Moderna has sponsored Major League Baseball and American football in the United States, so it’s only fitting that it’s looking to Japan’s national sport – sumo wrestling – as it seeks to build its brand there.
Moderna’s brand now encircles wrestling rings on a sumo flag, worn by people “circling the sumo ring and has traditionally advertised everyday products such as vitamins, teas, juices and rice”, as the first reported by Reuters.
The Moderna banner made its debut on March 13 at the start of the country’s two-week spring tournament, Reuters said.
Sumo’s marketing effort coincides with Moderna’s OK signed last week with the Japanese government to provide an additional 70 million doses of its Covid-19 booster vaccine, or an updated booster vaccine if authorized, in the second half of the year. So far in 2022, Moderna has already pledged to provide 93 million doses to Japan, bringing the total to 163 million if funding is approved.
Moderna fell behind on the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, originally delivering 50 million rabbits with local partner Takeda Pharmaceuticals. But that was only about 20% of the first round of double-dose vaccinations.
However, it is now closing the gap to Pfizer in boosters where Moderna accounts for around 42% of shots, according to Reuters.
Part of the problem was due to a manufacturing issue last fall when metal contamination forced 1.6 million doses to be pulled from the market, and it’s been creeping in ever since.
The Moderna vaccine is licensed under special approval by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, with booster doses permitted for use in adults 18 and older six months after a second dose.
Nearly 80% of the Japanese population is fully immunized, well ahead of the global average of around 58% and the United States where 66% of the population is fully immunized.
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Moderna’s sports partnerships in the United States include working with the Boston Red Sox, whose stadium is located near its downtown Boston headquarters. The Red Sox sponsorship, part of Moderna’s larger “Make it Yours” campaign, includes in-stadium billboards (on the hallowed “Green Monster” wall) and broadcast mentions of Moderna’s mRBI mRNA Game.
He also partnered with the Seattle Seahawks last year with a vaccination effort that included former Seahawks star Jordan Babineaux in a TV commercial encouraging people to “protect the team” by getting vaccinated.