Enter the Sponsorship Dragon

2011-11-14T13:58:00.001+08:00

Trends in Sports-Induced Violence http://ping.fm/tj0yl @freakonomics

China basketball does ugly

2011-11-08T22:48:00.000+08:00

Just spotted this when searching for China Basketball imagery! Doesn't exactly look like a good advert for the sport. Check this out if you want to see the fiasco unfold http://www.pressherald.com/news/US-China-teams-try-to-make-up-after-brawl.html

2011-08-22T21:26:00.001+08:00

Sneak preview of TheKitchenMusical: Boom Boom Pow http://ping.fm/R6GoM Our client Fonterra (Anchor Butter)

2011-06-09T12:47:00.001+08:00

HP and Dreamworks tie up again on KungFuPanda2. Animation done on HP Z800s. KFP1 needed 50+ terabytes of data & 25m render hours!

2011-06-09T12:43:00.001+08:00

ASUS partners with TwentiethCenturyFox in promoting XMenFirstClass. Creates new gaming notebook (ROG G Series, G53) as part of deal

2011-06-08T12:41:00.001+08:00

Great game-changing idea from TheKaiserChiefs. Create your own KC album and sell it! http://ping.fm/MaGh5 and www.kaiserchiefs.com

2011-05-30T16:53:00.001+08:00

Starwood Hotels offering triple points for staying in their Japan hotels. Anyone else feel this is a shallow sales driver?

2011-05-19T12:10:00.001+08:00

Still watching the IPL? Others aren't. Ratings have dropped 40% since 2010. Is the Bollywood bling too shallow for real cricket fans??

2011-05-12T09:34:00.000+08:00

Old-ish news but shame on WillingWillie gameshow in PH; forcing a tearful 6yr old to dance for $. Reprisals, censor process must follow

2011-05-06T14:14:00.001+08:00

Fuse taps YouTube for Acuvue branded content campaign. A first for Acuvue and YouTube in APAC http://t.co/DJU1yMB via @CampaignAsia

2011-04-11T16:29:00.001+08:00

ICCWorldCup sponsors getting bonus exposure during AUS vs BAN series. Their painted pitch logos haven't been fully scrubbed off yet!

2011-04-08T17:50:00.001+08:00

Got to love unscripted drama sometimes. Chinese actress’ mum attacks her on TV - Yahoo! http://bit.ly/f52737

2011-04-04T10:40:00.001+08:00

Brilliantly timed squeezeback on Star Cricket: McDowell's featuring MS Dhoni, just after he's hit a 6 to win World Cup for India. Uber smart

2011-04-04T10:13:00.001+08:00

Searches for 'india cricket' go through the roof after WC! http://ping.fm/yCjks

2011-04-04T10:10:00.001+08:00

More Chinese football madness. Pirelli tears up contract with CFA. This follows similar with Siemens, Hyundai, Iphox. http://bbc.in/hupsYu

2011-03-30T17:04:00.001+08:00

Ind vs Pak. This has to be the most important sports contest that will happen this year? Agree/Disagree?

2011-03-02T09:27:00.001+08:00

SingTel shares gain 1% after renewing title sponsorship of Singapore F1 until 2012 http://www.channelnewsasia.com

US and its role in the explosion of Reality TV

2011-02-11T14:09:00.007+08:00

I am often asked why the US were so successful in developing Branded content and reality shows?

Well for me they were in the right place at the right time and had all the infrastructure in place with the film industry etc to swoop on the forerunners of the new wave (Big Brother etc) and generate Hollywood-quality productions straight off the bat (ok Big Brother originated in Europe but the genre soon transported to the big production houses in the US...)

The continued success was then fuelled by a combination of:

- Highly original concepts with compelling human stories
- A-list hosts
- Hot/interesting casts...
- ...who created authentic DRAMA
- The advent of digital helped the explosion of interest/penetration with 3-screen content
- Viewers' new-found thirst for celebrity gossip

In other words, I don't think it was rocket science. All the pieces were in place; technology became the accelerant (to quote CSI!), then it needed a bunch of creative producers like John de Mol, Mark Burnett, Simon Cowell etc to light the touchpaper.

2011-01-13T22:02:00.001+08:00

A 'modest' $62.77m spent on players by IPL franchises at the auction. http://ping.fm/FVpZl

2011-01-04T09:35:00.001+08:00

Indian cricket has yet again struck gold in 2010 with advertisers spending Rs 1,300 crore-plus http://bit.ly/hJxwlM

2010-12-15T15:32:00.001+08:00

Part of the crowd on stage. Campaign Asia-Pacific Agency of the Year 2010 http://t.co/OvOpP0K via @CampaignAsia

2010-12-08T02:11:00.001+08:00

High concentration of single (travelling alone) 40-something US women in Mumbai lounge... Sarkozy groupies????

2010-12-02T21:41:00.001+08:00

Yours truly wins in Marketing Magazine/BBC World's Xmas Quiz for OMD. http://ping.fm/kHwz5

Reality TV in India

2010-11-30T17:54:00.005+08:00

Looks like there's a culture clash brewing (or brewed) with regards to Reality TV in India with 2 camps quickly formed:

1 - those who accept the levels of intrusion/ exposure into one's personal life, ie the essence of reality TV! And,

2 - those that are offended

Indian regulators - the Information & Broadcasting Ministry - have already moved to ban reality programming before 11pm (v. AFP Nov 17th 2010). And society commentators, politicians and network owners (and that's not the same person ;-)) are involved in heated debates, sometimes in the courtroom, in a national exercise to understand whether Indian culture should accept this highly current form of television AT ALL

But it seems it's only really one show that's the main culprit - "The Moment of Truth" - and it's creating a bad name for branded content. Essentially contestants are asked revealing personal questions in front of their family. If they tell the truth, they win a cash prize; if they lie, they lose. And personally, that sounds pretty hideous. Nobody is perfect but to have to confess one's sins in front of a live audience, let alone your Mother or Wife, FOR CASH is pretty low!

Other public pariahs like Bigg Boss (aka Big Brother) who wheel in good ol' (well 43y.o.) Pamela Anderson to boost ratings (and boost she did - her entry episode got the highest ratings of any other episode) is really just harmless entertainment that works. Pammy's indomitable chest may be striking, but it's not like you're telling you wife you slept with a prostitute (which happened in Moment of Truth. Ouch)

All in all though, for me, Camp #2 will never win because of the commercial aspect. Investment in branded content is a fast-growing medium in India - tipping the USD50m mark in 2010 according to ForeCast, the Asian Sponsorship Database almost x5 more than in 2009. Changing the timeslots is one way of protecting the offended; but so is the off switch...

