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ONE Championship™ (ONE), the world’s largest martial arts organisation, has seen its brand awareness surge in Thailand after launching weekly fight events this year, according to a latest study from Southeast Asia consumer research firm, Milieu Insight.
ONE has grown to become a mass phenomenon in the country with now one in every two Thais between 18 to 45 years old able to recognize ONE, according to a joint study¹ conducted by Milieu Insight with n=1,000 respondents in Thailand.
The jump in ONE’s brand awareness has been driven by the promotion’s “ONE Friday Fights” (OFF) weekly events that were launched in January this year at Bangkok’s iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
“ONE is truly one of the industry leaders that is constantly reinventing the promotion of martial arts and athletes. Our study revealed that nearly one in three of those who have followed or watched ONE have been avid fans for at least three years. Furthermore, our data shows that ONE is one of the leading combat sports organisations in Thailand, who has been able to build good brand awareness, outranking other global and local promotions,” said Juda Kanaprach, Chief Commercial Officer of Milieu Insight.
ONE’s partnership with Channel 7 HD, Thailand’s largest free-to-air television network, as well as Tero Entertainment, to broadcast weekly live Muay Thai events at Lumpinee Stadium has completely revolutionised the industry and ushered in a new chapter of Muay Thai history. Among viewers/ followers of ONE, more than half (56%) in the Milieu study said they follow ONE on Channel 7’s platforms, and 43% said they follow ONE’s news and updates on the promotion’s social media channels.
The key to success lies in the partnership’s ambition to modernise Muay Thai and showcase the best of Thailand’s cultural heritage to the rest of the world, with almost seven in 10 martial arts viewers strongly associating ONE with these attributes, according to Milieu data. The study also revealed that out of those who recognize ONE, nearly half (48%) agree that ONE helps to promote Thai athletes on the global stage.
Additionally, ONE’s mission to unleash real life superheroes by telling the stories of its athletes is clearly something that deeply resonates with audiences and fans worldwide. Martial arts athletes are drawing fans from around the world not just for their fight skills, but also through their personal stories of where they came from and how they became who they are.
According to Milieu data, 61% of viewers watch martial arts events for the fighters they are interested in. The stories of the martial arts athletes play a key part ofviewers’ experience, with around two-thirds (65%) saying that it’s important to understand a fighter's journey leading up to a fight.
“From the very beginning we’ve aspired to elevate Muay Thai on the global stage and give our athletes the opportunity to change their lives and inspire the world. Our broadcast reach has surpassed everyone’s expectations since we launched our ONE Friday Fights events on Channel 7 thanksto a winning mix of great athletes, enticing match-ups, as well as the support of the Thai government and martial arts ecosystem. We’re excited to continueoutperforming all other programs and transforming Friday evenings in Thailand by offering a modern celebration of its cultural treasure that everyone canenjoy,” said Jane Guo, Head ofAnalytics & Insights at ONE.
Methodology:
This quantitative study was conducted via Milieu’s proprietary survey community in Thailand with n=1,000 respondents, representative of Thailand’s national population by age, gender and region. Fieldwork was conducted in March 2023.
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