TheSmartLocal makes a move into sports marketing

In line with the company’s initiative to support and nurture local talents, local publisher TheSmartLocal (TSL) has launched a new programme for Singaporean athletes.According to TheSmartLocal, the initiative will help budding athletes raise their profile on social media, to help them secure sustainable athletic careers and compete in events while residing in Singapore. Athletes will be hired full time by TSL and will benefit from a flexible work schedule that includes extra paid-leave for training while being groomed and marketed alongside the company’s roster of KOLs. A five-year roadmap will be established to ensure athletes are able to start a successful second career in the company, after they retire from their athletic careers.TSL Media said the addition of a national athlete to the team signals the "start of an exciting juncture for the company and entry into sports marketing".The first athlete to be groomed under the programme is national long-distance runner Soh Rui Yong, a marathoner who was the first Singaporean male marathoner to win back-to-back titles for Singapore at the Southeast Asian Games. The athlete also has four World Championships and four Singapore records under his belt.As part of the partnership, Soh will feature heavily on TSL’s YouTube channel TheSmartLocalTV, which has over 220,204 subscribers and 82 million views. In the spirit of shedding light on our local athletes' journeys, an exclusive series will be created to document his road to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. This will be launched on YouTube initially, with plans for television network distribution.TSL’s managing director Bryan Choo said, “ We hope to help our athletes and have more brands and fans support our local sportsmen and women. ”