JVC has been an official partner of the UEFA European Football Championship since 1980 when the final tournament was held in Italy. Let's look back the history of the ever-growing and ever-prospering UEFA EURO and its supporter JVC in each tournament respectively.
The 6th UEFA EURO (European Championship) was organized with new regulations which became the base of the current ones, including the automatic qualification of the host country. Back then in European football both national teams and clubs were becoming active in international exchange, and the UEFA EURO championship was beginning to attract worldwide attention partly thanks to television broadcasts.
At that time Japanese company JVC decided to support this big event as a part of its global brand strategy. Having developed HR-3300, the world's first VHS home video recorder in 1976, JVC took part in the international big event and began to achieve success in its brand strategy.
The 7th tournament in 1984 is known for the victory of the hosts France with great midfield of Platini, Giresse, Tigana, and Fernandez. The huge success of 1982 FIFA World Cup Spain had sparked the commercialization of football, and it was flourishing at that time.
Naturally the UEFA EURO was gaining a lot of international recognition, and JVC who continued to support the competition succeeded in raising brand awareness. Moreover, in 1984 JVC introduced GR-C1, the world's smallest and lightest VHS video camera, and the compact VHS-C cassettes penetrated the market, indicating the coming of a new era of video cameras.
The 8th tournament was held in West Germany, and a series of fierce battles between strong teams created extraordinary excitement. Though the hosts were beaten in the semi-finals, the final between the Soviet Union and the Netherlands with star players including Gullit, Van Basten, Rijkaard, and Koeman was viewed all over the world through television broadcasts, and the Netherlands fascinated the world and won the title.
As European football began to have strong influence on football worldwide, the branding of UEFA EURO accelerated sharply, and its supporter JVC also moved on to the next phase of its strategy, from raising brand awareness to creating a better brand image. In addition, HR-S7000, the world's first S-VHS video recorder introduced in 1987 penetrated the market steadily, and its European specifications were announced in 1988.
In 1990's, the steadily-growing UEFA EURO attracted even more attention. However, the changes in the Eastern European map including the Soviet breakup brought a new era of European football, and the symbol of the new era was the 9th tournament in Sweden. The former Yugoslavia had qualified to play in the finals, but UEFA decided to exclude them from international competitions because of the hostilities in the country. Denmark took their place and, amazingly, won the title in the end.
In the meantime, JVC taking part in the 1992 tournament as a top partner continued its strategy for creating a better brand image. This year JVC introduced HR-20000, an S-VHS hi-fi video recorder ready for large-screen high-definition displays such as home theater systems, and the next year W-VHS, the world's first high-definition video recorder was released.
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