2010-11-30T09:48:00.001+08:00

Nice touch - TCL Delivers first 3D Filming of Asian Games | SportzPower http://t.co/M4sbOKn

Content investment rebounds in Singapore

2010-11-10T10:28:00.007+08:00

After a severe drop-off in branded content investment in Singapore in 2009 - likely due to the global recession - brands are back in force in 2010 with a 500% spike over 2009's investment levels

New branded productions like Family Cook-off (NTUC Fairprice), reprised popular series like Modern TCM Series 8 (Eu Yan Sang), and broadcast sponsorship of international formats Idol Series 8 (MYeg, Pearlie White) have boosted the investment numbers to just under USD6m (USD5.91m)

Without notable losses such Singapore Idol and Nikon's withdrawal from Channel 5's "Blockbuster Movie Sunday", the 2010 levels would have far exceeded the previous peak of USD5.89m in 2007

Other market data are available from Podium, the owners of ForeCast, or via www.asiasponsorshipnews.com. Forecasts for 2011 will also be released in early 2011

2010-10-18T18:59:00.001+08:00

Fuse/OMG partners with Ice-TV for branded content reality show 'The Adbreak' http://t.co/UI8juu9 via @CampaignAsia

2010-10-18T18:16:00.001+08:00

@burn This can't be real?!?! Great short-form visual fest for a challenger Red Bull brand http://ping.fm/vWONs

2010-10-15T11:00:00.001+08:00

Playboy Singapore is going to launch under the title 'VIP' but with the infamous bunny logo

2010-10-14T12:41:00.001+08:00

Nike releases Liu Xiang interactive comic book - Campaign China http://bit.ly/cO9ziF

2010-10-13T12:43:00.001+08:00

Great video on why brand integration in content works - http://ping.fm/MFw3c

2010-10-07T15:27:00.001+08:00

Subservient Chicken meets Cancer Awareness - Oddball content but impactful. Campaign http://bit.ly/d3xM9q

2010-10-07T09:20:00.001+08:00

Comm Games seats: EMPTY. India vs Aus Test: EMPTY. Where are all the Indians??!! http://bit.ly/a2IdC1, http://t.co/xvVSGc1 via @timesofindia

2010-10-05T12:16:00.001+08:00

Pay peanuts; get monkeys! Delhi ropes in monkeys for Comm Games security http://ping.fm/4PYRn

2010-10-04T23:04:00.001+08:00

Graeme McDowell - a fine advert for beards. And ballsy golf

2010-10-04T23:03:00.001+08:00

Ryder Cup has to have a good shot at the 3rd highest TV auds of all sports events (next to Olymps, World Cup)

2010-10-04T22:32:00.001+08:00

The Ryder Cup has to be one of the most chivalrous sporting events. Unbelievable spirit shown by both teams over the last 3 days

2010-10-04T17:04:00.001+08:00

Very clever Print ad to App amplification. Yes really. http://ping.fm/QIJ2U

2010-10-04T15:32:00.001+08:00

Asiaâ€™s general entertainment channels ramp up content battle - Campaign Asia-Pacific http://bit.ly/bQn6Up

2010-09-30T09:31:00.001+08:00

You've got to love reality TV sometimes. Announcing the wrong winner on Australia's Next Top Model - http://bit.ly/cenw87

2010-09-28T15:11:00.001+08:00

Great video about why we should be selling the 'Why' not the 'How' nor the 'What' - http://ping.fm/1Uazf

2010-09-27T22:11:00.001+08:00

Taiwanese golfer Yani Tseng turns down $25 million endorsement deal as she didn't want to become CHN citizen. Tough moral decision!

2010-09-23T15:57:00.001+08:00

Why do all Malaysian company logos look like they've been designed in Clipart?? Apart from a few who know who they are...!)

2010-09-23T09:11:00.001+08:00

The fiasco over the Commonwealth Games makes you wonder what the F1 will be like in 2011...

2010-09-22T22:42:00.001+08:00

The video of this Delhi Security sting - UNREAL. 3 News http://t.co/ZXhMySc via @AddThis

2010-09-22T22:34:00.001+08:00

INCREDIBLE Commonwealth security sting. Reporter takes bomb past police checkpoint. Reuters http://bit.ly/bbPDuJ

2010-09-22T09:19:00.001+08:00

Indian broadcast sponsorship stretching out to sometimes 6-8 brands in the breakbumper still bugs me. WHO IS LOOKING AFTER THE 1ST/2ND ONE?!

2010-09-22T09:03:00.001+08:00

Why am I not surprised?? BBC News - Commonwealth stadium footbridge collapses in Delhi http://ping.fm/fh0kX

2010-09-20T11:14:00.001+08:00

Is it me or do the Singapore F1 preparations look a little behind schedule?? Grandstand crews were working away at 0000h on Fri...

2010-09-20T10:51:00.001+08:00

Why should Youth Olympics organisers have to justify their budget tripling... plenty of other big events have done similar.

2010-09-13T22:21:00.001+08:00

Who is Dr Handa? Other than a mystery Japanese philanthropist who keeps giving out chunks of money for golf sponsorship, plus plus...

2010-09-02T15:19:00.001+08:00

Visa sees a 38% uplift in Singapore credit card transactions during the Youth Olympics. Ker-ching!

2010-08-31T18:10:00.001+08:00

I'm not sure what's worse, a government partner or a brand partner not "getting" sponsorship?!

2010-08-31T16:11:00.001+08:00

Great to see Arjun Atwal win on the PGA Tour last week. Gratifying to know I interviewed him x2 as he was becoming a name in Asia

China’s 1st FIFA Sponsor Announces Rise in Sales & Share Price

2010-08-30T22:59:00.003+08:00

The company has this week announced growth in both sales and share price on the back of its World Cup Sponsorship.

Yingli representatives say the company’s share price on the New York Stock Exchange rose by $3.80 between 7 June and 23 July, bringing about a $560 million increase in market capitalisation.

The number of orders the company received in the first half of 2010 was 3.5 times that of the same period in 2009. The spokesman said sponsorship of the World Cup has given the company a global branding boost.

2010-08-30T22:55:00.001+08:00

Share price of Yingli Green Energy Co. China's 1st World Cup sponsor rose by $3.80 (NYSE) 7JUN-23JUL. +$560 million market cap. WOW!!

