The company has reached an agreement with the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union to write, design and produce the official souvenir programme.

It is the second time Two Up Front has been entrusted with the programme, having also been publisher when New Zealand and Australia played the first ever overseas Bledisloe Cup match, in Hong Kong, in 2008.

The All Blacks and Wallabies will meet at the Hong Kong Stadium on Saturday, 30 October. It will be the fourth and final test in the 2010 series after earlier encounters in Melbourne (31 July), Christchurch (7 August) and Sydney (11 September).

“We are delighted to once again be playing a key role in this high-profile and eagerly anticipated rugby fixture,” said Two Up Front project director Simon Wait.

“The 2008 programme was very popular with fans and we received excellent feedback from the Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australian rugby unions.

“Naturally, we will be aiming to once again produce a publication that is full of quality in terms of design and content and we will ensure it is totally in keeping with a sports event of this magnitude.”

Two Up Front also produces the official souvenir programme and pocket guide for the world famous Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament, the biggest and most prestigious event in the IRB Sevens World Series.

In addition, the company handles worldwide PR and media management for the HKFC IP Global International Soccer Sevens and Korea’s biggest golf tournament, the Ballantine’s Championship, which is co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours.

For the third year in a row, Two Up Front handled worldwide PR and media management at the popular tournament, held at Hong Kong Football Club from 14-16 May.

More than 100 media personnel attended the event, generating outstanding local, regional and international coverage across a broad range of TV networks, newspapers, magazines, radio programmes and websites.

And in a new development, Two Up Front was also entrusted with producing the official souvenir programme and the company delivered a stylish and informative publication which delighted organisers and fans alike.

“With the specialist help of Two Up Front, media and public interest in the Soccer Sevens continues to grow, with the result that media coverage and crowd figures for the 2010 tournament were significantly higher than last year,” said Soccer Sevens organising committee chairman Tony Bratsanos.

“In addition, the official souvenir programme was the best yet in terms of design and content and proved very popular with fans.”

First played in 1999, the Soccer Sevens has become one of the highlights of the crowded international football calendar. The 32-team tournament is divided into two sections – a Main competition that attracts some of the best young talent at elite European clubs and a Masters event that features recently retired stars.

Aston Villa won the Main competition for a record fifth time, defeating Glasgow Rangers 3-2 in the final, while in the Masters final KFC Tokyo pulled off a surprise 2-1 victory over the Andy Cole Jura All Stars.

Two Up Front also handles worldwide PR and media management for Korea’s biggest golf tournament, the Ballantine’s Championship, which is co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours.

In addition, the company publishes the acclaimed official programme and pocket guide for the world famous Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament.

The Hong Kong-based sports company once again handled worldwide PR for the €2.2 million showpiece and ran the on-site media centre at Pinx Golf Club on the holiday island of Jeju.

Almost 160 members of the media from Korea and overseas covered the event, which made headlines around the world with the presence of golfing superstars such as Ernie Els, Anthony Kim, YE Yang and Henrik Stenson.

A new feature of Two Up Front’s PR campaign this year was a series of off-beat interviews with some of the leading players called “My Round”. The interviews portrayed stars such as Els and Kim relaxing with a glass of Ballantine’s in the clubhouse bar and holding forth on a variety of non-golf topics.

“The idea was to portray the human side of these famous players and reveal something about their personalities,” explained Two Up Front editorial director Niall Donnelly. “The interviews proved very popular with the media, especially golf websites, where they are always looking for something a little different from standard golf-related quotes.

“It is an idea we could well repeat next year as the interviews worked well from both a media and tournament sponsor perspective.”

Despite the presence of so many big-name players, the European and Asian Tour co-sanctioned event was won by unheralded Australian Marcus Fraser – his first victory for seven years.

Golf is just one sport in Two Up Front’s catalogue of PR and publishing activities – the company also has extensive experience in rugby, tennis, football, motor racing and motorcycling.

The Silverbacks captured the imagination of press and public alike with their historic 11-day trip to Hong Kong, their first tour beyond East Africa. The team played in the Kowloon RugbyFest Tens tournament, trained with elite teams from other nations and attended the world famous Hong Kong Sevens in the rugby trip of a lifetime.

Their ground-breaking visit was covered by TV news crews, documentary makers, radio reporters, newspapers and websites – resulting in an avalanche of positive publicity. The PR campaign surrounding the Rwandans’ visit was organised by Two Up Front who, like many others involved in the project, gave their services free of charge.

