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MANILA, Philippines – If you can’t beat them, join them.
This seemed like the strategy of telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT) when it announced on Wednesday, July 12, that it has inked a 3-year branding partnership with the SM group.
The deal covers a branding deal that allows PLDT to splash its products’ marketing on the various state-of-the-art digital platforms of the newly constructed events venue Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena.
MOA Arena in Pasay City is the newest venue in the Philippines for sports, entertainment and other events. It has a seating capacity of 16,000, a full house capacity of 20,000, six levels and a gross floor area of 64,085 square meters.
Interestingly, PLDT’s mobile arm Smart Communications also has a naming rights deal with another sports and entertainment venue: the fabled Big Dome in Cubao, Quezon city.
In 2011, Araneta Coliseum was renamed as SMART Araneta Coliseum as part of a 5-year deal that provides the phone company an edge over other brands that want to promote products and services, strengthen reputation and goodwill, and enhance name recall.
SMART Araneta Coliseum has about 16,500 seating capacity and hosts the games of basketball leagues, including the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), and the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
MOA Arena, however, will be the venue for some of the basketball, other sports events, as well as concerts after it opened this May. This July the MOA Arena will be the venue for the Season 75 of the UAAP since the league’s host, National University, is owned by the SM’s Sy family.
Phones and brands
Under the agreement signed between PLDT chair Manuel V. Pangilinan and SM Prime President Hans Sy on Wednesday, July 12, the SM Arena will not only allocate branding opportunities for the PLDT brands but also tap the telco group for various services like telephone lines and CCTVs.
The words “Mall of Asia Arena Powered by PLDT” will be seen in various state-of-the-art digital platforms for the next 3 years.
The partnership also includes PLDT murals, three PLDT corporate suites, and two showrooms featuring PLDT’s various businesses such as SME Nation and HOME at the MOA Arena.
“This is certainly another milestone for the PLDT Group and we are truly proud to be associated with this state-of-the-art venue,” said Pangilinan.
“This partnership with SM opens opportunities for us to pursue the advocacies close to our heart: our love for sports, our strong support for Philippine tourism, and entertainment,” he added.
SM Investments Corp., the holding firm of the Sy family, built the structure for about P3.6 billion. – Rappler.com
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