YONEX Thomas & Uber Cup Japan 2006: IBF and Total Sports Asia Engage Mobile 365 To Deliver SMS Contest

Malaysia (PRWEB) April 30, 2006

Mobile 365, the global leader in mobile messaging and data services has been engaged by the International Badminton Federation (IBF) and sports marketing company, Total Sports Asia to deliver an SMS Contest for the YONEX Thomas & Uber Cup Japan 2006, held in Tokyo and Sendai City from 28 April to 7 May 2006.

Under the agreement, Mobile 365 will provide the mobile platform for the delivery of the SMS Contest, running from 28 April through to 19 May, 2006. All badminton fans who are also mobile subscribers residing in Malaysia – regardless of their mobile operator – can participate in the month-long contest by sending “TUC” to the shortcode “33488”. Each entry requires participants to answer two questions related to badminton in general and concoct a slogan, all via SMS. Each SMS is priced at RM0.50; and participants will be charged a total of RM2.00 per entry.

“The use of the mobile medium enables IBF to ‘kill many birds with one stone’. As a 24/7, always on technology, the SMS Contest provides an innovative and excellent approach in promoting the games, fuelling the awareness for the Federation, as well as reaching and rewarding ardent fans across boundaries,” said Datuk Punch Gunalan, Deputy President, IBF.

The Thomas & Uber Cups form the pinnacle of international badminton championships by national teams, which are held every other year in a different city. Sanctioned by the IBF, the Thomas & Uber Cups are the world’s leading international badminton competitions, similar to tennis’ Davis Cup. In October of 2005, IBF and Total Sports Asia (TSA) signed a multi-year exclusive representation agreement for all media rights in Asia-Pacific and Middle East. TSA will play an active role in the re-positioning and re-branding the IBF brand worldwide in all major IBF events starting from 2006, including the annual World Championship and the prestigious Thomas & Uber Cup and Sudirman Cup.

“As the frontrunner and market leader in sports marketing, Total Sports Asia has been offering premium mobile content from 2G to 3G within Asia as we recognize the market potential in embracing the 3rd screen – the mobile phone – as the latest format to provide entertainment for the masses,” said Marcus Luer, Group CEO, Total Sports Asia. “We were looking for a partner who could provide us with SMS interconnection to our audience using a consortium of local mobile networks, and who had the ability to expand that platform for an international audience in the future. Mobile 365 fits our needs to the core.”

“We are excited to be supporting the YONEX Thomas & Uber Cup Japan 2006,” said Matthew Talbot, Managing Director, Asia, Mobile 365. “With an unrivalled reach to more than 500 operators worldwide, over 120 premium SMS agreements globally, and being operator- and network – agnostic, Mobile 365 provides both IBF and TSA with a single point of access to its viewers across Malaysia. For IBF, this presents an excellent branding opportunity with local reach via the mobile phone, which has evolved to become an intimate part of people’s lives.”

Notes to Editors:

Winners of the SMS Contest can stand to win:

    Grand Prize

1 Team Malaysia signed national jersey for the Thomas & Uber Cup (signed by all 10 squad members with authenticity)

    Special Prizes

10 exclusive YONEX Thomas & Uber Cup T-Shirts (sold exclusively during the tournament in Japan)

    Consolation Prizes

10 exclusive YONEX Thomas & Uber Cup mini-bag (sold exclusively during the tournament in Japan)

About the IBF

The International Badminton Federation is the sole governing body of the game of badminton throughout the world. Membership of the IBF is made up of 156 member associations who convene at an AGM to elect the council for a four-year term. This council consists of 25 representatives headed by the council president of the IBF.

The primary role of the IBF is to uphold the principles on which the federation is founded. While being committed to developing each member nation’s involvement in the sport of badminton, the role of the IBF also includes taking measures to advance the interests of badminton from an international point of view.

About Total Sports Asia

Total Sports Asia is Asia’s leading fully integrated Sports Marketing company in Asia with offices in Kuala Lumpur (Head Office), Mumbai, Bangkok, Shanghai and Tokyo. Its innovative and unique approach in providing integrated sports marketing solutions offering services in TV Rights Sales & Marketing, Sponsorship, New Media, Licensing, Event Management and Mobile Content has been the key to its growing success.

About Mobile 365

Delivering two billion messages per month, Mobile 365 leads the world in the global delivery and settlement of mobile messaging and data services, including SMS, MMS, and WAP. With reach to more than 500 mobile operators around the world, Mobile 365 is at the forefront of mobile interoperability messaging and the distribution of premium content and value-added services. Headquartered outside of Washington, D.C., Mobile 365 has offices in Beijing, Guangzhou, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, New Delhi, Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, and Taipei. Major operator customers include Verizon Wireless, Vodafone, Cingular Wireless, T-Mobile, Telcel, Telefonica, O2, China Mobile, China Unicom, Hutchison, and Airtel. Major brand customers include Volvo, Sony Pictures, MSN, Citibank, Siemens, Ogilvy, Yahoo!, and Dunkin’ Donuts. For more information, visit: http://www.mobile365.com.

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Tags: 2006, Asia, contest, Deliver, Engage, Japan, Mobile, Sports, Thomas, Total, Uber, Yonex