SEOUL, South Korea — Nexen Tire Corp. is partnering with Al Nasr SC, a soccer club based in Dubai, the first time Nexen has sponsored a soccer team in the Middle East.
Al Nasr SC, which means "victory" in Arabic, is the oldest football clubs in the UAE, according to Nexen. The team was founded in 1945 and competes in the UAE Pro League.
Nexen will participate in several marketing initiatives, including LED and digital billboard advertisements in the stadium, logo branding and collaborative marketing efforts. The partnership was established with Nexen's local distributor in the UAE, Al Saeedi, expanding their collaboration in the region.
Nexen calls the Middle East "a key strategic market," as auto sales have grown rapidly there driven by economics and population growth.
Since 2012, Nexen has supplied tires for Dubai taxis, and sales in the Middle East have shown steady growth, the tire maker said.
Nexen also maintains partnerships with other soccer teams, including Manchester City in the Premier League, Juventus FC in Italy's Serie A and SK Slavia Prague in Czech First League. Nexen also is partnering with five Bundesliga clubs located in densely populated regions of Germany this year.
Nexen also has partnerships with Major League baseball's San Diego Padres, and Žalgiris, the Lithuanian basketball team.
Nexen said it strengthen its influence globally with this new partnership in the Middle East while also conducting other marketing initiatives in Korea, Europe and the U.S.
