of other sports – and notably tennis – localising content will be key to bridging the brand across cultures.

“This is one of the reasons why we have tried to develop our overall strategy to work with more sports activities and programmes,” Sun said. “Wimbledon and also the French Open are, of course, two of the most popular brands in Europe, and there we also have a brand value fit for premium and elegancy. That’s why we have chosen these two activities and have started a sponsorship from this year.

“There is a balance between our global campaigns, on the global platform, versus localisation. Europe is a very mature and developed region. The consumer here is more sophisticated. They are not only looking for a smartphone, but also the brand that they like and [the one that] fits to them.

“The digital growth [in the sports sector] will be an amplifier for us, I would say,” Sun continued. “By leveraging the digital platform, it will help us to drive … and promote our communications faster, on a bigger scale globally. Leveraging digital and social media tools will definitely help Oppo become a more global brand and grow its reputation.”

“At Oppo, we believe that the role of technology is to be as seamless as possible, to experience and push boundaries; to inspire others and to bring people closer together,” says Oppo’s UK sales director, Terence Tan. “The power of sports entertainment does exactly this.”

2019 has seen one of Asia’s fastest-growing smartphone manufacturers march on European sport, with its latest collaboration, a partnership with the Cricket World Cup, announced at one of London’s trading ports.

Tan, went on to explain how, by leveraging sport, the company hopes to raise the brand’s profile in Europe. There has been no secret of Oppo’s desire to turn the tables on the continent. While the fifth most-popular smartphone on the planet, Europe is its primary target for consumer growth, globally, and has been the stage for the company’s most-recent ventures into sports production.

When the firm announced a global content partnership with Wimbledon it represented not only a milestone, becoming the tennis Grand Slam’s first Asian partner, but also a coup for the business. Whilst Oppo has at least 250 million customers around the world it wants to establish a greater connection with consumers in the West.

Derek Sun, Oppo’s global marketing director, made his first visit to London as part of its latest collaboration with the International Cricket Council (ICC), and took time out to speak with SportsPro about the company’s short and long-term in conjunction with the Cricket World Cup.

“I would call Europe a brand highland for Oppo,” Sun said. “If you want to be a truly global brand, we have to ensure that we are the favourite brand in Europe. [To do that], we need to find new ways to connect with consumers here and we believe that working with popular sports activities in Europe is a good way for us to connect with those consumers.

“We really believe that, between cricket and Oppo, there is a commonality in terms of brand value and also our spirit. This [partnership] aims to help our consumers [in Europe] understand what Oppo stands for from a brand perspective.”

Within cricket, the company is already into its fourth year as the smartphone partner to the Indian national team, which, as a contender for this year’s World Cup crown, Sun believes will allow Oppo to blend and optimise its audience reach on multiple fronts and across varied campaigns.

“The Cricket World Cup is a very big platform but, also sometimes, we have to drive local relevancy with the local consumers more,” Sun explained. “So, on top of the World Cup and by working more closely with the India national team, we can see a better connection with the Indian consumers.”

As part of its collaboration around the Cricket World Cup and to engage with fans around the spectacle, Oppo has launched a new digital campaign, Be A Shot Maker, which will encourage supporters to share their own video highlights from the tournament.

The company has ambitions to venture further afield, too. While also a long-term partner to the Big Bash League (BBL) cricket team the Melbourne Stars in Australia, as well as Spanish soccer champions Barcelona, the manufacturer had already dipped its toe into the sports market outside Asia before moving into SW19.

A week after its tie-up with Wimbledon, a content collaboration with the French Tennis Federation (FFT), including a marketing deal with the French Open in Paris, was announced as Oppo made good on its international expansion plans.

With two tennis Grand Slams in the partnership portfolio, Sun admits an opportunity secure deals with the US and Australian Open and have a hand in all four would be an interesting prospect, but only if the market conditions were favourable. 

“Though we have a very clear strategy, as I have mentioned, we also have very clear criteria,” he continued. “Whether we find other platforms or sports activities, it really depends on our marketing activity planning, our internal resources, and [ultimately deciding] where are the key regions we want to focus on.

“Europe and the UK is an important market for us, so for now we focus on this region. In the future, if we want to drive expansion in the other regions, we will definitely consider that opportunity.”

For now, Sun says there are no “concrete or confirmed plans” to venture further, though added: “If the brand and the platform is preferred by the consumers, there is no reason for us to stop.”

While an insight into what Oppo may have in store for fans of other sports – and notably tennis – localising content in this way will be key to bridging the brand across cultures.

“This is one of the reasons why we have tried to develop our overall strategy to work with more sports activities and programmes,” Sun said. “Wimbledon and also the French Open are, of course, two of the most popular brands in Europe, and there we also have a brand value fit for premium and elegancy. That’s why we have chosen these two activities and have started a sponsorship from this year.

“There is a balance between our global campaigns, on the global platform, versus localisation. Europe is a very mature and developed region. The consumer here is more sophisticated. They are not only looking for a smartphone, but also the brand that they like and [the one that] fits to them.

“The digital growth [in the sports sector] will be an amplifier for us, I would say,” Sun continued. “By leveraging the digital platform, it will help us to drive … and promote our communications faster, on a bigger scale globally. Leveraging digital and social media tools will definitely help Oppo become a more global brand and grow its reputation.”