Martin Lee: Maximizing the commercial value of Newcastle Jets

Ledman Group, a Chinese high-tech lighting giant, has just completed its 100% takeover of Australian A-League side Newcastle Jets FC.

According to earlier reports, this deal is expected to cost as much as $5.5 million. Martin Lee, the CEO of Ledman, has become the club’s 4th owner within 11 years, following on from the Football Federation Australia (FFA), Nathan Tinkler and Con Constantine.

Lawrie McKinna, former Central Coast Mariners coach and Gosford Mayor, has replaced interim CEO David Eland. Joel Griffiths, who played for two Chinese football giants Beijing Guoan and Shanghai Shenhua, has been appointed as a Jets ambassador on the club delegation’s current Chinese visit.

It is easy to buy international sporting icons while it is much more difficult to turn them into commercially profitable clubs. So the completion of the official purchase is not an end, as Lee has made a promise to build bridges with the club’s international fans.

Currently, Ledman holds the exclusive marketing rights of Newcastle Jets within the Chinese market. Lee is set to “involve local companies as Jets sponsors rather than have Ledman livery on the club's shirts.”

At today’s news conference, Lee revealed the Jets’ marketing strategy in China. In detail, the club are looking for three-tier partnerships in the country, which include a major partnership, an official partnership and an official sponsorship.

In the long run, the lighting group is looking to help the Jets get involved in more fields like commercial sponsorships, youth training, sports agency and sports tourism.

In recent years, Ledman has been expanding its reach into the soccer industry. It is the owner of Chinese lower-tier club Shenzhen Renren FC, sponsor of the Chinese Super League and title sponsor for Portugal's Second Division. In addition to this, the company has kept a strategic investment in Dalian Wanda-backed Infront Sports and Media Group.

Therefore, it is very likely that Ledman will work hard to exploit the commercial value of the Jets, by combining its wealth of experience in branding, sports marketing and sports media.

Martin Lee is very confident of bringing the Jets back to the AFC Champions League within a few years. It is expected that the Australian club will visit China for friendly matches against Chinese Super League clubs as early as this summer. In addition, the future marketing will also be focused on youth football exchanges and football-related tourism.

Proofread by Sean O Diobhilin