2010-08-30T22:49:00.001+08:00

World Cup sponsors Budweiser, MTN & Brazilian food co. Seara (who?) received little rise in awareness a/c to Survey Sampling International

2010-08-30T09:19:00.001+08:00

Any Pakistani cricketer involved in this betting scandal should be fined, jailed THEN banned for life. They need a clearer msg

2010-08-27T16:11:00.001+08:00

Youth Olympics just finished in SGP. 72k Facebook friends. 440 YouTube videos. 938 Twitter followers. Not bad!

2010-08-27T15:55:00.001+08:00

Testing Ping.fm

Need a sponsor? Tell the world about it!

2010-07-12T17:26:00.005+08:00

You've got to admire Thomas Laybourn, the Danish badminton player, who at the latest Super Series event in Singapore chose to wear this very obvious sponsorship appeal. In fairness he's been wearing it for a few months now but so fair no-one has answered his cry.

Laybourn's clear lack of sponsorship typifies how badminton is battling against more popular racquet sports - it has a decent TV audience, a lot of people play the sport but it hasn't caught on in the same way as tennis. I'm not convinced by Laybourn's methods; but if he hasn't a management team working on his behalf, then who can blame him. Good luck

Facebook Games - GREAT brand integration opportunity

2010-06-22T13:29:00.006+08:00

So we all know that Facebook is going berserk in terms of growth (50m users in 4.5 months when it took TV 13 years to hit 50m from inception) but its the games that I think are some of the stickiest elements to the site.

No need for consoles; available at work (ahem); zero cost.. and VIRAL

As part of my extensive research into these products ;-) I've now invested more time than I'd like into MillionaireCity (I used to love Monopoly and Sim City... this is largely the same). I've built a Flower shop, Pizzeria, Pet Store and a Coffee Shop... but on none of their digital brick walls do I see Interflora, Pizza Hut, Pedigree Chum nor Starbucks (for example). IT'S CRYING OUT FOR SOME SUBTLE INTEGRATION and then some functionality, directing Facebook gamers towards either brands' Facebook pages, or their own retail websites

The game is owned by Digital Chocolate - founded by Trip Hawkins, one of the founders of the giant Electronic Arts - and I, as an agency lead looking for non-traditional ways to interact with consumers, would love to have a conversation about brand integration. And while I'm at it, I want to know how to cure my addiction.

Shirt swap at Anfield

2010-05-19T15:15:00.006+08:00

Liverpool vs Chelsea on Sunday May 9th was one of Carlsberg's swansong matches as their sponsorship of the football club draws to a close

So as an interesting ploy, they changed the English wording to the Chinese version. Nice idea... but couldn't they have done this a bit earlier if China is so important to them?!

A corrupt religion... and I'm not talking about Catholicism

2010-04-29T10:26:00.011+08:00

WHAT HAS LALIT MODI DONE (allegedly). The Indian Premier League (IPL) is in a tailspin - and while I did scold my cricketing mother for jumping to conclusions, the evidence on the surface is pretty damning.

Already loaded with family cash, Modi, the cricket impresario, appears to have profited personally from various deals within the now USD4.1b IPL platform... and in doing so, has brought all Indian cricket into serious disrepute. I won't regurgitate the facts - there are plenty of other articles doing that!

The trouble is that there have been numerous scandals in the history of the sport in India:
India's largest bookie arrested in 1997 - http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket-bookie-held-in-corruption-crackdown-1242124.html?cmp=ilc-n
BCCI slapped by Central Bureau of Investigation for gross mismanagement and poor handling of public funds in 2000 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/in_depth/2000/corruption_in_cricket/1003568.stm
Hansie Cronje throwing matches for Indian bookmaker - http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket/worldwide-web-spun-by-indian-bookmakers-623823.html

And let's not forget the fact that Modi was convicted of possessing drugs, kidnapping and assault in the US during his days as a university student!! That's one helluva precedent for his current behaviour...

The trouble is that he is part of an Indian business dynasty (Modi Enterprises is a USD1b conglomerate - www.modi.com), so my fear is that political connections will win the day and the issue will be swept under the carpet. THE BCCI CANNOT AFFORD TO DO THIS. They need to act professionally, with a proper transparent tribunal that delivers an honest verdict on Modi, which of course could be 'Innocent'.

At least the BCCI seems to have its act together by swift;y suspending Modi. He's now busy building his defense case (Although if you read hsi Twitter, he spent the day in the spa on Tuesday! Go to www.twitter.com/LalitKModi) and we will know his side of the story in about 12 days. Can't wait!!

Stubbing out 62% of sponsorship in Indonesia...

2010-04-15T14:10:00.019+08:00

Are they or aren't they?! Every day brings a conflicting story that Indonesia is going to toe the WHO line and ban tobacco advertising INCLUDING sponsorship.

But the pressure is mounting. So 's just speculate that the ban goes through; this has several repercussions for the sponsorship industry and its commercial environment:

a LOT of the sports & entertainment platforms in ID are going to be out selling. Tobacco accounts for a whopping 62% of sponsorship in ID
pricing is going to get more competitive and less 'moist finger in the air' (good news for brands)
rights owners will have to get their act together after years of complacent acceptance of tobacco money, probably (more good news for brands). OR
less appealing/commercial platforms are going to go under. UNLESS
other sectors step up and replace tobacco. Their incentive? See #2 and #3
lower tax collection for the ID government. This means they're going to have to draw from other government funds to continue to underwrite certain sponsorship platforms

Here are a just few rights owners that are going to be out there selling professionally instead of going to the Tobacco industry ATM:

Association of Indonesia. Replacing Djarum's USD4.75m annual sponsorship of the Indonesian League
Rocking Land. Replacing Gudang Garam's USD100k
Indonesian Basketball League is already out selling trying to replace A-Mild's (Sampoerna) USD5m
Badminton Open. Replacing Djarum's USD250k

All in all though, this should create a badly-needed shake up for the ID sponsorship industry, stamping out risk for potential sponsors. Where there's no smoke, there's no fire??

Death by Rolex

2010-03-26T09:53:00.002+08:00

This is a personal view. Rolex are doing TOO MUCH sponsorship

And this is a perverse statement because as a passionate sponsorship believer, I’m always trying to influence more sponsorship investment

But Rolex just seems to be everywhere; which for me would work well if they were an FMCG brand that has to maintain strong top-of-mind awareness or ubiquity (big word, sorry) .But they’re a premium product that for me is losing its premium quality by applying itself to so many properties. And, ok, the properties are premium in nature – golf, sailing, tennis; at events, celebrity endorsements and in broadcast – but I think they’ve reached the point where they’ve overdone it

And I don’t get the sense from the marketplace that anyone else – e.g. Omega who seem to be more selective – are really threatening them. For me that’s the right approach

If I was Rolex, I would be scaling back; trimming back those platforms that aren’t delivering as much ROI as others, therefore leaving themselves in a more efficient, more selective position.

