Teeing off to Asia

Over the past year, Asia has become the world's fastest upcoming destination for golf, all a result of millions of potential addicts, massive prize monies and lucrative advertising and branding exercises, says V Krishnaswamy

Much has convinced golf-watchers across the world that over the past year Asia has slowly but steadily become a very important area for international golf. Sure, the US and the European Tours continue to hold sway when it comes to 'big' money, but the fact is that Asia, with its millions of potential golf addicts, and the tremendous growth shown by China and India, has become a focus for world golf, like much else in the global economy.

It is not just that players are getting more interested in Asia, but also that sponsors are finding the region highly attractive. Companies are no longer just taking on events, but are forging partnerships with others who have similar strategies in order to strengthen the brand of the event they support. This has led to better branding, to quality fields and courses, all of which will ensure further visibility and coverage.

Different companies have adopted different strategies. Some sponsors like the UBS, the banking giant, have built strategies around taking on properties such as the naming rights of the Asian Tour's Order of Merit, which is in focus each week after every tournament. The ranking system is based on the money won by players on the Asian Tour. Volvo has been taking properties like season-ending events in Europe and Asia, the Volvo Masters of Europe and Volvo Masters of Asia, besides other events.

Then, there are organisations like the Sentosa Leisure Group that is promoting the Singapore Open. The aggressive promotion campaign to make Sentosa Island a premier tourist destination is being done by attracting global attention through mega-events. The increase in prize money of the Singapore Open from $2 million to $3 million was to ensure greater focus.

"This year's Singapore Open will enjoy a whole new level of prestige and global attention. Held alongside Asia's 'Davos', the Forbes Global CEO Conference on September 4-5, the combination of business and golf is set to command global attention," says Graham Bell, board member of the Sentosa Leisure Group and chairperson of the Singapore Open.

The idea is to catch the attention of the world's top business leaders. "With over 350 of the world's top leaders coming to our shores, we're raising the bar for the Singapore Open," says Bell. He did that by cajoling some Singapore-based companies into joining hands. In addition to Sentosa, he roped in Shangri-la, Singapore Airlines, the Singapore Tourism Board, the Singapore Economic Development Board, the Singapore Sports Council and Singapore Pools. They also found willing partners in Mercedes-Benz, Tiger Beer and, of course, Forbes.

Volvo's Mel Pyatt, CEO of Volvo Management, attributes the series of successful sponsorships to the group's core spirit, credited to "persistence, honesty and communications". He adds, "We choose certain sports on the basis of smart and full consideration, and we are honest about all our partners, players, audience and organisers. With less than three years to go until the Beijing Olympics, the sports-sponsoring enthusiasm from domestic companies (within China) has been growing. But no distinguished brand has yet to emerge as most of them opt for a single event, or just part of the season."

An interesting strategy employed by Volvo is to cooperate with another sponsor rather than work exclusively. Volvo invited MasterCard to the sponsorship team. The move, says Pyatt, received a better-than-expected result. UBS is a brand that wants to be known across Asia. So, it chose another route. Since the Asian Tour travels through a whole range of countries from Qatar to Myanmar, to Malaysia, India, Thailand, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brunei, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, to as far as Australia, UBS decided to go in for the Order of Merit, which is omnipresent wherever the Tour travels.

Says Rory Tapner, chairperson, UBS, Asia Pacific, "Golf offers an excellent opportunity to build our business and brand awareness across the Asia Pacific. Our growing golf sponsorship portfolio allows us to leverage fully on that opportunity, and we are keen to develop our support even further in 2006 through the sponsorship of the UBS Order of Merit." UBS already has partnerships at the Players Championship and the Bay Hill Invitational on the US PGA Tour and the women's Evian Masters. Now, Asia's time has come.

Louis Martin, chief executive of the Asian Tour, can't but help rub his hands as he gushes, "Over the past few years, the Asian Tour has made a giant leap in many areas of our development across the region. It is a tremendous boost that a premium global brand such as UBS, an organisation that has already made a significant impact on our players with its sponsorship of the Hong Kong Open, has recognised our growth and has committed to the UBS Order of Merit."

India, which went through a crisis of sorts when its flagship, the Indian Open, was postponed due to lack of sponsorship, followed by the shelving of the Hero Honda Masters because of the sponsors' preoccupation with cricket, has seen a revival now. The Indian Open has been taken over by Hero Honda for three years, and Amby Valley has committed to an Asian Tour event, the Amby Valley Masters. India has already hosted Vijay Singh, the Fijian of Indian origin, in a Skins event in the past. In times to come, there is bound to be a surge in the sponsorships of bigger events on the Asian Tour, which will lead to a major spurt in the growth of golf in India.