On Saturday, July 25, VTB Arena hosted a press conference dedicated to the extension of the cooperation agreement between Dynamo Moscow and Changan. Dynamo Commercial Director Dmitry Mankin, Executive Director of Changan Motors Rus Alexander Kulagin, Marketing Director of Changan Motors Rus Viktor Kobzev and Deputy General Director of Changan Eurasia Nu Jianhui took part in it.
Dmitry Mankin: We have been cooperating for three years, the players and management of the club use Changan cars, and we have experienced for ourselves that these are cars of the highest level. Both from the point of view of quality – there are no problems with them, and they do not need additional attention – and from the point of view of driving experience and emotions from it. Changan cars have already become a model of good design. This is a very balanced product with a wide and constantly evolving line of models aimed at completely different audience segments.
Now two more models have been released. One of them is the AVATR 12 – what used to be called a supercar and what was available to units. Now such machines are available to a wider audience. This is not only about the dynamics of the electric vehicle, but also about the spirit, emotion, design and everything else. In my younger years, I watched programs about cars, in particular, Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson, and it was interesting, because a lot of new things appeared. Then all the cars seemed to be the same. Now, thanks to Changan, it has become interesting again: a lot of creativity, technology and the connection of technologies. AVATR is also a combination of technology and brands. It is very attractive and gives a huge charge of emotions and interest, including among our fans.
Konstantin Tyukavin traveled to the Changan headquarters in China in the format of travel blogging, visited the factory, talked to people, talked about everything. And this was the window through which we saw the culture of working with technology, which is 160 years old, a team of the highest specialists who are sick of it, develop technology, love their work. After that, Konstantin even bought a Changan car for his mother-in-law, and as you know, you can't buy bad things for your mother-in-law.
We are very pleased that we have extended our cooperation for two seasons, we expect that we will be useful to Changan company just as it is useful to us and our fans, and we plan to do a lot of interesting things.
Alexander Kulagin: Sport is primarily about emotions, just like Changan cars. And this collaboration of emotions unites us today with Dynamo. I am sure that the new season will bring a lot of cool moments, beautiful assists and goals and our audience will be delighted. This is the most important thing. We will try to do everything for our partnership to make it even more vivid and memorable. Thank you for your trust!
Victor Kobzev: Congratulations to everyone on the beginning of a new stage of cooperation, with a new season, new victories and the upcoming update of our lineup.
Niu Jianhui: We are extending our cooperation for two years, which shows our confidence that we will develop in the Russian market. I hope that in the future we will get long-term and successful cooperation, good results, and our products will benefit Russian customers and we will earn your trust.
– The project "Tyukavins in China" won the prestigious Tribune Sports award for the best video project. Are similar trips planned in the future?
Dmitry Mankin: We are planning them. Which of the players will go has not yet been decided, but this format has gone to the fans, so he will definitely stay. The project is about travel, cars, technology, the future of technology. This is very interesting, so we will continue.
Alexander Kulagin: For us it was a new format of interaction with the audience, and we didn't even expect from Kostya that he would shoot and show in such detail what was happening at the factory. He became the first Russian who got behind the wheel of the CS95 Plus. Therefore, it is not surprising that the audience was very much interested in this project. We will develop it further.
– Recently Zenit announced that they will play friendly matches in China. Dynamo held a tournament with Chinese teams in the winter, it has many partners from this country. It turns out that clubs take an example from you?
Dmitry Mankin: Thank you for your assessment. We really want to set trends, this is part of our marketing strategy, which helps us attract partners, investments, do something new and be interesting to the audience. This is our conscious policy. If someone from the sports industry follows us, it means that we are doing everything right.
Cooperation with the Chinese market is obviously the right step, because there is a lot of business and prospects there. It has been said about this in Russia for a very long time that it is necessary to enter the Chinese market, but in practice it is not as easy as it seems. You need to work hard, apply marketing technologies, be creative and persistent. I would like to believe that our cooperation with Changan is one of the examples of long–term and successful cooperation in this direction.
– Dynamo players often took part in image shoots for the Changan brand. Which of the players are you going to use in the new season?
Dmitry Mankin: We are going to involve everyone. Even when we met Sandro Schwartz at the airport, we did it in a Changan car. This is our constant partner not only in commercials, but also in everyday life. There are such collaborations with car brands that are of a marketing nature, but in fact the players still drive their cars. We do not have such a case. In our club, many have become Changan fans and have chosen models to their liking, and absolutely different ones.
My colleague, for example, took a test drive on DEEPAL and said it was his car. It includes settings that allow you to drive on different surfaces, off–road - and he likes to fish, travel. And when necessary, you can turn on the settings for driving on the highway and accelerate very quickly. Other colleagues and players choose, for example, AVATR or CS95. Each car is aimed at a specific audience and has already found its fans among our players.