ATL support shambles for sponsorship

2010-03-25T21:28:00.000+08:00

I'm watching AXN Asia's wonderful 30-sec spot with the beautiful Jaymee Ong exhorting me to attend the Mosaic Festival in Singapore (http://www.mosaicmusicfestival.com/2010/microsite/ms_stvincents.html) which runs from the 12-21 March 2010... and today it's the 25th March...

You've got to love that

The amount of times I see advertising support for sponsored events still running months after the event is scandalous. I was in Kuala Lumpur's Airport Express YESTERDAY and I saw an ad for a Sony Convention in OCTOBER 2008!!!

Interesting debate though... as a sponsor would you a) prefer to leave the ad in place to accumulate exposure or b) insist it's taken down to prevent association with something that appears inefficient?

Answers in comments please

Toyota loses big at The Oscars

2010-03-09T21:29:00.002+08:00

Anyone care to make a call on how much the negative PR from Steve Martin's gag about Toyota in The Oscar preliminaries was worth??

For those who didn't catch it - during the to-and-fro quipping with Alec Baldwin during the opening bars of Oscar night, Steve Martin slagged off the car equating it to a ticking time-bomb...

Catch it here http://www.nitrobahn.com/news/toyota-gets-negative-publicity-at-the-oscars-opening

Asian event misnomers...

2010-03-03T16:16:00.003+08:00

1. The Enjoy Jakarta Indonesian Open 2009... that took place in Bali.

Enjoy Jakarta. Bali. Get the picture?

2. The Tour de Langkawi (cycling)... that hasn't had a leg on Langkawi for 10 years

Know of any others?? Answers on a postcard below

Chinese Tobacco companies sponsor schools!!!

2010-03-02T20:00:00.005+08:00

The sign above an elementary school in Sichuan Province reads: “Genius comes from hard work; Tobacco helps you to be successful”

After living in Asia for almost 9 years, there are few things that surprise me when it comes to 'leftfield' sponsorship activity but this article about Tobacco companies in China sponsoring schools really made me shake my head... http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/ns_china/2010-01-26/907134456872.html

Can you imagine imagine sending your kids to a school which tells you that tobacco makes you smarter... Unfortunately, there are 69 Chinese provincial schools that are seemingly so hard up that they are receiving tobacco sponsorship. Pretty sad when this source of revenue is an all-too-important financial safety net.

I think all you can do here is sigh and hope that China sees the light... and I don't mean, gives them a light. I thank you

AIG Tower to AIA Central

2010-01-20T17:29:00.004+08:00

Not hugely sponsorship oriented, more brand oriented, but I do love the fact that AIA in HK (their regional headquarters) have rebranded their beautiful harbourfront tower from AIG Tower to AIA Central... nothing like distancing yourself from the PR disasters surrounding AIG

And a nice play on words given the building is in Central, HK's business centre...

Asian White Elephants...

2010-01-20T16:51:00.013+08:00

Sad to see the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing turn into a yet another post-Olympics "white elephant" (www.n-s.cn/en). Efforts are now being made to monetise and fill the USD423m venue but to date there's only been, literally, a handful of events who have come close to filling the 80,000 seater stadium - a season of the opera Turandot, last December's Race of Champions and the Supercoppa Italiana, the traditional curtain opener for the Italian football season. Meanwhile its costing the Beijing government USD9m to maintain each year...

There are other aging pachyderms out there - The Bukit Jalil National Stadium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Stadium,_Bukit_Jalil) in Kuala Lumpur was originally built for the 1998 Commonwealth Games. It has 87,411 largely unused seats... and yes ok, it hosts some major events like Manchester United's 2009 tour stopover, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup matches... and S.H.E.'s Malaysian concert in March 2010 (woohoo)... but it's pretty quiet otherwise

Lippo City (http://www.lippovillage.com/) outside Jakarta has just been built with a golf course and a Tier 2 motorsports track... And they have no committed sports events to my knowledge (A1 Grand Prix was in discussions with them... which probably says everything about the likely success of the sports facilities there)

And yet not all are being squandered. The Seoul Olympic stadium (http://stadium.seoul.go.kr/stadium_eng/0201_1.html) built in 1988 at least has a resident football team - Seoul United FC - albeit they're in the "3rd division" of Korean football!

And on the horizon, the Singapore Sportshub (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Sports_Hub is one facility that should be maximised...if you overlook the delay which already stands at 3 years (due for completion now in 2014 not the planned 2011). Should give them enough time to plan how to fill the stadium. Being a smart a&se aside, the presiding Singapore Sports Council should fill its calendar as it's the focus of the whole nation's now vibrant sports scene... not a once-in-a-century sports event like the Olympics (albeit the most important sports event in the world)

So back to the poor old Bird's Nest... what does the future hold for the architectural icon? Maybe they'll boil it down to make more of that soup...

Hong Kong phooey

2009-11-23T17:22:00.010+08:00

I've been hearing some worrying comments about Hong Kong and how they are going about their governance of the sponsorship industry

I'm not going to name and shame but let's just say that several rights owners and brands have expressed deep regrets about the lack of acumen and vision among the HK government ranks when it comes to the possibilities that sponsorship can bring to HK, especially when it comes to events of international status

In the worst cases, the grudge runs to commercial organisations not knowing why they gave over sponsorship fees to the government acting as a rights owner, while they receive negligible rights and limited client servicing in return!! I.e. HK is committing sponsorship suicide... how can you not invest back to your business community?? The next time the government turns to the private sector for sponsorship funds, they're going to say "Well you underdelivered (putting it politely) last time so why should I do it all again?

And when you compare HK with a socio-economic peer in Asia - Singapore - statistically, Singapore saw almost x3 the amount of sponsorship activity to Hong Kong in 2008 (source: http://www.asiasponsorshipnews.com/) but Hong Kong has almost x1.5 the population. If sponsorship expenditure was indexed to population, Singapore sees USD21 per capita while Hong Kong only sees USD5 ... so why isn't sponsorship in Hong Kong following suit? For me it could again be a reflection of a suppressed industry

So I appeal to HK to get some international practitioners in their teams to capitalise on the possibilities of sponsorship and to win back the confidence of the commercial community. The East Asian Games which takes place in HK this November has the slogan "Be the Legend"... time to listen to that slogan and live up to the promise...

