Asia upbeat on sponsorship in the region

Singapore, 19 September 2013 – The inaugural Sports Matters, held at the St. Regis Singapore on 18th and 19th September 2013 with a view to aligning the Asian sports industry, unveiled a sponsorship survey at the conference this morning that highlighted the upbeat outlook among industry professionals on sponsorship for events in the coming years. This precedes the official launch of the new Asian Sponsorship Association to further help fuel the growth of this dynamic sector.

Sports Matters brings together all who matter in the business of sport in the region including broadcasters, sponsors, sports governing bodies and industry leaders from digital platforms, venues, specialist agencies and professional service firms.

A whopping 71% of those surveyed said they have undertaken sponsorships in the past and those who had not participated in sponsorships showed a keen interest in considering sponsorship opportunities in the future.

Majority of those surveyed who had not taken up sponsorship opportunities in the past revealed that the main reason for not doing so was because they were not clear about the returns or metrics for success – one of the key elements that the Asian Sponsorship Association aims to address, to help drive more interest from potential sponsors for marquee sporting, entertainment and lifestyle events.

Sports, B2B trade, entertainment and music events are by far the most important areas for sponsorship investments, revealed the survey. Of those surveyed, majority (82%) managed their sponsorships in-house and they typically renew sponsorship support each year.

Despite the uncertain global economic outlook, the Asian region remains upbeat with sponsorship budgets remaining steady or projected to grow in the year ahead.

Seven out of 10 respondents also agreed that the new Asian Sponsorship Association would help raise the quality standards of sponsorship in Asia; whilst over half agreed that that it will help increase the variety of sponsorship opportunities available. Around two thirds (65%) felt that that it will help equip marketers with metrics to measure the success of sponsorships.

Following the unveiling of the survey findings, key industry leaders driving the business of sponsorship in Asia led an interactive open forum at Sports Matters that will define and form the basis for the Asian Sponsorship Association.

Giles Morgan, Global Head of Sponsorship & Events for HSBC, said, “There is definitely huge growth potential for sport in Asia. Historically, many of the world’s top sporting events have been in Europe or the US – such as the golf majors and the premium football tournaments and leagues. A real opportunity exists for countries in Asia – as economic growth continues – to stage more world class events. Countries like China, Singapore and India can utilise sport to highlight and showcase themselves on the world stage. Hosting major International sporting events is a wonderful metaphor to demonstrate that growth.  These events will have the ability to drive massive international media exposure and provide authentic vehicles to attract the world’s top companies to sponsor them.”

Mike Rich, CEO of GroupM ESP, agrees: “I’m delighted with the amount of progress made at Sports Matters over the last two days. It is hugely encouraging to see the amount of energy and focus on the sports sponsorship industry in Asia. With the increasing emphasis of global brands on investment in Asia, the future of the sports marketing industry in this region looks very bright. The creation of the Asian Sponsorship Association should hopefully provide a fantastic platform for brands, sports rights owners and media owners to collaborate to deliver not only better product for the fans but also value for advertisers and the industry at large.”

“Asia is a dynamic economic growth region and this is the best time for the formation of the new Asian Sponsorship Association as it will inject the much needed vibrancy and sophistication to this sector to help energise event partners and sports associations in Asia to boost their appeal and gather more momentum and support for their events and activities,” said Jasper Donat, CEO of Branded Ltd. co-producer of Sports Matters and 25 year veteran of the sports and entertainment industry.

Presented by Samsung and Fox Sports, the action-packed programme included keynote interviews, expert insights and interactive expert panels. The current sports industry landscape was analysed and areas of growth identified during the conference. Speakers and delegates also had opportunities to network and build relationships for future collaborations.

Sports Matters is co-produced by Branded (owners of the award winning Digital & Music Matters and Social Media Matters) and Haymarket Media (publishers of Campaign magazine, F1 Racing, FourFourTwo and producers of Spikes Asia creative festival). Sports Matters is proudly supported by the Singapore Sports Council and Singapore Tourism Board.

For more information on Sports Matters, please visit www.sportsmatters.asia.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Rachel Lo                              
Branded Ltd (Singapore)                    
E: rachel@branded.asia
T: +65 9847 8839 

Eric Chiu
Fast Track Asia
E: eric.chiu@fasttrackagency.com
T: +852 2616 2707