Dubai: The ongoing Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in the capital has, over the years, carved a niche for itself as the season-opener for the European Tour. It has, over the past eight years, attracted the biggest names and added variety to the ‘Desert Swing’, which will move on to Qatar next week and finish with the Omega Dubai Desert Classic at the end of this month.
Having associated themselves with Abu Dhabi as sponsors for four years now, the multi-national bank — one of the biggest backers of golf and rugby worldwide — are happy with the association. They will also be sponsoring the Golf Business Forum in Abu Dhabi in April, an event which will surely underline the capital’s growing status as a business hub as well as a golfing destination.
Giles Morgan, Global Head of Sponsorship and Events of the banking major, spoke extensively with Gulf News about their policy of sports sponsorships in an e-mail interview.
GULF NEWS: How do you look back at your association with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship?
GILES MORGAN: We look back with huge satisfaction and pride at what has been achieved and with great optimism for what lies ahead. Our ambition is to open up the world of golf. That is exactly why we are involved in golf and in our fourth year of sponsoring this tournament, I believe we are fulfilling our ambition in Abu Dhabi.
In working closely with our partners, this championship has evolved into an unmissable event that appeals to absolutely everyone. The championship brings together all the ingredients required to excite and attract families, avid golfers and those completely new to the game. The result is the perfect mix of the world’s best players competing in a great tournament on a stunning course alongside a host of family-friendly activities and entertainment.
It’s a winning formula and one we continue to build upon. Last year more than 60,000 fans, young and old from across the Emirates passed through the gates proving that this championship is now not only one of the biggest on the global golf calendar but also one of the most loved family days out. We have it all, from live music, picnic areas to the incredible HSBC World of Sports.
With the recent addition of the Golf Business Forum to our sponsorship portfolio, which will be staged Abu Dhabi, from April 28-30, 2014, HSBC continues to open up the world of golf.
GN: In comparison with the razzmatazz of the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, how do you find the laidback and family feel around the UAE event?
GM: Our flagship event, WGC-HSBC Champions has earned the reputation as ‘Asia’s Major’. Year after year, we’ve attracted the world’s finest golfers to our spiritual home of Shanghai, where the bank was founded back in 1865. Last year the upgraded WGC-HSBC Champions witnessed the highest quality field of golfers ever assembled in Asia. We are very proud of all that has been achieved in China but the ambition for the two championships is the same, to host the very best golf event in the region whether it’s Asia or the Middle East.
GN: From your point of view, how does the golf and Dubai Rugby Sevens help in strengthening the brand in the region as you already have a huge presence here?
GM: HSBC uses its sports sponsorships to provide a platform to build relationships with our most important customers through spectacular brand experiences — we are an investor, stakeholder and influencer in sports which many of our customers are passionate about.
Whether it’s the golf in Abu Dhabi or rugby in Dubai we believe the UAE is the gateway to the Middle East and an important centre for international trade (to India, China and South Africa) so it mirrors the HSBC business very well and the sponsorships give us a great platform to interact with our customers in the UAE.
GN: How has the sponsorship of the World Seven Series rugby benefited you over the years?
GM: As mentioned, HSBC uses international sports to provide a platform to build relationships with our most important customers in our most important markets by creating spectacular brand experiences. Rugby, especially rugby sevens, is a sport our customers in emerging territories are passionate about. It’s a team sport which embodies many of the values we hold dear so it makes absolute sense for us to invest in rugby sevens, especially in emerging markets where there are huge opportunities for growth.
As a global banking and financial services organisation, we pride ourselves on opening up a world of opportunities for people and our investment in the HSBC Sevens World Series has done this all over the world, from New Zealand to North America, to Russia, South Africa, the UK and the UAE and from grassroots to elite. It is a perfect fit for HSBC as it takes place in countries and cities in which we do a lot of business such as Hong Kong, Dubai and London.
The fact that during last year’s HSBC Sevens World Series, over half a million fans attended the tournaments, 2,300 customers were entertained in HSBC Hospitality, 9,000 customers engaged with exclusive HSBC fan areas and 6,000 kids got involved in HSBC’s grassroots activity around the grounds describes the type of benefits we’ve had.
GN: With sevens rugby now becoming an Olympic sport from Rio 2016 and golf returning, do you have special plans to leverage on your association with the sports?
GM: Our plans are already underway and have been for several years. It is no coincidence that we are involved in these two sports that will return to the biggest stage in Rio 2016.
In golf specifically our desire to develop talent saw HSBC’s pioneering spirit come to the fore once again in the most recent addition to our golf portfolio, the Brasil Classic presented by HSBC. As the sporting world prepares for golf to re-join the Olympics in Rio 2016, our brand-new event on the Web.com Tour was the first time it had been to Brazil and represented a major breakthrough for both the tour and HSBC.
With rugby, our continued support at a grassroots level around the world shows our commitment to helping the growth and development of the sport ahead of Rio 2016. In the UAE alone last year, over 31,000 children and adults have been involved in HSBC youth rugby festivals and community programmes as we help take the game to new areas.
GN: A number of multi-national banks have now associated themselves with English Premiership or other European clubs, but HSBC has stuck with the two niche sports: golf and rugby. Do you have any such plans?
GM: HSBC has a number of major flagship events around the world. In golf these include title sponsorship of this tournament in Abu Dhabi, WGC-HSBC Champions in China and HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore, plus we are a patron of the oldest golf tournament in the world, The Open Championship.
In rugby, we are the sponsors of the British and Irish Lions plus the HSBC Sevens World Series with its major showpiece events in Dubai and Hong Kong. We are also a major sponsor of the Wimbledon championships.
For HSBC, sponsorship is a business asset and must be treated as such so we focus on quality over quantity. And fewer sponsorships ensures focus and deep engagement allowing us to deliver effective sponsorships that really make a difference for our business.
Our sponsorships are a metaphor for our business, which is why most of our activity is rooted in the future of the sports we’re involved in and since rugby sevens is a newly designated Olympic sport for 2016 and golf makes a return to the Games, both have ever brighter futures and are developing huge emerging markets.
