Asian Sport Sponsorship Weekly Round Up

June warms up with sponsorship news in World Cup soccer, motorsports, golf, figure skating and marathon running. But we start with the energy sector.

The Chinese solar energy provider Yingli Green Energy has announced it will sponsor the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil due to the success of its involvement in last year’s event in South Africa.

Chairman Liansheng Miao said its publicity efforts during the 2010 World Cup gave the company considerable brand exposure and resulted in many product inquiries. He went on to say the World Cup is one of the best marketing platforms and that the 2014 arrangement will promote the company around the world.

The deal for Yingli Green Energy involves ticketing and hospitality rights, perimeter board advertising as well as the right to display FIFA World Cup emblems and logos.


In racing news, Air Asia continued its involvement with motorsports by renewing its sponsorship of the British Motor Grand Prix for another three years. 

Chief executive officer Azran Osman said the British people embraced Air Asia after its first year as a sponsor. 
“It proved to be a great opportunity for spreading the word about low cost travel throughout Asia and Australia,” he said.

Air Asia recently committed more than USD $3 million to maintain its status as official sponsor of Team Lotus for this year’s F1 season. The agreement includes marketing rights, branding and hospitality rights and the use of the team’s partner logos and images.

Media reports indicate the promotion campaign is aimed at raising Air Asia’s profile as the premier airline for the prestigious sports tourism market.

On the track, veteran driver Sebastian Vettel of Team Red Bull leads the pack in the F1 standings so far this year with 143 points after winning five of six races. Lewis Hamilton of McLaren is second with 85 points and Mark Webber of Red Bull is third with 79 points. The next race is the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal on 12 June.


In golf news, the Thai brewery Singha has renewed its sponsorship of the Thailand Open for the third consecutive year.

Spokesperson Rungsrid Luxitanonda said Singha is a strong supporter of golf in Thailand and backing up the national Open gives the brewery a sense of completion.

“This will also be the first time that the Thailand Open will feature marquee players of the calibre of Michael Campbell and Shigeki Maruyama. "Our national Open has made remarkable progress since it returned to the golf calendar in 2009 after a brief hiatus. The tournament has re-emerged as one of the region's premier national opens. More star players will be announced in the forthcoming weeks as well as a formidable field from OneAsia," Luxitanonda concluded.

This year's Thailand Open - held between Thursday 11th and Sunday 14th August – will be hosted by the Suwan Golf and Country Club in Nakhon Pathom.


In figure skating, Korean starlet Kim Yu-na has increased her considerable sponsorship roster with a free first class travel deal from Korean Air. This arrangement adds to contracts from Nike, Hyundai and Kookmin
Bank that Forbes magazine estimates amounted to USD $9.7 million last year. 

The 20 year old added the gold at the Vancouver Olympics to her 2009 world championship and has never finished off the podium since she won the senior South Korean national championship at the age of 12.

The starlet has also released a number of hit singles, two books, and is hosting 'Kim Yu-na's Kiss and Cry' - a reality television show in which celebrities will be trained to skate competitively by professional skaters.


The week rounds off with running news. Standard Chartered has announced it will keep the naming rights to the Singapore Marathon for another three years.

The bank agreed to a record USD $7.87 million deal to extend its involvement with the elite event.
A total of 60,000 runners participated in various races in last year’s Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore with 19,400 competing in the marathon itself. 

The Singapore Sports Council says it will try to attract 70,000 to the 2011 event to be held on 4th December.
"We believe we can run a good elite race and a people's race. The marathon is for the nation, and for as many people who want to come out that morning to have a day out at the race ...” SCC chief executive Lim Teck Yin told Singapore’s Today Online. 

The Singaporean bank embarked on an ambitious international expansion of its sponsorship activities last year. Standard Chartered launched a USD $130.39 deal with Premier League soccer club Liverpool. The bank is looking to expand Liverpool’s presence in Asia by selling replica jerseys throughout its network of branches.

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