Chinese multinational electronics company TCL has confirmed that it will be an international marketing partner for Disney/Marvel’s Iron Man 3, which is shooting in China later this year.

TCL will engage in product placement and a series of tie-in promotions and marketing collaborations with Iron Man 3. TCL is among many Chinese enterprises actively exploring overseas opportunities through marketing deals with Hollywood projects.

“We are looking at a full range of marketing possibilities for both TCL and our Hollywood partners; it is not just product placement,” Hao Yi, chief sales officer of TCL Multimedia and president of TCL’s Overseas Business Center told Screendaily. 

“TCL prepares a global marketing plan for the Hollywood projects that we work with.  This is a win-win situation,” Hao said on the sidelines of the on-going Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF).

TCL has previously cooperated with Paramount’s Transformers: Dark Of The Moon, Disney’s The Avengers and Warner Bros’ The Dark Knight Rises on similar product placement and marketing deals.

“Hollywood blockbusters with high-tech and sci-fi elements are suitable projects for our international marketing collaboration,” Hao said in a speech during SIFF’s conference programme SIFF Forum. TCL is the world’s fifth biggest manufacturer of televisions and 25th biggest consumer electronics company, behind Korean and Japanese competitors such as Sony, Samsung and LG.

The TCL-Disney collaboration for Iron Man 3 is being handled by Beijing-based Reach Glory Communication. The company previously facilitated the collaboration between Iron Man 2 and Chinese clothing retail brand SEMIR.

According to Ben Erwei Ji, managing director of Reach Glory, TCL is one of the many Chinese multinational brands interested in collaborating with Hollywood projects.  Tencent Inc, China’s largest internet company, is also among the companies interested in marketing collaborations as well as game licensing deals with Iron Man 3.

At a SIFF panel on branded entertainment, marketing executives from the US studios, including Kevin Arnold from Fox and Mary Goss Robino from Sony, introduced marketing opportunities to Chinese enterprises. 

Upcoming studio projects attracting the interest of Chinese brands include Avatar 2 and Avatar 3, Fast And Furious 6 and Wolverine.

Topics