* November 2, 2010, 6:40 PM HKT
Sponsorship Dollars Draw Golf to Asia
Americans Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood of Britain, and Martin Kaymer of Germany, perform the Chinese martial art of tai chi together with a tai-chi master on a stage in Shanghai, China, Tuesday. The players are in town for the HSBC Champions tournament.
Tiger Woods of the USA (L) and Lee Westwood of England (R) receive a tai chi lesson with swords during a press event ahead of the 2010 WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China.
By Duncan Mavin and Jason Chow
The chatter ahead of the HSBC Champions golf tournament, which tees off in Shanghai Thursday, is whether Lee Westwood, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson or Martin Kaymer will emerge as the world’s No.1 ranked golfer.
One thing is certain — the winner’s share of $7 million in total prize money at the Shanghai tournament is just a splash in a growing pool of corporate sponsorship money in Asia.
According to a report from accountants KPMG, Asian golf tournaments awarded approximately $69 million in 2009–20% of golf’s total global prize pool of $343 million and more than the $56 million in total spoils at European golf events.
“The distribution of prize money provides a clear indication of sponsor’s appetitie to promote themselves in different geographies,” said the KPMG report.
In fact, sports, arts and other events in Asia are benefiting as companies spend more of their sponsorship dollars in the region. This year, corporate sponsorship in Asia is forecast to total $2.5 billion, an increase of 67% from last year, according to Ben Flint, Asia-Pacific chief for Fuse, a sports-and-entertainment marketing agency that is a division of the advertising company Omnicom Group.
Total corporate-sponsorship spending in Asia in 2010 is likely to be close to the record $2.8 billion in 2008, when it was boosted by the Beijing Olympics, Mr. Flint said. “We’re definitely getting back up to Olympic levels.”
His numbers show that 65% of this year’s spending in Asia will be dedicated to sports sponsorships; the rest will be divided among categories that include arts, culture and community events.
HSBC would not confirm how much it paid to sponsor the Shanghai golf tournament, though title sponsors typically cover the prize money. The bank said its sponsorship of the Chinese event ties in with its focus on growing in Asia.
“We’re sponsoring where the bank is targeting itself,” said Giles Morgan, group head of sponsorship at HSBC. “It’s important our geographical focus is communicated.”
Other banks have also put money into sponsoring events in Asia, where the economy has generally stood up better through the economic downturn than in Europe or the U.S. For instance, last November, Deutsche Bank announced plans to sponsor the Hong Kong art fair, ArtHK, for five years. Standard Chartered announced last autumn that it would begin a four-year $128 million tie-up with English Premier League football team Liverpool—a move aimed at targeting the sport’s fans in Asia.
“Yes, it is an English team but only a handful of clubs…are big brands in Asia,” said Susan Ho, global head of brand and sponsorships for Standard Chartered. “In Asia alone, we count that there are 130 million Liverpool fans.”
Event planners said the rise in sponsorship spending won’t be felt in force until 2011. Michael Chiary, general manager of MCI Hong Kong, a global events-management company, said he expects his business to pick up next year given that big corporate events typically take six to nine months to plan.
Mr. Chiary predicts that Hong Kong’s largest sporting event—the annual Rugby Sevens tournament—is going to be a decadent affair next year after a relatively subdued 2009 and 2010.
“We expect a big surge in demand by the financial sector, not only for private booths, but also for doing a ‘bash’ for the suites,” he said. “We are definitely seeing stronger demand for events, but we won’t see it until next year.”
HSBC says it is targeting golf and rugby, which appeal to affluent sports fans.
“If we were going for huge ubiquity, we’d do Formula 1 racing or soccer,” said Mr. Morgan. The bank previously sponsored the Jaguar F1 team.
Reply With Quote