SPIAs underway with business conference

Joy Chakravarty 14:43 02/10/2015
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  • It is the first Asia SPIA event.

    A conference on ‘The Business of Sport – South East Asian Sports Industry in the Fast Lane’ set the tone for the inaugural Asia Sports Industry Awards, held in Manila on Friday.

    Industry leaders and experts from the region spoke on various issues affecting the growth of sports in South East Asia, and suggested unique and novels ways of engaging with the public and delivering value to sponsors.

    Following the opening address by Eric Gottschalk, CEO MMC Sportz and the welcome speech by Ricardo Garcia, Chairman of Philippines Sports Commission (PSC), an open and honest assessment of the sporting scene in the country was provided by Jolly R Gomez, the Commissioner of PSC.

    Gomez spoke of the immense value of sports in bettering society and added nothing exemplified its powers better than the fact that there is zero crime on the Philippines’ streets during national hero Manny Pacquiao fights.

    And yet, the government spending on sports was a mere $4 million per annum, compared to $595 million by Thailand and $410 million by Singapore. Gomez quoted an Australian study, which found the cost of producing one Olympic gold medal in athletics during the 2012 Games was a staggering $15.5 million for the government.

    While hoping for an increased spend by the government, especially now that Philippines will be hosting the 2019 SEA Games, Gomez said it was time for the private sector to step up.

    “We are the second fastest growing economy in the world (a growth rate of 6.3 per cent is next only to China at 7.8 per cent), but only five per cent of the top-1000 companies in the country sponsor sport. This has to change,” said Gomez.

    Each speaker agreed that, while disappointed with the numbers, they were bullish at the possibilities such an untapped market presented.

    Ben Flint, CEO Asia Sponsorship News, gave a snapshot of the sponsorship industry in Asia, with special emphasis on the region. His company estimated the total sports sponsorship spend in Asia was close to $5 billion and growing at a steady rate in the region of six to eight per cent, while the traditional ways of promoting a brand (advertising in newspapers and magazines) were in a decline.

    He also warned that sport faces threat from non-sport sponsorship, which is fast catching up. In 2011, the ratio was 78:22 in favour of sport sponsorship, but last year, it was reduced to 53:47.

    Don Anderson, Regional MD of We Are Social discussed various case studies of how companies have adopted social media to reach directly to their clients at a cost-effective basis. He gave the example of GoPro cameras that rely on a clever use of social media.

    Edwin Gastanes of the Philippines Football Federation then informed the delegates of the work that has gone towards the formation of a new football league in the country, which becomes operational from 2017.

    In the afternoon session, Chris Robb, CEO of Spectrum Worldwide, put forward his case for why governments and brands should adopt mass participation sports, while Gary Cohen, Director of Technology at RSportz, explained how everyone involved with sport – starting from Federations and sponsors – can benefit if they allow participants to put their own stats, reports and pictures online.

    Jaturon Zane Himathongkom, Director Corporate Strategy of Singha Corporation, told attendees how his company has managed to build a worldwide brand thanks to their active association with sport. Apart from being sponsors of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, Singha are the biggest supporters of golf, swimming and tennis in Thailand.

    The conference came to a close with a panel discussion on the state of sports economy in the SEA region. Among those who gave their views were Malcolm Thorpe, VP Sports Dvelopment and Events, Lagardere Sports; Maja Grimnitz, Sr Director Commercial Development, One Championship, Gus Henderson, VP Sales, IMG; Salauddin Sinnakandu, Sr Director Marketing and Sponsorship Sales, MediaPro Asia; and Didier Brun, Publisher and Deputy CEO, Sport360.

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