Nokia hardly connecting anything, let alone people?!

2009-11-06T08:55:00.006+08:00

I don't know what's happening at the good ship Nokia but they seem to have gone invisible in most comms channels, and especially sponsorship. To name but a few:

1. Barclays Singapore Open - 3 year deal worth c. USD600k not renewed.
2. Nokia Football Crazy - 4 years as title sponsor worth c USD6m not renewed
3. Broadcast sponsor across BPL on ESPN Star Sports - 4 years worth c USD8m not renewed
4. European Tour golfer Nick Dougherty - 4 years worth c USD800k not renewed
5. ICC World Twenty20 Championships - on-ground rights deal worth c. USD500k not renewed (Broadcast sponsorship was renewed however)
(Source: ForeCast, Asia's only sponsorship database. Go to http://www.asiasponsorshipnews.com/ for access to ForeCast)

Maybe they're taking advantage of Moto's 'fall-off-the-cliff' to save some pennies trying to combat the competition in the economic downturn. But surely that's precisely the time to maintain/scale up the ad spend to really dominate the comms landscape

In fairness, they have renewed their sponsorship of the Bangladesh National Football Team..... ranked 165 in the world (by FIFA).... Interesting strategy

Come on Nokia. Connect with me please!!!

Singapore F1 signage curiosities

2009-10-05T22:31:00.009+08:00

Sorry been a bit quiet recently... usual excuses

But did anyone notice that RBS signage shifting during the Singapore F1 Grand Prix at Turn 10 (aka "Singapore Sling")? On Saturday, it was on the inside of the bend (Singapore Cricket Club side. See pic from Saturday)...

... then by Sunday, someone at RBS must have complained (which is odd in itself given they're pulling out of F1 at the end of the season) and F1 went against their own policy of "one brand per bend" by hefting the RBS signage to the outside of the bend above the Bridgestone signage (seen on right of pic above). I wonder what happened there?!?!

On another note, it was great to see SingTel reverse their colour palette for the 2009 race. In 2008, their white background flared under the lights such that the red logo was lost. This year it was white on red.. a much better contrast. Good to see they took my advice from the audit I did for them after the 2008 race ;-)

NOW COME ON JENSON. The Brits have got to do well at something this year (oh, apart from The Ashes that is....!)

Photo credits: Formula 1... or was it someone on Flickr. Thanks to whichever/both

Liverpool in Malaysia? No thank you

2009-07-26T21:22:00.003+08:00

Well the Liverpool FC Tour of Asia is underway but a relatively unknown piece of info is that they can't tour Malaysia due to Carlsberg’s sponsorship... i.e. an alcohol sponsor in a Muslim country… a taboo in the eyes of Islamic law, and a no-no for Malaysian advertising regulations. The National Fatwa Council in Malaysia is a very strong government body and has previously put the kybosh on a number of sponsored events that have threatened the integrity of the country’s Islamic faith.

So the Tour becomes almost useless for Carlsberg Malaysia; extremely ironic given Carlsberg has a massive brewery in Malaysia and a strong market share… i.e. despite significant capital investment in Malaysia (before a possible internal cross-charge to pay for the GBP7.2m per year rights fee?) they are denied the ability to seek ROI from the Tour

Maybe it would be a reprieve if Carlsberg did drop the sponsorship… and concentrate on a platform that can be activated harder in dark markets (where alcohol advertising is banned)

Did Roddick turn his hat backwards on purpose???

2009-07-08T14:48:00.007+08:00

Oooh I love a good conspiracy theory ;-) Check out the pictures above

Nobody likes to be associated with losing. So I wonder if Andy Roddick was given the order by his management/sponsor Lacoste to reverse his cap during the closing ceremony of Wimbledon (Pic 1). Seems strange that he'd just played 5 (well actually 7.5!) sets with it facing forwards (Pic 2) - Lacoste logo front & centre - and then hey presto it gets shoved to the back during a time when the brand would get some huge airtime!!

The flipside is that Roger Federer plays the whole game without a watch (Pic 3) and then WHOOPS on slips a shiny Rolex for the prize presentation, glinting in the Wimbledon sunlight, below some suspiciously short sleeves (also seen on Federer Snr's and wife Mirka's wrist). A solid instruction from IMG no doubt... and why not ;-)

[Ed: My thanks to Getty Images whose pics I wantonly borrowed]

Asia Sponsorship sector to grow 10-12%: Sponsorship Report

2009-07-06T14:33:00.001+08:00

Despite the global economic outlook for 2009, the Asia sponsorship sector is expected to increase 10-12% , with total spending on sponsorships in the region to be about US$1.6 billion, according to a report by Asia Sponsorship News.

The report said that in 2008, the Asian sponsorship sector grew 140% and was valued at US$2.863 billion. The Beijing Olympic games contributed almost half the spend at US$1.378 billion. Even without the Olympics included in the 2008 figures, the Asia sponsorship sector still grew at over 24%, the report claimed.

In 2007 the sector grew 64% and in 2006 growth of the Asia sponsorship sector was at around 48%. As a result of the Olympics, China had the leading sponsorship market in Asia with 57% of sponsorship volume. Japan and India were the next largest with 17% and 8% of the sector respectively, India’s increase was on the back of the lucrative India Premier League Twenty20 cricket.

For a copy of the report Executive Summary visit this link http://www.interactiveideas.com.au/ExecSummary.pdf

Cricket Extra Extra Extra...

2009-07-02T16:02:00.014+08:00

I had the pleasure of going to the ICC World Twenty20 tournament at Lord's in London the other day, to see a spirited fightback from Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and a polished, match-winning performance from Pakistan's Shahid Afridi

Before I left, I caught the "Cricket Extra" live broadcast on Star Cricket channel.... and omigosh HOW MUCH BRANDING!! On-set, in the ad-breaks, in-programme graphics etc

Pioneer - the Japanese electronics manufacturer - was unmissable as the presenting sponsor because the studio set had - and I don't joke - about 15 brand exposures in the form of branded backdrops, floor furniture and a plasma TV. The only area that wasn't branded was Harsha Bhogle's forehead!!!

