British multinational automobile manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover announced Saturday that it had signed a sponsorship deal with Chinese esports organization JingDong Gaming (JDG), becoming its exclusive automobile partner.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The first commercial posted by Land Rover and JDG on Weibo features the company’s pickup truck brand Land Rover Defender, but It should also be noted that JDG has not put the Land Rover or Defender logo on the team jerseys. The Esports Advocate has reached out to JDG for more details on the deal and will update this story if we receive a reply.
As an esports arm of Chinese e-commerce platform Jing Dong, JDG competes in China’s top League of Legends competition the League of Legends Pro League (LPL). In April, the team signed a sponsorship deal with German supplement brand Doppelherz. JDG parent company Jing Dong is also one of the sponsors of LPL, which kicked off on June 1.
In addition, the “618” shopping festival (The Chinese equivalent of Black Friday in the West) is coming, and it’s one of the two biggest e-commerce events for Jing Dong. Therefore, the partnership with JDG in this context is a logical continuation of Land Rover’s marketing strategy, as well as for other JDG sponsors, including Intel, electric motor brand NIU, condom brand Durex, Republic of Gamers (ROG), and Huya.