Project organiser Dave Hughes, a Hong Kong-born rugby enthusiast and Rwanda volunteer worker, was delighted. “The trip was an overwhelming success,” he said. “The guys were superb ambassadors for their country while the media and public interest was exceptional and we enjoyed some healthy corporate support.

“Two Up Front’s contribution was vital in generating the positive publicity and giving us access to some top class coaching and facilities. As a result, we now have a platform to make the tour an annual event.”

Before and during the tour, Two Up Front sent out press releases, organised interviews and handled all media inquiries on behalf of the Silverbacks – named after Rwanda’s signature mountain gorillas.

In addition, company staff used their extensive rugby contacts to help set up training sessions with two elite overseas teams visiting Hong Kong for the territory’s “Festival of Rugby Week”, Aliens from New Zealand and Penguins from the UK.

“When Dave first explained the tour to us back in January, we jumped at the chance to be involved because we thought it was a fantastic project,” said Two Up Front editorial director Niall Donnelly. “The success of the visit and the enormous amount of goodwill generated fully vindicated our decision. It was an absolute pleasure to be part of such a worthy venture.”

Two Up Front currently handles PR for two high-profile golf tournaments, the Hong Kong Open and the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea, plus the HKFC IP Global International Soccer Sevens. In addition, the company publishes the official souvenir programme and pocket guide for the Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens.

For the sixth year running, the dual publication – produced as usual by Two Up Front – sold out before the showpiece tournament had finished.

The sales booth inside the main entrance to the Hong Kong Stadium ran out of copies by mid-afternoon on Saturday (27 March) – the second day of the three-day tournament.

Hong Kong Rugby Football Union officials were delighted with the publication. “The Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens 2010 souvenir programme and pocket guide once again proved to be extremely popular with fans, spectators, sponsors and officials alike,” said HKRFU Sevens manager Warrick Dent.

“As usual, the design and content were of the highest standard and we received plenty of positive feedback about what was another top quality publication from Two Up Front.”

Among those admiring the programme was International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, who was guest of honour at the tournament following the historic decision last year to re-admit rugby to the Olympic Games.

Two Up Front introduced the concept of a pocket guide to be sold with the programme when the company was first contracted to produce the souvenir publication in 2005.

Two Up Front also publishes the souvenir programme for the HKFC IP Global International Soccer Sevens and Annual Reports for the HKRFU and Hong Kong Football Club.

In addition, the company handles worldwide PR for the HKFC IP Global International Soccer Sevens and two high-profile golf tournaments, the Hong Kong Open and the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea.

The deal extends the company’s involvement in the popular tournament at Hong Kong Football Club to four years, having started in 2008.

“We are delighted to continue playing a key role in what is widely considered the best seven-a-side football event in the world,” said Two Up Front editorial director Niall Donnelly.

“Since IP Global became title sponsor in 2009 the organisers have signalled their intention to raise the profile and prestige of the tournament even higher and we are greatly looking forward to being involved in these ambitious plans.”

Two Up Front secured the agreement after successful negotiations with Hong Kong Football Club and the tournament’s promoter, Chatter Productions Limited.

First played in 1999, the Soccer Sevens has become one of the highlights of the crowded international football calendar. The 32-team tournament is divided into two sections – a Main competition that attracts some of the best young talent at English Premier League clubs and a Masters event that features recently retired stars.

Scottish giants Celtic won the 2009 Main competition, beating arch rivals Rangers 1-0 in the final. The Masters event was won by Hong Kong side Golden Rainbow, who beat charity team Football For Life 2-1.

The 2010 Soccer Sevens will take place from 14-16 May at Hong Kong Football Club.

Two Up Front also handles worldwide PR and media management for two high-profile golf tournaments, the Hong Kong Open and the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea, both of which are co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours.

In addition, the company publishes the acclaimed official programme and pocket guide for the world famous Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament.

The WCGC is the largest and most prestigious inter-companies golf tournament in the world with thousands of businessmen around the globe transferring their boardroom battles to the fairways every year.

Two Up Front, the Hong Kong-based sports PR and publishing experts, have secured a long-term licence to host the Hong Kong leg from the WCGC’s parent company in Spain.

The WCGC Hong Kong, to be played later this year, will feature up to 40 two-man teams battling it out for a fabulous first prize - an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2011 WCGC World Final.

