Lenovo announced in Barcelona that it has signed a one-year deal with FC Barcelona football club to use Ronaldinho's image to promote the Chinese firm's brand in more than 100 countries and regions around the world.

    Reluctant to reveal the contract's price, Chen Shaopeng, general manager of Lenovo in China, admitted the price was relatively high but yet worth the cost. Lenovo will launch a series of promotion using Ronaldinho's image in the global market.

    "One should not only see how much we spent but need to foresee the potential profit in such promotion," Chen said.

    "Ronaldinho is one of the most promising football players in the world, and people around the world share a common passion for sports especially football. We see it as the perfect representative of Lenovo, for we are determined to become the best computer brand in the world."

    Lenovo has been investing a lot into sports promotion. Paying a fee of more than 500 million yuan (US$62.42 million), Lenovo joined the Olympic Partnership Programme 2005-2008. It is the first time that a Chinese enterprise was chosen as one of the main partners in Olympic history.

    But Sandy Shen, an information technology analyst, questioned whether the huge sum spent on sports promotion is worthwhile. In responding to Chen's forecast that during the 2008 Olympic Games, profit from the domestic market will surely surpass the 500 million yuan cost, Shen thinks one should not only look at the profit but also to consider how much the promotion will increase sales and market share.

    "But in the long run, such promotion will bring benefits to the brand, for it is now targeting the global market, and choosing a world famous athlete might be an effective way (of meeting the goals)," She added.

    After purchasing the PC section of IBM and completing the integration involving 19,000 employees worldwide, Lenovo's target now is to boost profit and global branding will play a key role in this.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)