JDB to sponsor ‘The Voice of China’ season three

China's leading herbal tea company, JDB Group paid 250 million yuan ($40.99 million) to be the title sponsor for the third season of popular domestic music talent show "The Voice of China," news portal sina.com reported Saturday, the latest in a number of large sponsorship deals that companies have signed with domestic shows.

Experts told the Global Times Sunday that timing is crucial for the effectiveness of advertising sponsorships of shows.

Zhejiang Satellite TV, which introduced the show from Holland, held its advertising tender for next year on Saturday, the report said, noting the third season of The Voice of China has attracted most attention. JDB won the exclusive right with 250 million yuan, 25 percent higher than it had paid for the second season, said the report.

The title sponsorship fee for The Voice of China has continued rising since the first season in 2012 when it was only 60 million yuan. The fee for the second season in 2013 surged to 200 million yuan, and jumped again to 250 million yuan for the third season, the report said.

Compared with traditional advertisements, advertisements linked to shows can attract more eyes for brands or products in a short time but the price is higher, so it is more suitable for enterprises which have big budgets for advertising and can take risks, Hou Tao, vice president of EntGroup Inc, a Beijing-based consulting firm, told the Global Times Sunday.

Variety shows match with fast moving consumer goods, Yu Mingyang, the dean of Institute of Chinese Enterprises Development of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, told the Global Times Sunday, noting that enterprises have accepted the climbing sponsorship fees because they have seen the promotion results.

By becoming the main title sponsor of the second season of The Voice of China, JDB was able to capture 80 percent of the herbal tea market, Wang Yuegui, deputy manager of brand management department of JDB, was quoted by the report as saying.

However, the success of advertising on a popular show may not last long, given that audiences will not be loyal to shows for too long and when one type of show, such as music talent show succeeds, other satellite TV stations will release copycats soon, Yu said.

Besides advertising on popular shows, the distribution network are also very important for products selling, remarked Yu.

The company cannot be reached for comment by press time.