Axiata takes naming rights for regional badminton tournament

The new championship, called The Axiata Cup, is jointly organised by Axiata, the Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC) and Total Sports Asia (TSA). It will feature eight teams from six countries, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

The event will be held over a four-week period, starting on 23 March in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. It is the world’s highest-valued team badminton event, with US$1 million in prize money available.

Jamaludin Ibrahim, president and group chief executive officer of Axiata Group, noted that the investment was made as badminton has huge appeal among its customers across the region. He hopes the title sponsorship of such a major event will help grow the brand.

Andy Chong, senior vice president of marketing and strategic initiatives at Axiata, said the telco has been searching for the right opportunity to get into sport. He noted that badminton is a traditional sport with firm roots in the Southeast Asia region, akin to the image of Axiata being a regional brand.

“Axiata is the main sponsor for the championship. Celcom and XL are fully involved in leveraging the sponsorship to drive customer engagement in their respective markets amongst its consumers. Moreover, the championship is a regional one that complements the Group’s footprint where Axiata is a recognised brand,” he told Campaign.

Marcus Luer, group chief executive officer of TSA, said working with cutting edge technologies such as virtual advertising  allows brands to interact in a more meaningful way with the sport.

“Bringing the feeling of EPL-like digital boards to the sport of badminton will create an atmosphere of ‘bigness’ to the game. It‘s time that badminton upped its game and shows the world that there is more value in the sport than is currently being realised.”