Tuesday June 26, 2012

One-click cheer can inspire Azizul to realise Olympic dream

SYDNEY: Through one voice, fans all over the world can show their support for cyclist Azizulhasni Awang ahead of the London Olympics via Visa’s “Go World” initiative.

Simple and encouraging words like “Azizul, you can do it”, will surely inspire Azizul to defy the odds in his second Olympic outing.

The “global cheer” campaign is the core of Visa’s Olympic Games marketing approach and the largest effort in its 25-year involvement in the world’s biggest sporting event.

Using the popular social media platforms together with television and digital advertising, fans can create and submit a “cheer” in the form of a one-click cheer or a photo or video on Visa’s facebook page (www.facebook.com/visa).

Followers of Azizul can also contribute by submitting a one-click cheer on Visa’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/visabrand), and through integration with partner websites including NBCOlympics.com, Yahoo! and Sports Illustrated.

Azizul is being featured in Visa’s marketing campaign for the London Games along with other Team Visa members like swimmer Michael Phelps, pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, tennis player Li Na and shot putter Valerie Adams.

The 24-year-old Azizul rose to prominence by winning gold medals in the keirin and 200m sprint events at the Asian Track Championships in April 2008. A year later, he announced his arrival as a world-class keirin rider when he became the overall winner of the event in the 2008-2009 UCI Track World Cup for the first time after winning two gold medals in the track series.

He has won a total of three overall World Cup keirin titles to date and was Malaysia’s flag bearer at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Now, he is seen as a major medal prospect at the London Games, especially after showing steely determination during a horrific crash at the World Cup in Manchester last year.

Besides Azizul, the sole Malaysian Olympian under the banner, Visa also supports athletes from the United States, Britain, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, several European and Eastern European countries, China, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Kenya, Japan and a number of Southeast Asia countries.

Apart from being the global sponsor for all the athletes, Visa will also be prominent during the London Olympics through their convenient, fast and safe alternatives to cash showcasing pre-paid, contactless payments, mobile technologies and other innovations.

For instance, there will be phones that act as Visa cards, which will allow Londoners and visitors to travel around the city and within the Olympic Park and make purchases just by waving their mobile phone against a secure reader at a retailer’s till.

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