Monday, March 20, 2006

22-02-2006: Hitachi Malaysia sponsors region's first baseball/softball

Hitachi Sales Malaysia Sdn Bhd (HSM) has signed on to be the main sponsor for Southeast Asia's first batting cage centre, a training ground for baseball/softball, in Malaysia.

In a statement on Feb 22, HSM said the sponsorship, valued at RM500,000, gave Hitachi the right to name the batting cage centre one year from its opening in April. 'It's a Hit! Batting Cages' is located on the rooftop of One Utama Shopping Centre.

'It's a fantastic opportunity. We can create sporting history, inspire the next generation of ballplayers, plus the concept's great! It's fresh, exciting, innovative - qualities which represent Hitachi,' said Shigeharu Annaka, managing director of HSM.

'The fact that we have an existing campaign called 'It's A HIT!?, a play on a famous baseball phrase, makes the sponsorship an outright winner,' he added. In the campaign slogan, 'HIT' is short for Hitachi.

'Baseball and softball have all the attributes to be popular in Malaysia. The sports have a hip image, and cater to different players, from kids to adults who haven't exercised in years," Annaka said.

"It's already a part of popular culture through fashion, movies, video games and music," said Tim Freebairn, general manager of Jolt Sports, which owns and manages It's a Hit! Batting Cages.

Hitachi has the foresight and the guts to be part of an emerging sport and a recreational concept that no one has seen in the country. Many companies talk about being different, but few has truly followed it with action."

HSM is part of the global conglomerate, Hitachi Ltd, a Fortune 500 company which produces a diverse range of products from electronics to semiconductors to power plants.

Established in HSM markets products from its factories in Bangi, Selangor, as well as those made in Japan.

Jolt Sports' management has more than 30 years of personal and professional involvement in the game, including coaching credentials from US and Australia.

They are also committee members of the Federation of Baseball Malaysia. Its managers spent years meeting deadlines in media, including stints with ESPN Star Sports, CNBC, AXN, and MediaCorp Singapore.

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