On November 9, the second round of the Asian’s Champions League Final will take place in Guangzhou. It is widely reckoned to be the most valuable final ever held for a football competition in Asia. It may become a record that takes a long long time to break.
It is still hard to calculate what the TV ratings will be, because normally TV ratings research in mainland China is not trustworthy, with only a couple of research companies operating in the company currently. For the past 5 years, the main sports channels have been going consistently downward as more and more internet and mobile internet users, have begun devouring sport content on daily basis. The traditional market research companies are outdated to taking this viewership into account.
From CCTV 5, Guangdong Satellite TV to almost all local networks’ sports channels, you will find the final between Guangzhou Evergrande and Seoul FC.
More than 500 journalists had arrived in Guangzhou two days before the match. The club itself sent me an invitation, like they always do, and I politely declined, again. They are really good in providing convenience for media, which is a bit dangerous.
This is already a match to be compared with the match that Team China qualified for the 2002 World Cup. To a certain extent, Guangzhou Evergrande has it won before a ball is kicked.
For example, they will have a new shirt sponsor for this grand final, whether this kind of change fits the AFC and CFA regulations, I am not sure, but they will get this done. Samsung negotiated with Guangzhou Evergrande for two rounds to be their shirt sponsor before the start of this season, and the offers started from 30 million RMB (about £3 million) to 50 million RMB per season, however, the club turned the offers down. Now they are proudly saying that they didn’t give the Koreans any chance to succeed in this final.
A state owned company recently approached Guangzhou FC with an offer of shirt sponsorship up to 100 million RMB per season (about £9.3 million), but they were turned down as well. The new sponsor will be a sub-brand of the Evergrande group, and it will definitely be enjoying national exposure in China.
No one ever expected that investment into a Chinese club could reach this fever pitch in four short years, but it is turning into reality before our eyes. Evergrande, a real estate company, has already become one of the most well-known brands in China, with a history of 13 years in being.
John Yan is Deputy Editor of Netease.com. Contact him at moc.l1734896455iamg@17348964558002g1734896455naiqn1734896455ay1734896455, or on weibo at: http://weibo.com/1646270104/profile?topnav=1&wvr=5
广州恒大：疯狂的足球节日
能和11月9日这场广州恒大亚冠决赛相提并论的足球赛，在中国足球历史上并不多。如果要从收视率、媒体传播范围、球迷谈论热度等第三方角度
去分析的话，几乎可以预言，这会是中国社会参与度最高的一场足球比赛。
2001年秋天，中国国家队在沈阳出线成功，那仍然是最有影响力的一场比赛，可是12年的轮回之后，社会环境，尤其是媒体传播形式和公众语境
的变化，让广州恒大这场和首尔FC的赛事变得更为不同。12年前互联网作为媒体平台，还处在起步阶段，如今以微博微信为代表的社交媒体、尤
其社交媒体在移动端的大众深入度，让信息传播得更为迅疾，无远弗届。
而且这样的信息传播，不再是单向的媒体主动传输，已经能够形成深度的往来互动。社交网络上，自媒体形态的不断突变，让新闻源数量极大扩
散——这势必是一场超级满座的比赛，现场五六万球迷，手机使用者肯定在90%以上，每一个手机使用者，都可能是这场比赛现场新闻的传播源。
这场比赛在现场之外的收视覆盖，又能达到怎样的水准呢？
如今的电视市场份额以及收视率统计，早已经是严重滞后的媒体困局，针对电视这样的传统主流媒体，收视率调查公司本来就不多，又因为电视
传播，在中国仍然是一个完全不开放的市场，所以业内竞争也只是局限在娱乐节目、影视剧等领域的低密度竞争，电视机构，不论央视还是地方
台，获取和公布的收视份额及收视率数据，都有不少让市场怀疑的部分——收视率一直是在下降的，但用户未必完全流失，精彩的节目，实际收
视率肯定还在上升，因为统计公司没有工具手段，去统计那些通过电脑、各种pad、智能手机等新终端，来收看比赛直播以及重播和精彩画面的游
离受众。
所以和12年前中国国家队世界杯出线之战相比，我相信这场广州恒大冲刺亚洲巅峰的赛事，绝对收视率可能不会更高，但球迷和受众表达声音、
传递观点的参与热度，要远胜12年前几乎没有互动能力的足球直播时代。这样一场比赛，价值得有多高？
传播和覆盖率论，广州恒大同样在创造着品牌升级的奇迹，而且这个俱乐部品牌已经具备了负载其他品牌的传播能力。2013中超赛季开始前，曾
经有过国际品牌寻找和广州恒大合作，希望能获取广州恒大胸前赞助的机会，价格从3000万人民币开始，几度加价都没能被接受。俱乐部曾经的
招商手册上，为胸前赞助厘定的价码是8000万人民币，但在这场决赛到来前，有传闻说某国企出资上亿人民币，依旧不能获得恒大胸前赞助机会
。这些虚虚实实的新闻，让恒大足球俱乐部的商业价值，也在这股全国性的广州恒大热浪中不断上升。
据说这场决赛，广州恒大将更换球衣，胸前广告也会有所变动。这种做法是否符合亚足联和中国足协规定，尚未可知，但选择这样一个历史性时
机换标，自然会赚足眼球。
商业角度看，决赛开始前，广州恒大已经赢了，赢得很彻底。”恒大”这个品牌，在半年多时间的亚冠征途传播中，已经成为了中国知名度最高
的品牌之一，哪怕在这知名度品牌排行中，这个十来年的品牌会是最年轻的。各个二三线城市的恒大各种楼盘以及项目，如今有人经过时，总会
提一句恒大的足球是何等出色，是如何为中国挣面子，这样的品牌升值，无法通过数字换算得出一个结果，却肯定会是一个天文数字。
这几天谈论”恒大模式”的媒体极大。广州恒大未必已经形成”模式”，但”恒大现象”早就是不容置疑的存在。通过体育营销，能带来这样大
的品牌升级，肯定是许家印们最初想像不到的。一个有些疯狂的足球节日，正在我们眼前上演着。