The International Beverage Trading Company, which dominates the spirits
market in Myanmar, has inked a deal with English Premier League club
Chelsea FC for its flagship brand, Grand Royal Whisky, to become the
club’s official whisky.
The tie-up, brokered by Sports Revolution, is important not only for the
brands involved but also because it marks the first such advertising
partnership between a Myanmar-based company and a prominent Western
brand following the country's liberalisation reforms.
The deal will allow the homegrown libation to co-brand its own
merchandise with the football club's logo. IBTC already claims to have
80 per cent of the market in the whisky segment.
“Grand Royal Whisky is a long-standing supporter of local football, and
is now able to exploit the popularity of the English Premier League in
Asia and increase its own exposure directly to these local markets,”
said Stephen Marsh, managing director, Sports Revolution Asia.
Several other Southeast Asian brands have been showing strong interest
in the English Premier League recently, as more and more Asians acquire a
taste for the sport. Myanmar is no exception. Last month, Jamaican
telecommunications company Digicel, which is expanding operations in
Myanmar, signed an MOU with the Myanmar Football Federation (MFF) for
sports development in the country.
Sports Revolution said the IBTC deal supports Chelsea’s strategy of
raising its profile within Myanmar and Asia as a whole. Chelsea is set
to visit Myanmar during its 2013 pre-season tour.
In an interview with Campaign Asia-Pacific for an earlier story, Sports
Revolution’s head of strategy, Kenny Ager, said the EPL’s interest in
Southeast Asia has been fuelled by a combination of increased TV spends
for the region and increased audience numbers in Asia.
Where an estimated Global TV audience of 650 million watched the finals
last season, Asians accounted for nearly 40 per cent of the
international audience. According to the Barclays Premier League Global
Fan Survey, Asia’s fan stands at 864 million, versus 31 million in the
UK.
Since the economy opened up, diplomats in Myanmar have been urging
multinational companies to invest in the country. WPP’s Oglivy moved
into the region, acquiring a stake in Yangon-based agency Today
Advertising. Last month, Coca-Cola made its first delivery in the market
after 60 years.
However, challenges remain in the market, according to a recent mid-year
report from market research company Euromonitor. The country is one of
the Southeast Asia’s most impoverished with income levels in the region
well below those of neighbouring countries like Cambodia, Laos and
Bangladesh.
“A more aggressive programme of privatisation is needed to foster
private sector-led growth,” the report said, attributing it to
distortions in the economy and corruption. “Higher standards of
Governance and transparency are required if the business climate is to
improve."
Source: Campaign Asia-Pacific
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