(Yicai Global) June 16 -- Brands, including Adidas, Chinese dairy producer Yili Industrial Group, and its competitor Mengniu Dairy, have quickly taken advantage of Lionel Messi's trip to China to increase their influence among sports fans.

Sports marketing has become a kind of tendency in the sector of consumer goods, through which companies can swiftly improve their word-of-mouth reputation and brand awareness, Zhu Danpeng, deputy director of the Guangdong Food Safety Guarantee and Promotion Association, said to Yicai Global.

The Argentine soccer legend joined a friendly match between Argentina and Australia in Beijing yesterday. Argentina, champion of the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar, won 2-0 and the 35-year-old athlete scored his fastest goal ever, 81 seconds into the game.

Mengniu is the official sponsor of the match and the milk and yogurt maker organized several events to engage soccer fans before the game. Meanwhile, its biggest competitor Yili said on June 7 it will be the exclusive dairy sponsor of the Argentina national football team during its trip to China.

Other brands that had bought advertising space in the football court were water brand Ganten, Australian infant formula maker ViPlus Dairy, and Hi-Tiger. One of the surprises of the event was arranged by JD.Com as a delivery guy from the e-commerce firm hurried to the field to deliver a soccer ball for the match.

China has been grappling with "Messi mania" in the past few days. On June 14, the star joined a live-streaming show on Taobao, an e-commerce platform owned by Alibaba Group Holding, attracting over 2.5 million viewers.

Meanwhile, German sportswear giant Adidas, which has a lifetime contract with Messi, dressed its flagship store in Beijing’s Sanlitun district to sport the Adidas logo in blue and white, the colors of the Argentinian flag.

Editor: Emmi Laine