German supplement brand Doppelherz announced this week that it has signed a sponsorship deal with the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) team of Chinese esports organization JingDong Gaming (JDG).
Financial terms and duration of the deal were not disclosed.
As part of this deal, the Doppelherz logo will be featured on the left shoulder of the team jerseys.
JDG is an esports arm of the Chinese e-commerce platform Jing Dong, and Doppelherz—which is owned by Flensburg, Germany-based Queisser Pharma—also has its official online store on Jing Dong.
Doppelherz became popular in China in 2015 and its parent company Queisser Pharma partnered with Alibaba’s Tmall in 2017 in cooperation with import and distribution firm Harmony & Honour, with a plan to target Gen Z customers. Part of the brand’s strategy for marketing its products to Gen Z was hiring German FC Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and Chinese actress Qin Lan as ambassadors. The partnership with JDG in this context is a logical continuation of Doppelherz’s marketing strategy.
It should be noted that Jing Dong secured third place at the LPL Spring Split, and failed to qualify for this year’s League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) in Chengdu, China, taking place May 1 – 19. The top two teams of the LPL Spring Split—Bilibili Gaming (BLG) and TOP Esports (TES)—qualified for MSI.
Apart from its parent company Jing Dong and Doppelherz, JDG is also sponsored by Intel, BOE, electric motor brand NIU, gaming chair company AutoFull, condom brand Durex, Republic of Gamers (ROG), and Huya.