Canon’s “Stronger Together” is Geared at Achieving a Deeper Connection With Partners

Binoj Nair, the B2C Business Unit Director at Canon Middle East, says Canon’s partners are an integral part of the business and it’s important to create long-lasting ties that ultimately serve the end-users

What was the purpose of Canon’s sporting event for its channel community?
Canon Middle East (CME) has always been very involved with its partners and the channel community – be it through product orientations and in-store training, soft-skill developments, photography sessions to familiarize them with new canon photography equipment, or even, our annual partner conference.

But now in 2022, we comprehended with post-pandemic the initiative on a sporting event that would go even further and build bonds outside of work – so, our first ever partner-focused sports tournament meet-up was organized to engage and connect with our partner community, beyond “business as usual”.

This event underscored CME’s purpose and belief that we are “stronger together” – our partners are an integral part of the business and it’s important to create long-lasting ties that ultimately serve the end-users, in the best way possible. Serving our customers is one of the main pillars of our corporate mandate towards “Living our purpose” and we see our partners as a critical part of enabling us to achieve this goal.

Hence, we wanted to ensure a fun and non-work-focused initiative that would provide an opportunity to come together and connect with our partners. Our platform of “stronger together” is geared at looking for several different ways of achieving a deeper connection with our partners and the sports tournament was a prime example of how we are going beyond purely business-focused initiatives.

How many teams were registered for the event?
The sports tournament saw a great response with participation from all our major retail partners. A total of 10 teams with over 250 highly spirited sports enthusiasts attended tournaments that included cricket, football, badminton, and table tennis. The event concluded with a ceremony to present winner trophies and giveaways to thank everyone that participated.

How many attendees attended the event?
There were over 250 attendees in 10 teams across our distribution and retail partners.

Will Canon be replicating this event across other markets?
We certainly aspire to take this concept forward on a regional level and hope to use sports as a platform to further strengthen our relationship with our channel partners in the Middle East & Turkey region.

What role do sporting events play in the overall betterment of the community involved?
Sporting events are a great way to come together and engage in healthy competition and bond over a common goal. As we enter a post-pandemic era, sporting events like CME’s partner-focused sports tournament are more important than ever because it’s an opportunity for people to come together, promote teamwork, enhance communication and help develop a sense of belonging and trust between people.

Moreover, such community events are aligned with CME’s corporate philosophy of Kyosei – living and working together for the better good and we look forward to many more events that promote healthy competition, teamwork, and bonding.