P&G Deepens Affinity in Asian Market With Barcelona Partnership

Spanish LaLiga football club Barcelona has entered into a regional partnership with Procter & Gamble brand soaps brand Safeguard.

The company will serve as Barcelona’s official shower gel in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The two-year deal will run until 2019.



Under the terms of the agreement, which runs until 2019, the two parties will work together to promote sport and hygiene in the Asian countries. The Catalan club will lend some of their players’ images to future Safeguard advertising campaigns across the region.

Manel Arroyo, Barcelona’s vice-president of marketing and communications, said: “We’re very pleased to announce this deal with Procter & Gamble, a company with whom we already have strategic links. Through this deal, we can achieve greater synergies and further boost our popularity in China, connecting more closely with our fans and football fans in general in this strategic region.”

Two Procter & Gamble subsidiaries, shaving brand Gillette and shampoo brand Head & Shoulders, are both also sponsors of the 24-time La Liga winners. The financial terms of the two-year deal with Safeguard have not been disclosed.

Barcelona in the last few years has continued to attract top brands in Asia. Last year, the club sealed a massive shirt sponsorship deal Wednesday with Japanese online retailer Rakuten worth at least 55 million euros ($59 million) a year. Rakuten replaced Qatar Airways, confirming Asia’s appetite for major investment in European football.