Kayford, the official licensee for the mascot of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, holds a ceremony launching the mascot products in China at the Hangzhou International Expo Center on Jan 6. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Kayford Holdings Ltd, a Hangzhou-based company boasting cultural products with creative designs, was chosen as the official licensee for the "Zabivaka" mascot of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.

This is the second time Kayford is cooperating with FIFA on the design, promotion and sales of World Cup mascot series since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The "Zabivaka", meaning "the one who scores" in Russian is a wolf who radiates fun, charm and confidence. Kayford is authorized to price, produce and sell the licensed mascot products around the globe, apart from the host country of Russia, showing the transformation of such cultural and creative enterprise from "Made in China" to "Created in China".

The company held a launching ceremony at Hangzhou International Expo Center on Jan 6, announcing the official release of the mascot in China. It will collaborate with renowned domestic e-commerce platforms including Tmall, Taobao and JD.com and online sports communities to promote the mascot products both online and offline.

This time, Kayford innovated the traditional ways of brand building and product promotion. For instance, during the launching ceremony, it adopted the most popular approaches like live streaming, hoping to have better interaction with the attending audience and netizens.

Kayford is now a world renowned licensee for sports events and has taken part in numerous overseas and domestic projects such as the 2016 UEFA European Championship, the World Cups in 2014 and 2018, and the Chinese Super League.

A view of some mascot products of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia [Photo/zjol.com.cn]