How Haier’s Australian Open sponsorship drove a brand rejuvenation

At this moment, Haier, as the global brand leader in major appliances for the 16th consecutive year, became the official partner of the Australian Open (AO) from 2025 to 2027. Having a proven legacy in sports sponsorship, previously Haier prioritized partnerships with FIFA and the top tier football competitions—the world’s most popular sport with the largest fan base—to bolster its global brand awareness. Haier's sponsorship of AO serves as a strategic priority in its latest global expansion blueprint, enabling precise demographic penetration into younger, lifestyle-centric audiences while accelerating brand rejuvenation and premiumization through lifestyle and tech-driven narratives.

When sports now is about participating and engaging, sports sponsorship marketing strategies have to provide more than just a front-row seat. Haier was eager to make this sponsorship beyond logo placement, and enable the audience to have immersive engagement and experience, making the brand accessible.

Key Objectives to be achieved:

• Leverage global premium sports IP to amplify Haier TV's brand exposure and awareness in new global audience segments, rejuvenating and premiumizing brand perception.
• Transcend conventional sponsorship through experiential marketing campaigns that elevate brand affinity and product relevance, thereby boosting Haier TV's global market resonance.
• Harness AO assets to empower localized consumer engagement touchpoints worldwide, solidifying mindshare among potential buyers.
• Energize global markets and activate consumer engagement across core and emerging markets, fueling overseas sales growth for Haier TVs.

‘3D’ Strategies – Direct brand access, Deep emotional resonance, Diverse touchpoint integration:

• Elevate spectators to protagonists. By shifting from passive exposure into experience-led participation, enhance user engagement and immersion to strengthen brand awareness and recognition. Integrate interactive tennis game installations to showcase Haier TV’s performance, making the brand and product accessible.
• Rejuvenate the brand with lifestyle narratives. With the key message, ‘#WatchAO, Catch Every Serve Exclusively on Haier TV – The Official Screen of the Australian Open,’ convey the cutting-edge technology story of Haier TV by advocating a lifestyle combining ‘tenniscore’ trend, in order to accelerate brand premiumization.
• Forge an unbreakable brand-tennis nexus via global synchronized activations. Build the tie between Haier and tennis in global markets by synchronizing AO on-ground activations and sustain the tennis and sports sponsorship storytelling into brand DNA.
• Fulfill the storytelling in diverse channels and approaches in order to activate purchase intent. Establish the brand experiences through integrated offline activities, online interactions, and owned/paid/earned media ecosystem to enrich the storytelling and maximize the brand exposure, accessibility, and conversion momentum.

The campaign transformed the AO into a multisensory playground. At Melbourne Park, Haier deployed newly QD-MiniLED 4K TVs, inviting people to test reaction speeds via interactive tennis games. It also amplified its reach through digital storytelling via a newly launched Instagram channel which garnered 50M+ views and 20K followers in three weeks, while influencers turned pop-up visits into viral vlogs driving interests of brand awareness and offline experience. Meanwhile, Haier global retails further solidified the message, with in-store ‘living room’ tennis gaming stations positioning smart TVs as home entertainment hubs. Additionally, with multichannel outreach and 746 media features, this campaign reached 1B+ audiences in total. Even more remarkably, Haier's overseas TV business recorded 42% revenue growth and 51% shipment increase YoY during the AO campaign in January.

By fusing premium sports IP with lifestyle and tech-driven storytelling, Haier TV achieved a global cultural movement and a business success—proving that when brands serve aces, audiences don’t just watch; they rally, share, and belong.