Indian cricket host Harsha Bhogle... in less violently branded surroundings

And the list of sponsors credited in the opening and closings/breakbumpers etc were as follows (in no particular order):

Luminous Batteries
JK Lakshmi Cement
Maruti Suzuki
Reebok
Golden Cruiser (Oil)
Nokia
Center Fresh
Kei

You can imagine the length of the standard "this show is presented by..." burble as the broadcast closed... I'd flicked channel as soon as I heard those by-then dreaded words (my reactions probably cut off all but the first 2 sponsors...)

I know cricket rights are expensive... but please Star, make the brand integrations such as Pioneer's subtle (others such as Nokia squeezebacks were just about ok on their own. But combined with the other clutter....NO). The layman's viewing experience was pretty poor...

Watch sponsorship is getting ridiculous...

2009-06-15T17:35:00.006+08:00

Passing by yet another watch shop in yet another airport in Asia the other day (I can't remember which but Hong Kong is a good candidate) it was like looking at a Hollywood Hall of Fame... and it was looking over the top to me

In the world of sponsorship where brands are all craving the holy grail of differentiation, watch endorsements by celebrities has, IMHO, just reached that tipping point where it is far from differentiated. Here's the Hall of Fame as I saw it:

di Caprio - Tag Heuer

Woods (ok not Hollywood but...) - Tag

Pitt - Tag

Travolta - Breitling

Eva Green (Vesper in Casino Royale) - Mont Blanc

Clooney - Omega

Kidman - Omega

Michael Owen - Tissot

David Duchovny (Mulder of X-Files fame... they've dug him out!)- Baume & Mercier

Anna Tsuchiya - Seiko

etc

I think it's time the watch manufacturers did something different, especially when it comes to retail, before time runs out for their brands...Tick tock tick tock...

Who's hurting most in the IPL?

2009-05-14T22:00:00.004+08:00

I think we all know this but let's tease this out

After the dramatic, last-minute shift of the IPL to South Africa there are a lot of moving pieces affected in this rich Indian tapestry:

The officials - yep, Messrs Lalit Modi et al at the BCCI will have lost a lot of sleep in March/April. And some revenues because of central IPL deals going sour. Pain factor: 7/10

The players - bless 'em. Having to play in the sublime SA climate in front of hugely appreciative crowds without the frenzy of the India supporter mass screaming for blood from a Wankhede Stadium cauldron. And they still pick up a cool pay cheque. Yeah right. Pain factor: 2/10

The team owners - give me a break. They've got more rupees to their name to worry about a trifling move to another continent. Ok, SRK is rumoured to be up for selling the Kolkata Knight Riders, but that's not because of the move to SA (it's because they're flopping this year). The other 8 consortia owners look like they're enjoying a jolly good time in SA, away from the elections, with their entourage looking just as jolly. Pain factor: 1/10

The media - well, TV networks would have had to have re-routed their Outside Broadcast logistics and satellite uplinks. And shepherded their darling front men to a different hotel or 2. But the advertisers would have stayed with them. Consumers still watch TV/read the press. And I'm sure the hacks are happier in SA without the eternal risk of Delhi Belly ruining their, erm, deadlines. Pain factor: 5/10

The sponsors - now this is where it gets interesting. Indian brands - and big IPL sponsors - such as Hero Honda, Reliance, Kingfisher Beer, Grasim Cement have ZERO business in India. So really their sponsorship is reduced to a media buy, because there's no point them activating in South Africa.

And unsurprisingly some have walked away. Conglomerate Godrej; insurance provider Max New York Life.

The only sponsors who may not be affected as much are those global brands who have a brand/business presence in SA - e.g. Citibank, MasterCard - and can reroute their activation plans (but not without some fuss). Pain factor: 9/10

The kit suppliers - for me, these guys are probably having more of a ballache (cricket ball of course) as the other sponsors. They've had to re-orientate their international distribution in a couple of weeks, sweat over whether the primadonna players had the right size kit for Game 1, fight with customs channels etc. Pain factor: 9.5/10

The communication industry - the Indian agencies will have been working late into the night (literally given they'll have had to deliver some requirements to SA with its 3.5 hour time difference). They'll have certainly lost a chunk of activation business that would have happened in India - no roadshows, less consumer promos. But maybe they've picked it up by being parachuted into SA to handhold/event manage their clients' activity. Pain factor: 6/10

The Indian tourism industry - maybe I'm starting to stretch the point here but these guys will have lost a lot of hotel nights (players and tourists), hospitality covers, flight revenues, ancillary spend eg taxis, meals etc etc etc. Pain factor: 6/10

And the lucky bunch who have been making hay over this travelling circus? The lawyers! Charging overtime for sorting out new broadcast contracts, negotiating player and sponsor grievances/concessions, now in 1 more jurisdiction etc...Pain factor: 0/10!

So the IPL is smash, bang, wallop on the surface... and I think if you had a look around the stadium loading bays, the hotel conference rooms in SA in early April, there was probably a lot of 'energy' as the above stakeholders were working it all out...

Long live the IPL

Humbling salaries

2009-04-21T10:16:00.005+08:00

Some edited extracts from the following article regarding athletes' fees in Vietnam: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/sports/2009/04/841871/

The leading players in the best women's volleyball team in Vietnam are paid VND1 million (US$56) each per month... "Our players get an allowance of VND24,000 (US$1.3) for each day of training while youngsters get VND15,000 (US$0.8) each." Yen Bai's women's coach Quach Thuy Binh

The 2 leading players in the best men's basketball team in Vietnam (Joton) are paid a record ANNUAL salary of VND6 million (US$337) and VND4 million (US$224), respectively.
Although they are the best paid basketballers, they receive less than men's volleyballers and footballers.

The best men's volleyballers can earn about VND10 million (US$600) a month while footballers get twice the figure, plus any winning bonuses.

IE a humbling reminder to the bloated salaries in NBA, BPL, IPL etc etc etc

Kuala Lumpur: a ghost town

2009-04-03T16:10:00.007+08:00

I’ve just flown in to KL on the Friday of GP weekend… and there’s hardly anyone at the airport in KL…there's more

There’s zero brand advertising in airport except standard promoter stuff – 'free shuttle', 'race is on' type stuff – and some POS materials/promos by McLaren Mercedes sponsor Johnnie Walker in Duty Free

A few lonely chaperones lolled around Arrivals waiting for F1 team dignitaries/guests…

On the Airport Express train into town, there was NOTHING on the in-train TV…

A long forgotten F1 car??

