ING REAPS BENEFITS FROM ASIAN FOOTBALL

The brand
ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services. The company serves more than 85 million private, corporate and institutional customers in over 40 markets globally.

Marketing goals
ING's objectives were to increase its brand awareness and reputation as a global financial institution across Asia.

Marketing strategy
A sports sponsorship platform with pan-Asian reach
ING required a sports sponsorship platform that was effective both on the country and regional levels throughout Asia. The company chose to partner with football because it is the number one sport in Asia.

Partnering Asia's top sporting events
ING's partnership with Asian football includes sponsorship of the AFC Asian Cup 2007^TM, the AFC Champions League, and the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa^TM - Asian Qualifying Rounds. These events are among other Asian football events that provided ING with an ideal integrated marketing platform with both a local focus and a pan-Asian reach. ING received local and regional brand exposure through hundreds of matches that were played and broadcast across the region. For added brand exposure, ING leveraged upon its sponsorship opportunities through local activation, advertising and promotions, merchandising, public relations, and internal communications.

Activation
The AFC Asian Cup 2007^TM, the AFC Champions League and the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa^TM - Asian Qualifying Rounds gave ING the opportunity to link their brand with the passion of their target customers.

For example, during the AFC Asian Cup 2007^TM, ING developed an event webpage within their corporate website. They also sponsored video highlights on the official website - www.afcasiancup.com - where fans could download up to five minutes of highlights of every match. More than a million video downloads were generated during the tournament.

Other ING sponsorship activation programmes included on-site advertising and promotional activities. Direct fan interaction on-site was complimented by online and television exposure via ESPN. In addition, the sponsorship gave ING the opportunity to create a website - www.ingafc.com - that provides users with information on the different leagues as well as more interactive features that appeal to football fans. These, along with corporate hospitality, have successfully generated awareness about ING, promoted its consumer products and services, and ultimately met its sponsorship targets.

Impact
Recent research has revealed that the sponsorship has strengthened the association between ING and football, and increased the awareness of ING as a leading global financial institution and a trustworthy brand. Because ING's partnership with Asian football has been so successful, the company has chosen to extend their partnership with Asian football for another full term.