Toshiba uses its head

Under the deal, Toshiba will be the sole On-Air sponsor of the league's 18th season that starts in August with an automatic renewal into the 2009 - 2010 season.

Toshiba is confident that aligning its brand with EPL is a strategic step in increasing brand awareness and regional presence, as it provides a great platform in reaching out to its target market.

Santosh Varghese, General Manager for Toshiba Gulf, said, "Sponsoring the Premiership is one of the biggest investments Toshiba has ever committed to but the appeal of the best football league in the world combined with its genuine regional coverage actually means that the sponsorship delivers a very cost effective means of driving brand awareness in the region."

Marc-Antoine d'Halluin, President and CEO of Showtime Arabia lauds Toshiba for making the right move in sponsoring the Premiership. "The English Premier League is simply the most watched football league in the world and garners an audience that is consistent with the core target audience for Toshiba in both existing and new markets," said d'Halluin.

On top of the league
Matthias Blank, Head of Marketing for Toshiba Gulf was also quick to point out that the sponsorship is not the only thing in Toshiba's playbook.

Toshiba also made sure that there is a balance in its marketing activities to be able to strengthen its relationship not only with customers but also with channel partners.

"We believe that this Premier League Sponsorship along with the right mix of strategic and tactical marketing initiatives is integral to reclaiming our position as the region's leader in laptop brands," says Blank.

Not long before this announcement, Toshiba flew in its valued distributors, dealers and retailers from all over the Middle East region to attend a private launch event at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai to launch their new Satellite laptop range.

This was immediately followed by a massive multi-media campaign covering TV, radio, print, online and retail marketing.