Region's Elite Brands Win Sponsorship Awards
08/12/2010
The Arabian Sponsorship Award winners 2010 were announced today at the 2nd Arabian Sponsorship Forum at The Yas Hotel, Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi, December
8th 2010: The Arabian Sponsorship Award winners 2010 were announced today at
the 2nd Arabian Sponsorship Forum at The Yas Hotel, Abu Dhabi.
Winners included
some of the region’s leading brands including ADCB, Etisalat, Etihad Airways
and LG Electronics.
The Awards are
designed to recognize exceptional sponsorship activations which have taken
place throughout the Arabian Gulf during the past 18 months. Entries were
received from sponsors, rights holders and agencies from across the Gulf
region.
The Arabian
Sponsorship Awards 2010 winners include:
Business
to Community
ADCB Emirates Woman
of the Year Awards
Business
to Consumer
Etisalat
International Telecoms Partner of FC Barcelona
Under
$250,000 USD
LG Electronics
Greenomics
Business
to Business
Etisalat Telecoms
Partner Abu Dhabi Golf Championship 2010
International
Etihad Airways
Manchester City Football Club
In addition two
honorary awards were also presented; ‘The Lifetime Services to the Arabian
Sponsorship Industry Awards 2010’ was presented to HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al
Maktoum and the Emirates Group. HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani won the
prestigious award for ‘Sponsorship Personality of 2010’ as Chairman of Qatar’s
winning the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Chairman of the
Awards Judging Panel and SportBusiness Editorial Director, Kevin Roberts,
commented:
“The Arabian
Sponsorship Awards 2010 saw a number of high calibre entries from a range of
industries across the region. The Judging Panel was extremely impressed with
the standard of entries received and had a difficult task selecting the
winners.”
“The Arabian
Sponsorship Forum is an important initiative for the region, and today’s Awards
help acknowledge and celebrate those companies who effectively use sponsorship
as part of their marketing strategy.”
“It has been an
honour to lead the judging panel for this year’s Awards and my congratulations
go out to each of today’s winners.”
All entries were
judged by a panel of leading marketing and business professors from the Higher
College of Technology, American University Sharjah, UAE University, Abu Dhabi
University and the Canadian University Dubai. The second round of judging
involved independent, international sports and entertainment sponsorship
experts, chaired by Kevin Roberts, Editorial Director of SportBusiness.
The Arabian
Sponsorship Forum has committed to helping future business and marketing
undergraduates in the UAE and across the region understand the role and
benefits of sponsorship as an industry. All the entries to the Awards are now
available to university professors to use as case studies.
In collaboration
with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and their Sports Care Program, the
‘Arabian Sponsorship Forum’ was organized by Professional Sports Group.
Photo Caption from
left to right: , Hamad Malik, Chief Marketing Officer, LG Electronics (Middle
East & Africa Regional Company); Nick Cottage, Head of Sponsorship, Etihad
Airways; Fiona Walker, Senior Marketing Manager, Consumer Banking Group, Abu Dhabi
Commercial Bank (ADCB); Khaled Matar, Senior Manager / Public Relations,
Etisalat; and Boutros Boutros, Divisional Senior Vice President, Corporate
Communications, Emirates Airlines.
AWARDS
DETAIL:
Business to Business Category presented by IFM Sports
Marketing Surveys
Winner:
Etisalat Telecoms Partner Abu Dhabi Golf Championship 2010
The 2010 Abu Dhabi
Golf Championship was held on 21st - 24th January at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club’s
National Course and was the fifth running of this event. Etisalat has supported
the event for the past four years.
Etisalat considers
the event as both a business to consumer and a business to business platform.
The group is one of three platinum partners, but of more importance is
Etisalat’s status as Official Telecommunications partner.
Etisalat provided a
diversified series of products and services to the Championship which cater for
all its communications needs. This includes the media centre which is
individually supported by Etisalat. In addition, Etisalat entertain key
clients and customers throughout the four days, viewing the sponsorship as a
means to reward staff through hospitality and via the sponsors day golf event.
Business to Community Category presented by The
National
Winner:
ADCB Emirates Woman of the Year Awards
The Emirates Woman
of the Year Awards recognizes the achievements of UAE based women in business,
culture, philanthropy and visionary fields. ADCB is the title sponsor of
the Awards. In addition to the title sponsorship, ADCB developed a dedicated
Award entitled the ADCB Ambition Award. The sponsorship of the Awards is
completely in line with ADCB’s mantra of ‘Long Live Ambition’.
Business to Consumer Category presented by Sir
Matthew Pinsent
Winner:
Etisalat International Telecoms Partner of FC Barcelona
The four year
Etislat FC Barcelona partnership was formed to enhance the brand awareness of
Etisalat and support the group’s ambition of becoming one of the most
recognizable global telecom brands and help grow their consumer base. One
of the key objectives was to connect with youth and establish brand loyalty at
a young age; and provide them with fun and educational FC Barcelona
activities. Etisalat has positioned itself as one of the leading MENA
telecom football sponsors via FC Barcelona’s positive values and has gained
competitive advantage in football passionate markets.
Activation under $250K presented by Sports Care
Program
Winner:
LG Electronics Greenomics
LG’s quest is to
raise awareness and find solutions for issues that businesses face whilst
developing more sustainable practices. By partnering with the UAE
Minister of Environment and Water, Greenomics 2010 tackled “Clean
Production”. The major thrust of the campaign is the Greenomics
conference that took place in November 2010 - LG were the event’s main
sponsor. The conference is held in partnership with the Ministry of
Environment and Water, and United Nations.
International Sponsorship Award presented by
SportsBusiness
Winner:
Etihad Airways Manchester City Football Club
In 2008 Etihad
sought a sponsorship that would deliver global brand awareness. An English
Premier League shirt sponsorship was identified as the solution, and the
purchase by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nayhan of Manchester City FC provided
the ideal opportunity for the airline to launch a UK and global business
strategy. Etihad’s goal was to expand its consumer market in the UK and
UAE via the sponsorship. Since 2009, the Manchester/Abu Dhabi route has
grown considerably, so much so that Etihad has expanded the route to provide an
additional 700 seats per week and has launched a new lounge at Manchester
Airport this week. With a committed activation strategy in both the UK and UAE,
the Manchester City FC partnership is core to Etihad’s global marketing
strategy.
Sponsorship Personality 2010 presented by Danny
Jordaan, CEO of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa
Winner:
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad AlThani
HH Sheikh Mohammed
bin Hamad Al Thani is a former captain of the Qatar equestrian team and
Chairman of Qatar’s winning bid to stage the 2022 FIFA World
Cup. His Highness is responsible for bringing the world’s most important
sporting event to the Middle East.
The Lifetime Services to the Arabian Sponsorship
Industry Awards 2010, presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council
Winner:
HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum and the Emirates Group
HH Sheikh Ahmed bin
Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Emirates, sees sponsorship as vital in the
airline’s marketing strategy. “We believe sponsorships are one of the best ways
to connect with our passengers. They allow us to share and support their
interests and to build a closer relationship with them,” he said. Current
Emirates sponsorships in the region include: Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby
Sevens, Dubai International Racing Carnival, Dubai Tennis Championships, Dubai
International Film Festival and Official FIFA World Cup Partner.