How Sun Life HK connects clients and community through event sponsorship

The recently concluded "Sun Life 'The big bounce' world tour — Hong Kong” has lured thousands of locals and tourists to experience family fun with their loved ones. Running in Hong Kong for the first time, the event aimed to transform face-to-face moments into genuine customer connections and business outcomes.

As the title sponsor of the bouncing extravaganza, Adley Low (pictured), chief client and marketing officer at Sun Life Hong Kong, said during an interview with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, that a key criterion for sponsorship is whether the event drives client engagement and provides a platform to interact with existing and potential customers.

Quite often, when we consider sponsorships, we look at branding first—but we also assess whether it creates synergy with our wider service and community work

Furthermore, Sun Life invited hundreds of students and parents from Yan Chai Hospital’s affiliated kindergartens and childcare centres to experience the attraction. It also provided dining vouchers for use during the event, and adults could enjoy live DJ music in the evening, so families could relax and enjoy the experience without worries.

“Whether it’s connecting with our clients or aligning with our corporate social responsibility (CSR) direction, it fits really well. It also brings a joyful, positive-energy start to the year—and that strong engagement is a key consideration for us,” Low said. 

To measure ROI, Low said Sun Life tracks not only media coverage and gross value, but also areas that are harder to measure—such as brand awareness and customer satisfaction, which build up over time. “We also give tickets to existing customers, so word-of-mouth can come back through our channels. Ticket redemptions and response rates are tracked as well—so overall, response rate is part of how we assess ROI.”

Extending sponsorships to promote HK’s culture 

While sponsoring events across areas such as sports and music, Low said Sun Life also believes that as a company in Hong Kong for over 134 years, it should do more than just help customers pass on their wealth—it should also help preserve and pass on Hong Kong’s culture.

This belief has led Sun Life Hong Kong to sponsor the "Sun Life Stanley international dragon boat championships” (永明赤柱國際龍舟錦標賽) since 2008, supporting Hong Kong’s dragon-boat tradition and promoting health in the community. This year—its second year as title sponsor—it partnered with the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) for the “Sun Life Hong Kong international dragon boat races” (永明香港國際龍舟邀請賽) from 27 to 28 June, bringing global teams to compete on Victoria Harbour.

“We received strong feedback from our customers after last year’s event, and we also saw great media coverage. Some customers didn’t realise dragon boating could be so international when it’s originally a local and even a Mainland tradition. They could also feel the momentum when the area around Tsim Sha Tsui was filled with Sun Life branding.”

And with government officials showing up to support the event—plus award presentations—it made the whole occasion feel even more significant.

Demonstrating its commitment to the community, Sun Life sponsored Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre to form the "Move for Maggie’s dragon boat team", which debuted at the "Sun Life elite cup" during the 2025 Sun Life Hong Kong international dragon boat races. Low said the team—made up of cancer patients, survivors and their loved ones—reflected the spirit and energy of life, challenging limits and reinforcing the positive message Sun Life aims to bring to the community.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races, and Sun Life is exploring with the HKTB which special activities they can launch to celebrate it, according to Low. Another reason is that Sun Life Hong Kong wants to tie in with 1 July—the anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China—when there are celebrations across many cities. “We also see it as a chance to invite our clients to Hong Kong, so they can experience the city and we can better understand how to support their needs. When we invite clients to join, we also want to share the dragon-boat culture with them,” Low said. 

We’ve noticed that many clients care about two things: cultural heritage and ESG-related sustainability. Dragon boat fits both—it’s a strong platform for cultural transmission and aligns with our commitment to protect our customers, the community, and preserve Hong Kong’s culture.

Overall, Low said that event sponsorship is an important marketing strategy for Sun Life Hong Kong, but it should not be done just for the sake of sponsoring. It needs to meet clear criteria—especially whether it can genuinely engage clients. Since different sponsorships serve different purposes, some may focus on driving business, while others may be more geared toward branding and CSR.

“We take a more integrated approach to ensure sponsorships align with our future business direction and marketing strategy. We focus on quality over quantity, and aim for real synergy," Low said. 

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