Is this a reflection of the economic times? It must be. It’s SO noticeable. It’s eerie… KL Grand Prix City - as they call it during F1 week - is a ghost town

New poll

2009-03-19T12:08:00.001+08:00

Dear All

Pls note I've added a new poll - take 5 secs to post a result please

Cheers

Asia Sponsorship Sentiment survey

2009-03-19T12:07:00.000+08:00

There has been considerable debate in the wider media about the potential impact the global economic crisis will have on the sponsorship sector. Some are suggesting the industry prepare for a major fall yet others suggest the sponsorship industry in Asia will be protected more than other areas of marketing.

Asia Sponsorship News seeks your views on the topic through a brief (3 minute) survey for sponsors, rights holders and athlete / talent managers.

Please take a moment to take part in this important survey. Click here: http://www.asiasponsorshipnews.com/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&stream=1-1&selkey=3833&hlc=2&hlw=

Asian sponsorship sugar-daddies

2009-03-03T22:41:00.009+08:00

A couple of weeks ago we all witnessed the debacle surrounding Sir Allen Stamford, and the ensuing collapse of a number of properties that rely on his sponsorship (the most celebrated being his GBP100m/5-year deal with the English Cricket Board for the Stamford Twenty20 Super Series tournament)

And this led me to ponder is Asia is as vulnerable as the West to personal endorsement from wealthy Asian benefactors? Especially in this recessive climate.

Well so far, my belief is yes and no... which I know sounds confusing! In other words, yes Asian benefactors exist, but no, currently they don't seem to have been caught out by the economic fallout (forgive the cricketing pun).

Just last Friday (March 6th) Air Asia's CEO Tony Fernandes launched the newly created ASEAN Basketball League. I don't know how much he has invested financially, but he's certainly investing 'human' capital.

Singapore's Arthur Tay, Chairman of SUTL, underwrote the Singapore's stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race via his luxury marina, OneO15. And he is one of the interested parties eyeing up the opportunity of developing Singapore's Tier 2 motorsports track for 2010 (the last predicted completion date)

Bollywood screen legend Shah Rukh Khan continues to back his Indian Premier League team the Kolkata Knight Riders, albeit his movie company Dreamz Unlimited seems to have stalled productions

There are of course other Asian sponsorship sugar daddies - and I'm sure that the net worth of the 3 above individuals has taken a hit of late - but so far we haven't had a fallout akin to the Stamford shambles... and I sincerely hope that there isn't a skeleton waiting to come out of the Asian closet

Post here if you know otherwise....?! Cheers

"Sports sponsorship takes a further pounding"... Response

2009-03-03T22:33:00.002+08:00

"People have short memories...." read the rest here on Pitch Marketing

http://pitchmarketing.blogspot.com/2009/02/sports-sponsorship-takes-further.html

Cheers/B

Moving with the times

2009-02-02T15:01:00.006+08:00

I see that the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is now broadcasting online through http://www.the-afc.tv/

It's a really nice site created for the AFC by World Sport Group (AFC's marketing partner) and Perform, the digital sports rights gurus

Live Web(broad)casts, Clips etc of all the main tournaments in APAC - J-League, AFC Champions League, A-League, AFC Cup, AFF Suzuki Cup, AFC Challenge Cup... and at the moment the clips are free ;-)

This move marks a big shift from the AFC in moving away from analogue to digital... and it's already getting significant hits...

Blackberry ambush... actually I quite like it!!

2009-01-12T10:12:00.012+08:00

If any of you succumbed to an impulse mobile phone purchase in the New Year.... but I did. My spangly new Blackberry Bold is a great piece of kit... but this isn't a blog about mobile phones. My point is that it arrived with some really nice pre-loaded video content

i) a BMW M3 ad

ii) a Delta Goodrem music video (c/o SonyBMG), and

iii) a Warner Bros movie promo for Speedracer

...all in crystal clear sound & image quality which made me watch them all from end-to-end

IMHO, a real nice example of content seeding

In response to "Time to sweat it and give sports its due"

2008-12-11T18:01:00.006+08:00

Vincent Wee of Business Times (Singapore) wrote an interesting piece over the weekend titled "Time to sweat it and give sports its due" (Business Times Weekend, Page L16, Dec6/7)

He argues about 2 things:

i) questioning whether Singapore has a true sporting culture

ii) baiting Singapore's corporate sector to get their hands in their pockets and sponsor Singapore-based events

But what comes across underneath is basically the age-old conundrum of trying to balance commercial with athletic development, which Singapore is still adjusting to as the sports industry starts to gather momentum here

Specifically, dealing with ii) first, Vincent is a little misguided as the commercial support is there. Our database IVCast again shows that sponsorship has grown dramatically in Singapore. In sports alone, from 2006-2007 the sponsorship marketplace grew 24.5%; then from 2007-2008 a whopping 207%

He also picks on an easy target - sailing - as a victim of lack of sponsorship support despite good competitive performances (eg SEA Games). Sailing is difficult to commercialise as it's tough to get an ROI from it (tough to spectate, tough to televise etc). And niche sports struggle the world over... Singapore Sailing is no different...

And not all local platforms are struggling, and there isn't necessarily a dearth of new platforms emerging... eg Cycling just received a real shot in the arm with a reported S$1m injection from
OCBC Bank into a newly-created platform called Cycle Singapore (http://ocbc.cyclesingapore.com.sg/)

Going back to i), it's hard to decry a nation's sporting culture when the country only jump-started itself 42+ years ago with independence from the United Kingdom as a colony. And the Singapore Sports Council has only really been given the financial muscle to influence sporting development, arguably, in the last 5 years

Of course in an ideal world, no matter the context, we would all like everything all at once so as to offer as many instant opportunities as possible. But some things take time... The Kings Cup (the sailing regatta in Thailand which Vincent uses as a contrasting epitome of a succesful sailing event) took 20 years to develop...

So patience, mon ami, and a sporting culture will develop! And the corporate sector is there right behind it, right now...

Misguided good intentions (to create value for sponsors)...

2008-12-03T15:03:00.005+08:00

Source: Today Newspaper, Singapore

Rights Owner: Football Association of Singapore/S-League

What's ahead for Asian sponsorship in 2009? Accountability.

