Dentsu and Sportswork engaged to aid SEA Games sponsorship drive

The Dentsu Sports Asia division of Japan-based advertising and public relations firm Dentsu, and sports advisory company Sportswork Group, have signed on as the sponsorship agencies for the 2017 edition of multi-sport event the Southeast Asian Games, which will be staged in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sportswork will serve as the Games’ overall project manager and will work alongside DSA to broker sponsorship agreements for the event. As part of the two parties’ strategic partnership, DSA will manage the rights for Japanese, international and local companies, with Sportswork focusing on companies linked to the Malaysian government.

Nicky Lim, chief executive of Dentsu Aegis Network Malaysia, said, according to the Marketing Interactive website: “This is indeed a timely and exciting appointment for DSA as sports fever catches on with many world-class sporting events in the pipeline, including the SEA Games which serves as a fantastic marketing and branding platform for companies that wish to engage consumers through sports.”

The news comes following yesterday’s (Thursday’s) announcement of Malaysian telecommunications company Telekom Malaysia as the first partner of the Games, which will take place from August 19-31 next year.

TM will serve as a top-tier platinum partner, with the deal also incorporating the 2017 ASEAN Para Games, which Malaysia plans on staging simultaneously alongside the SEA Games.

The 2017 SEA Games will be the 29th edition of the event since its inception. Malaysia came fourth in the medal table at the last Games, which were staged in Singapore in 2015.