Why don't Asian brands sponsor sport?

In Asia, though, this relationship is underdeveloped. Aside from the big global players based out of the region, such as Sony, Samsung and LG, few brands here have been willing to commit to sports as a marketing platform.

The recent tie-up between Thailand's Singha Beer and English football team Manchester United marks a rare dalliance between an Asian brand and the global sports market. Singha is following in the footsteps of Air Asia, which was previously associated with Manchester United.

Other brands from the region have made some movement - China's Haier recently extended its high-profile partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA), while leading Chinese beer brand Tsingtao has a sponsorship agreement with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are also in the NBA.

However, such deals tend to be the exception, rather than the rule, suggesting that there is still great potential in the sports marketing sector for Asian brands. Of course, much depends on the quality of the platform. Chinese brands have become involved with the NBA due to the popularity of the sport in their country. Likewise, it is no surprise that brands from football-crazy Southeast Asia have partnered with English football teams.

Closer to home, though, the quality of sports platforms are often found lacking. The Chinese football league, for example, has been a money pit for sponsors, not helped by the rampant corruption that has plagued the league. One-off events in the region have not fared much better. The 2009 East Asia Games held in Hong Kong went virtually unnoticed by advertisers, while the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore has so far built only minimal sponsor momentum in the domestic market.

The one big exception to this trend is India, where the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament has been pounced upon by advertisers eager to be associated with one of the country's most watched television spectaculars. In the Asia-Pacific context, Australia too, is able to boast profitable sporting franchises, especially across its various football divisions.

This shows that if the event - or team - is considered influential enough, brands are happy to support them, especially if measurable returns can be demonstrated. This year's World Cup in South Africa is a good example. Four Asian brands: Sony, Hyundai, India's Mahindra Satyam and China's Yingli Solar sponsored the event. Yingli Solar, though, was the most intriguing.

Research from MEC found that Yingli Solar's association with the World Cup increased awareness of the brand in China from almost zero to 30 per cent. Interest in the brand grew to 26 per cent.

There is a caveat though. Yingli Solar's World Cup sponsorship did not come cheap. Estimated at upward of US$50 million, it's a fee other less affluent Asian brands might have trouble
meeting.

This article was originally published in the 12 August issue of Media.