(Yicai Global) Dec. 19 -- As the World Cup drew to its conclusion yesterday, with Argentina beating France in the final match, Chinese companies that sponsored the two teams, as well as their star strikers Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, won a lot of exposure. China Mengniu Dairy, NetEase Media and Yili were the biggest winners.

Dairy giant Mengniu was not only one of the official sponsors of this World Cup, but also made Messi and Mbappe its brand spokespersons before the global soccer tournament kicked off in Qatar.

Internet company NetEase signed sponsorship deals with the national teams of Argentina and defending champions France, and emerged as the biggest winner of the World Cup as both the teams reached the final.

Another Chinese dairy firm, Yili, had sponsorship agreements with Argentina, Spain, Portugal and Germany, as well as a number of football stars, including Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

Argentina had a total of eight Chinese sponsors or partners: Yili, Panpan Foods, Cotti Coffee, Macro, GAC Mitsubishi, NetEase, Wanda Sports and Lingxi Games, according to Yicai Global calculations, becoming the team with the most Chinese sponsors. Messi’s endorsements included Mengniu and Jitu, as well as WeChat and Huawei Technologies.

As for France, the team penned a sponsorship deal with NetEase, with Mbappe gaining a Mengniu endorsement and defender Raphael Varane signing up with electronics giant TCL.

Zhu Danpeng, vice president of the Guangdong Food Safeguard Association, told Yicai Global that fast-moving consumer goods companies sponsor sports competitions such as the World Cup to expand their brand reputation and boost sales.

But betting on the champion is only the first step, and three or four times investment or more is needed in the follow-up and systematic marketing promotion plan to strike it rich.

Editor: Peter Thomas