The business of the 28th SEA Games

SINGAPORE — Investor Richard Seow made a strong case that with a combined population of 600 million and a gross domestic product of US$2 trillion (S$2.5 trillion), South-east Asia is the ninth-largest economy in the world.

But the setting yesterday was neither a business forum nor was Seow addressing a roomful of international investors.

Instead, it was a press briefing for the 28th SEA Games, which the Republic will host in 2015, and the Chairman of the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) was appraising the event’s merits as an effective marketing tool.

Speaking in his capacity of Chairman of Games’ Sponsorship and Marketing Advisory Sub-Committee, Seow added the bi-annual event is an opportunity for local businesses to reach a wider audience and expand in the region.

His committee of nine consists of high-powered corporate heads, such as Deloitte Singapore Chairman Chaly Mah and DBS Chief Executive Piyush Gupta.

But Seow is excited that Chan Chong Beng, President of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), is also on board.

The SEA Games reach a lot of eyeballs with spending power in a region that give exposure to companies selling products from “shampoos to airline tickets”, said the SSC head.

“The opportunity here, clearly, … is that we have a platform to get our SMEs to go out into the region,” said Seow. “If we can get Old Chang Kee and Mr Bean to go out and start franchising in the region, the SEA Games provide really interesting opportunities.”

The 2015 edition will also give sponsors added punch as it coincides with the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s independence and will be staged at the new Sports Hub.

The last time Singapore hosted the regional multi-sports event was in 1993, and in between the Internet, with its vast potential to reach audiences, emerged.

Sports sponsorship, too, is no longer donations companies give away as part of their corporate social responsibility in return for advertising boards at competition venues.

Sponsorship investments now, he noted, come directly from advertising and marketing budgets, and companies expect returns.

With a target of pulling in S$50 million, Seow’s team is ready to roll out sophisticated packages, from S$50,000 to tens of millions of dollars that deliver services like activation to give companies value for money. Aside from mainstream media, digital platforms and new technologies will also be used to help sponsors connect with markets in the region.

SSC Chief Executive Lim Teck Yin said these will be introduced by the end of the year to give sponsors a longer lead time to interact with consumers as most people today consume sports through digital platforms.

Said Lim: “The space and time we have available to make use of these platforms to reach out to consumer base is one critical channel by which companies will be able to make use of. And we are willing to work very hard using the platform of Vision 2030 to work with companies because they are very much a part of this narrative to activate their brands not only for their own staff but with consumers.”

The 2015 SEA Games are the first major event the SSC is engaging businesses on a wider scale to use sports as a marketing tool, and the aim is to turn them into consistent backers of sports.

Seow said the business of sport is massive in the West, but is now taking off in Asia.

“When we look at champions and heroes, largely they have all been imported,” he said.

“We now see a growing desire to have home-grown Asian and local champions and I think the 2015 Games are going to be a sea change that we are actually going to see people interested in their stories because of new media.”

Edited at Oct 7, 8.45am, to correct the name of Deloitte Singapore Chairman Chaly Mah.