Sports brands should look to Asia
03/08/2009
With purse strings tight in many established markets, companies making and selling sports clothing should pay more attention to developing markets in Asia, a Singapore-based sports marketing expert has said.
Speaking to the BBC, Adrian New of Sin World Sports Group, said recently that the main advantages on offer to brands in Asian markets such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Korea are that the consumer markets there are very large, millions of consumers are fanatical about sport and marketing opportunities there are far less expensive than in the US or Europe.
“There is a large potential in Asia,” he said. “The audience is massive.”
He added that the response received recently in the region by basketball star Kobe Bryant proved the point. The LA Lakers player travelled to the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Taiwan. almost immediately after the 2009 NBA finals, in which he was voted the most valuable player, to promote a new sports shoe released by Nike specifically for the Asian market.
“I love Asia,” he said. “I am welcomed with open arms. They treat me like family. It’s a joy for me to do this.”
Adrian New said he thought golf was “underexploited” in these markets and that he expected more golf brands to pay attention to Asia’s potential
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