Dhiraagu Maldives Road Race (DMRR) – the largest and most popular running event in the Maldives wins the Bronze Award for the Best Use of Technology in Sports at the prestigious Sports Industry Awards Asia 2019 (SPIA).
SPIA is Asia’s most prestigious and credible awards platform where over 600 industry and international entertainment guests attended this award gala to recognize and celebrate sporting excellence in the industry. The function was held at the Grand Hyatt Manila and is part of the official activities of the 30th South East Asian Games, which are taking place during the same time.
DMRR was a 5G/IOT digitally-enabled road race to promote a healthy lifestyle and help protect children. From the point of registration to fundraising, runners were given a digitized solution. The DMRR application has real-time tracking for safety and security purposes which allows spectators, friends, and family of over 4000 runners to track their location and progress in real-time. The reach was extended on social media via a 5G video Livestream for wider digital engagement.
DMRR was also recognized among the Top 10 Candidates for Best Sports Fan Engagement Campaign of the Year, Best Integrated Marketing Campaign for a Sporting Event, Best Sports CSR Initiative of the Year and the Best Sports Tourism Destination Campaign of the Year. DMRR was competing against Asian powerhouses such as Rugby World Cup, the FIBA World Cup, Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix, the AFF Suzuki Cup, Fitbit and the Special Olympics in Abu Dhabi. All categories were judged by a panel of leading industry experts in a rigid four-step judging process in accordance with international sports industry award rules and regulations.
Dhiraagu Chief Marketing Officer, Mr Mahmoud Dasser stated “It is a great milestone for DMMR, the largest run in the Maldives to be recognized along with Asia’s Top 10 sporting events and brands. It is a true testament to our teams who work diligently to change and mold sporting events for the better with the advancements in technology.” He further added, “This has certainly created positive momentum for DMRR 2020, we are looking forward to incorporating the latest innovative means to deliver a first-class running event.”
Organized by MMC Sportz, SPIA Asia is endorsed by PHILSGOC and other entities such as LaLiga, Allianz, YouGov Sport, have also pledged their partnership support to SPIA Asia 2019.
