Piti says Singha's new deal with Blues a step forward
Singha Corporation, the manufacturer of Singha Beer, has renewed its sponsorship deal with Chelsea Football Club for another three years.
Piti Bhirombhakdi, regional marketing director of Boon Rawd Brewery, said the Bt400 million deal was another step forward for the “fantastic” relationship between Singha and Chelsea as the new contract will include Singha’s logo adorning the backdrop of media interviews at Chelsea.
Normally, Chelsea does not grant that benefit to general sponsors. Only partners, who have a close relationship with the club, will get that advantage, Piti said.
“After we became Chelsea’s global partner two years ago, we discussed our cooperation and made certain adjustments. If you talk about success, it is not directly involved with Singha’s sales volume but it is about the potential of a Thai brand taking a giant leap forward on the global stage. And they gave us good cooperation in brand exposure,” Piti said.
Piti said renewing the contract means that Singha saw growth in Chelsea’s fan base. The number of fans worldwide is now up to one million. Singha and Chelsea have also joined hands to build fan bases both in Thailand and England, Piti said.
In the contract extension ceremony, which was held at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, four Spanish Chelsea players led by striker Fernando Torres, Juan Mata, Cesar Azpilicueta and Oriol Romeu also joined the ceremony with Ron Gourlay, CEO, Chelsea Football Club, the guest of honour. Around 30 Thai media were invited for the ceremony.
In 2010, the Thai beverage-maker signed a four-year sponsorship deal with the Champions League champions Chelsea and a three-year contract with Manchester United. Singha is expecting to renew its sponsorship deal with Manchester United next year.
Meanwhile, Singha is going to celebrate its 80th anniversary next year and the company, which is a global partner of both clubs, plans to make the “dream” match between Chelsea and Manchester United possible in Thailand.
“We will try to do our best although we cannot commit that the ‘dream’ match would really happen. As part of the celebrations, I think we would see some good thing happen in Thailand – the thing which will give memorable experience to the whole world,” Piti said.
Marketing director Chatchai Wiratyosin said the possibility of the two clubs playing in Thailand is now 90 per cent. There are two options – the two clubs play against each other in one match or the two clubs play with two other Thai teams in two matches in two days, he said.
“As of now we are on the process of discussing the details of marketing and sponsorship plans. We may finalise by this month,” he said.
All things settled, the match will be held in July or August next year to mark the 80th anniversary of Boon Rawd, he said. The budget for the project would be around Bt370 million.
