03 Apr 2008
Octagon appointed as sponsorship consultant to Saudi Arabia's fastest growing mobile operator, Mobily
Established in 2004, Mobily is the fastest growing mobile operator in the Middle East & North Africa. Kicking off the new relationship was Manchester United’s first ever visit to Riyadh, to play against local side Al-Hilal at the King Fahd International Stadium on 21 January 2008.
Octagon’s Global Head of Football Phil Carling, who is leading the assignment, said “Mobily’s sponsorship of sport, in particular football, is unique in its breadth and vision. No other sponsorship portfolio in the world of sport works at such a comprehensive and profound level. In many respects, this model is groundbreaking for sport sponsorship and we are thrilled to be playing an integral role in its success.”
David Murphy, Chief Marketing Officer of Mobily commented “At Mobily, we want to open new doors for sports marketing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and we take great pride in encouraging other companies to follow our lead. We believe working with global sports marketing experts at Octagon will enable us to ensure Mobily’s official partnership with Saudi sports reflects positively not only on sport in Saudi but on Saudi youths as well.”
With a dedicated team based in Riyadh, reinforcing Octagon’s commitment to this developing and exciting market, Octagon will deploy a full service solution to Mobily - providing strategic advice as well as a framework for the governance, management and exploitation of Mobily’s current sponsorship portfolio of thirteen sports federations in the region which includes tennis, handball and swimming. In addition, Octagon will provide best practice, advice on asset selection and acquisition and will ensure full integration of sponsorship into the overall marketing and communications strategy.
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Notes to Editors:
For more information on Mobily, please visit www.mobily.com.sa.
Octagon is a world leader in sport, music and entertainment with global expertise in marketing, sponsorship, consulting, athletes and personalities, event management, rights representation, marketing solutions, licensing and merchandising, talent procurement, television rights and production.
As part of The Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG), one of the world’s leading organisations comprised of advertising and marketing services agencies, Octagon employs marketing specialists based in major markets on six continents.
For further information, please visit www.octagon-uk.com, contact Matt Hales on +44 (0) 207 862 0122 or email matt.hales@octagon.com