Alexander Kulagin: The Changan lineup includes more than 16 models, plus AVATR and DEEPAL, so players can always pick up a car for every taste and test it. I often get bills from different cities where our dealers service these cars, that is, players travel on them and enjoy it.
– How is the new agreement fundamentally different from the previous one?
Alexander Kulagin: For us, this is a longer, more systematic and capacious strategy. We understand that it is difficult to realize the full potential in an annual period. Secondly, this whole story will not pass by the new models. Our players and employees will have all our novelties, and this year we are planning 12 of them. Despite the fact that Changan is an adult and serious company, we are quickly making new models in a variety of segments and formats. Based on this long-term strategy, we will be able to show these novelties to our audience and be closer to it.
– Is the AVATR brand included in the perimeter of your cooperation and what is its strategy?
Victor Kobzev: Yes, AVATR is included in the package of our cooperation. This is the jewel of our crown. It is worth noting that Dynamo became one of the first to receive these models and became their users. These are very popular cars with them.
Alexander Kulagin: There are charging stations that the guys use, and there is already feedback. Cars charge quickly, they are suitable for moving around the city, very interesting and dynamic. The most important thing is not to wait in queues at gas stations when gasoline will appear. This is one of the serious advantages.
– How will Changan's sports activation strategy be built for this year?
Viktor Kobzev: Dynamo, unlike other Russian clubs, has a different approach. It is important for them to take football beyond sports, so that not only athletes and fans are involved, but also to make it part of the cultural context. We are impressed by this approach. We try to support the club in these endeavors. Of course, we have planned marketing activities, but we want to use all the opportunities that we see. Life has become very turbulent and changeable, so we will try to realize all the chances that we will get together with the club and try to show the club and the players from an unexpected side. For us, a football player is first of all a person who lives something, worries, thinks about something. And within the framework of the new partnership, we would like to highlight these points. Therefore, a long contract gives more opportunities for such projects.
– You mentioned promotion to the foreign market. How are you going to develop in this direction?
Dmitry Mankin: There are many strategies on how to move towards the global market. If we talk about Russian clubs, the following strategy looks realistic: working with Chinese companies that are interested in the Russian market is the most understandable and working story. Exactly in this model we work with Changan. There are 4 Chinese brands in our portfolio – perhaps we work with Chinese companies the most intensively in Russian football. The second story: at the league level, a football product may be interesting in China. This work is being carried out in stages, but so far it is at a basic level. The third part: such football matches and tournaments are an opportunity for businessmen in VIP zones to meet, chat, find out who is rooting for whom and talk about business. Football and Dynamo can act as a platform for communication and expansion of partnership opportunities. We will use this too.
– Dynamo in 2025, according to open data, became the most profitable RPL club. Today you are extending the agreement with Changan, you recently signed a big contract with Betcity. How much has the number of sponsors increased?
Dmitry Mankin: We have 25 partners, and this number is gradually increasing, but it's not about quantity, it's about quality. We recently signed a contract with a new bookmaker, which, like the previous one, in our opinion, is moving the industry forward and setting a new scale. And then, and now, other clubs after that came to their bookmakers and asked them to increase their contract, pointing to the case of Dynamo. We can say that we have attracted additional investments in Russian football. We will continue to do this.
– Would you like to consider the option of releasing a limited edition Changan Dynamo car that fans would be happy to drive?
Alexander Kulagin: Thanks for the idea. It has already been discussed within our company. Follow the announcements, you'll find out soon enough.
– In the new season, Dynamo's slogan sounds like "Moscow Movement". Who invented it?
Dmitry Mankin: It was invented by our team. The idea is this: Dynamo is more than football. The idea is not new, but it is in a new refraction. Dynamo is a way of life for us. Three dimensions can be distinguished. The first is a match product, which is an entertainment show for the whole family, and not just a football match. Now we are focusing on young people – our near future, and children – our distant future. The second is a community based not only on the love of football, but also on other activities: chess, running, padel and more. We want Dynamo to develop a spirit of camaraderie and communication, so that when you become a fan of our club, you immediately have friends of interest. The third is fashion, we have a fashionable, modern brand, we do interesting collaborations, projects in the field of clothing. We have combined these three dimensions this season under the slogan "Moscow Movement". At the same time, we work not only for fans from the capital, but we carry the vibe of our city, which is also interesting for those who do not live in Moscow.
– How do you measure the effect of sponsorship and what results have already been achieved?
Viktor Kobzev: First of all, this is the love and emotions that we see among the fans, with whom we actively interact not only at the stadium, but also in closed communities and social networks. Their feedback shows that we are on the right track. It was one of the arguments in favor of the fact that we need to develop cooperation, and it gave us confidence that we can give each other more. We have two years of interesting and hard work ahead of us so that the effect will be even greater.