HK Sevens sponsors adopt low-key approach

With banks spending cautiously, UBS has reduced activation spend by 25 per cent around the Sevens, taking “a less ostentatious approach and concentrating on the community side,” according to Sean Moore, media consultant for the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union.

However, he insisted sponsorship for the event remained strong. “Our two main sponsors, Cathay Pacific and Credit Suisse, are signed up until 2011. However, the event may be less ostentatious this year with fewer freebies and hospitality scaled back.”
Guinness, which last year ran a mobile application in support of the event, is rerunning last year’s work through Ogilvy & Mather.

Cathay Pacific is running a video competition around the Sevens, handled by McCann Worldgroup. It is asking rugby fans to make and submit a video on how they get ready for the tournament. 

The top three videos will be shown on the big screen at the event, with spectators judging the winner via the loudest cheers. The winner will receive free tickets and airfare to the Sevens in 2010. 

“We didn’t encounter any dramatic changes in budget this year,” said Thierry Halbroth, senior creative director at McCann Worldgroup. “They’re using money where it’s most relevant but not limiting exposure.”