2008-11-26T13:44:00.006+08:00

In the Singapore leg of the same "Maximising Sponsorship Returns" conference I spoke at in Hong Kong, opinions again varied on the effect of the world recession on sponsorship in Asia

Adrian New, SVP Sales & Marketing for World Sport Group believed that there would be little change. Mike Jackson, MD MEC Access Asia believed that long-term contracts might straddle the next year or so and avoid any significant loss

Looking at both these points, economic indicators show that Asia is certainly less susceptible to the turmoil in US/Europe - of all the writedowns declared by financial institutions, only 5% are attributable to Asian institutions (source: The Economist I think?!). BUT the Financial Services sector is the #1 biggest sponsoring category in Asia (source: IVCast) so, Adrian, there must be a hit

I don't believe Mike's point 100% either as the majority of sponsorships in Asia - other than those investments made by mature brands with mature properties - only last 1 year. So this poses a lot of risk in 2009 and there's going to be a lot of sweaty salesmen next year as contracts come up for renewal

Personally, I believe the cream will rise. The big events will be able to take a small hit (but their events may lose a few frills eg a sexy website) but the rights holders of properties that do not demonstrate accountability or value to sponsors will lose out

Conversely, the rights holder who pays for a bit of research - e.g. media valuation, demographic sampling - will stand out in the crowd. 2009 is going to become very competitive on the rights holder side of the fence... and the edge that research brings could be the difference between a sale/renewal or bust

A Billion Dollar year

2008-11-12T10:12:00.006+08:00

According to my database which measures sponsorship activity across Asia – IVCast – we are predicting a milestone year in 2008… 1 Billion (US) Dollars of sponsorship invested in Asian platforms. Precisely, as of today, we are forecasting USD1.008b with a little under 2 months to go in 2008 to register new deals or prove/disprove renewal sponsorships… that is staggering IMHO

This would represent another bumper year of growth – approximately a 48% increase versus 2007 – which in turn follows on from 2007’s 59.5% growth over 2006 (slightly more than was reported by BHF earlier this year due to further data confirmations since), and 2006’s 6.25% growth over 2005.

And again remember, this does not include values for platforms that have an Asian origination but reach beyond Asia with a “Global” footprint… like, say, the small matter of the 2008 Beijing Olympics!! Imagine the values if the Olympic investments were included…

Well, seeing as I’m also curious to include the Olympics in IVCast’s Asian totals, I will reconfigure IVCast in early 2009 to show both totals by ‘Reach’ and totals by ‘Continent’… the latter would then allow for Asians platforms with Asian origination no matter their reach

Validation of my 2008 forecasts above will be published here first in about February 2009. Watch this space.... TTFN

--------------------------------------------------------------
About IVCast
Managed by Podium Asia, IVCast (“forecast”) was created in 2004 and is the only true sponsorship database for Asia. It tracks sponsorship activity across the region and, for context, major global activity such as the Olympics, World Cups, Formula 1 etc. It also tracks celebrity endorsement deals and broadcast deals including television/movie product placement.

Technical Notes:
IVCast performs like a stock market. New/renewed sponsorships are recorded as positive values (‘buys’) while withdrawals are recorded as negative values to reflect a sponsor taking money ‘out of the market’; a ‘sell’. Multi-year sponsorships are divided and recorded across all the years of the sponsorship term. The database defines “Asian” sponsorship deals as those that only have an Asian reach. Events such as the Beijing Olympics have a global reach and are therefore not included in Asian figures. IVCast only records the values of rights fees, not marketing or associated leverage expenditure.

Spooky... "Rugby Club World Challenge coming to Singapore"

2008-11-06T18:05:00.004+08:00

And no sooner do I suggest that the SCC Sevens could be the next rugby event in SEA, this comes along!!

http://www.marketing-interactive.com/news/9481

The next Rugby opportunity in Asia?

2008-11-05T11:34:00.006+08:00

Last weekend was the 61st instalment of the Singapore Cricket Club Rugby Sevens (http://www.sccrugbysevens.com/), and I tell you what, this has developed into a substantial sports event which for me has the potential to replace the IRB Singapore Sevens deposed in 2006.

The event was ticketed for the first time and they sold 2000 tickets, which for a 'niche' sport run by a private members Club, is good by Singapore standards. These numbers don't include SCC members and corporate hospitality guests who attended... and this doesn't include the hard-core rugby fans who flew up to the Bledisloe Cup in Hong Kong, which unfortunately clashed.

One sponsor who stood out for me was Guinness who did some fabulous activation with a recreated Irish pub behind the uprights at one end of the pitch. Great concept - it got a lot of attention, and a lot of business!

The event has a wonderful family feel, and it of course attracts a predominantly expat crowd, so for the right sponsor, it offers an attractive audience base and a good all-round 'package' at a reasonable price (I reckon sponsorship would fall somewhere in the USD15-50k price bracket). Plus for Singapore, it brings in a lot of overseas revenue (16 overseas teams flew in from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Japan etc) and exposure (it was covered on the IRB website)

So should the SCC decide to take the event to the next commercial level, I believe it has sound structural and financial foundations (it makes a profit!). All it needs to do is to rationalise the sponsor structure (they have 41 listed sponsors!!) - ie less sponsors paying more - by proving the ROI and then secure a media partner (come on ESPN Star Sports!). For me it could become SEA's equivalent of tennis' Artois Championships at Queens Club in London... a well-run, cosy tournament which could feed into a bigger IRB event...

Singapore F1 Ambush

2008-11-03T15:27:00.008+08:00

Looks like Singapore has learnt how to ambush a global event!

The first time a truly global event comes to Singapore and the brands of Singapore are in like Flint with some bandwagon jumping

Casting an eye over Singapore's media space in the lead-in to September's first ever F1 night-race, you would have seen the pages filled with any Tom, Dick & Harry Singapore brand using a chequered flag here, a stylised F1 car there, mostly with zero official association with the race (I counted 22 examples...)

There was everything from the creative (Incredible India's "Discover new formulas for racing in India"), the predictable (Tiger Beer) to the downright ugly (New Moon's congratulatory ad for Singapore)

But I must mention the official sponsors too:

Johnnie Walker launched their very sexy Digital F1 Assistant. A downloadable, mobile application with a slinky (tasteful) hostess directing you to the glitzy F1 parties, Johnnie Walker promotion nights... and it would even dial a cab for you (based on your phone's GPS position) if you'd had more than one for the road. This, for me, was the best of the bunch

Singtel did some nice digital stuff too - the Singtel Grid Girls, their Mobile Racer (racing game) - all from a slick website

BUT, for me, the activation was otherwise pretty predictable (a lot of F1 racing simulators, corporate hospitality etc)

Maybe the ambush was a perverse sign that Singapore has taken another small evolutionary step when it comes to 'sponsorship sophistication' but let's hope that the brands of Singapore - who gave it the "We congratulate Singapore blah blah" media ambush and therefore spent money away from the 2008 race - support in the true sense in 2009 by investing in the event.

Can't wait - it was an awesome event...