The rise of social media, along with local athletes "making an impact on the world stage" like swimmer Joseph Schooling winning a Gold Medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics, "has sweetened the ground for sports marketers" in Singapore, according to Heng & Meng of the STRAITS TIMES. Schooling has 160,000 Instagram followers; footballers Irfan and Ikhsan Fandi have a combined 110,000; while sprinter Timothee Yap has 42,000. National University of Singapore Business School associate professor Ang Swee Hoon said, "The athlete has become a social influencer. Having an athlete testify how much he or she likes a drink, for instance, gives instant exposure to the number of followers who are eager to hear what the athlete has to say." In recent years, local sports agencies ONEathlete, Black Dot and Equatre Asia have sealed deals for the likes of marathoners Mok Ying Ren (New Balance and 100Plus) and Soh Rui Yong (Asics, Garmin and Yeo's) and wakeboarder Sasha Christian (Oakley and Rip Curl). While athletes including Soh and Singapore national football team goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud "can rake in five-figure cash sums" from sponsorships, "eye-catching fees are rare." As such deals are "usually one-off and relatively low in cash value," agents have to "diversify their services." Equatre Asia acts as a consultant for the Triathlon Association of Singapore on a retainer, while Red Card Global has organized youth football's Lion City Cup and the Int'l Premier Tennis League Singapore leg. Black Dot Managing Dir Nicholas Fang said, "The sports scene here isn't as mature or has a similar depth to the West, China or a sports-crazy country like Australia and New Zealand, but it has so much potential" (STRAITS TIMES, 1/7).