“We are delighted to have secured on a long-term basis the Hong Kong licence for the World Corporate Golf Challenge,” said Two Up Front editorial director Niall Donnelly.

“This event complements our extensive professional golf portfolio which includes two of Asia’s biggest tournaments, the UBS Hong Kong Open and the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea.

“The WCGC Hong Kong will give corporate golfers in the territory a truly significant annual tournament in which to compete with a fantastic prize awaiting the winning team.

“Interest from the business community has been very strong and we expect a full field and a very competitive tournament.”

Previous WCGC World Finals have been held in Jamaica, Mauritius, Malaysia and Spain while the 2010 World Final – featuring teams from more than 20 countries and territories – will take place at Fancourt and Oubaai Golf Clubs in the Garden Route region of South Africa from 3-8 May. The venue for the 2011 WCGC World Final will be announced later.

Two Up Front are co-organising the WCGC Hong Kong with event management company Laxton Marketing Consultants, who have offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai.

The two firms have previously worked together on other high profile sporting events, including the HKFC IP Global International Soccer Sevens and the Hong Kong Tens rugby tournament.

The prestigious golf tournament attracted the largest media attendance and garnered the highest number of news clippings in its 51-year history as it made headlines around the world.

The results were a triumph for sports PR specialists Two Up Front, who were providing international media and public relations services for the UBS Hong Kong Open for the sixth year in a row.

A total of 207 media personnel – up from last year’s 203 – attended the tournament at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling from 12-15 November.

News clippings were logged at 4,456 – an increase from 4,183 in 2008 – and were expected to rise further once December’s golf magazines and other periodicals hit the news stands.

“The figures are very gratifying,” said Two Up Front project director Simon Wait. “When you consider that in 2003, the year before we came on board, the tournament attracted 67 media and resulted in 387 clippings, then we have come a very long way indeed.

“It was extremely pleasing to hear journalists’ positive comments about the facilities and services in the media centre. As usual, we staffed the media centre for the whole week and once again media feedback was extremely positive.

“The general consensus was that it was a hugely successful UBS Hong Kong Open, both on and off the course.”

Bourdy became the first Frenchman to win the tournament, which was once again co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours, finishing two shots clear of Northern Irish youngster Rory McIlroy.

Two Up Front also handles international PR for the European Tour’s Ballantine’s Championship in Korea.

“The feedback we have received on all our annual reports has been very positive and we are looking to offer this service to even more companies and sporting organisations in Hong Kong,” said Two Up Front project director Simon Wait.

“Annual reports sometimes have a reputation for being rather dull, but they are an underestimated way for an organisation to make an impact. So if anyone is looking for a classy and stylish product that portrays their organisation in a positive light, they should contact us.”

Senior management at the HKFC are so delighted with their 2008-09 annual report that they intend to submit it for an award.

“We received an honourable mention [for design] at last year’s Hong Kong Management Association Annual Report Awards and we’ll be submitting this year’s report into the same category,” said HKFC general manager Mark Pawley.

Two Up Front has designed and published the HKFC’s annual reports since 2005.

The 2007-08 edition was illustrated with photographic portraits of “back of house” staff members who do so much to keep the prestigious sports club running smoothly.

The candid photographs gave the annual report a human touch and prompted “a number of very complimentary remarks” from HKFC members, according to Pawley.

This year’s publication featured photographs of members of the club’s various sporting sections, including Soccer, Rugby, Tennis, Lawn Bowls and Squash.

Both sets of portraits were taken by one of Hong Kong’s top photographers, Gareth Brown of Blow Up Studios.

Two Up Front has also published the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union’s annual reports since 2003.

The company also publishes the acclaimed official programme and pocket guide for the world famous Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament.

The Hong Kong-based company will again be heavily involved when the 2009 Open - co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours and the Hong Kong Golf Association - is staged at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling from November 12-15.

The tournament this year will be celebrating its 51st edition, having first been held in 1959.

"The increase in media and public interest in the UBS Hong Kong Open in recent years has been sensational and we are delighted to remain an integral part of this unique and prestigious event,” said Two Up Front project director Simon Wait.

Since 2004, when Two Up Front first began handling worldwide PR for the Hong Kong Open on behalf of event promoter Parallel Media Group, media attendance has risen 300 per cent and media clippings have increased by more than 1,000 per cent.

In line with that increase, the number of spectators has multiplied. From just a few thousand six years ago, the galleries have swelled to more than 35,000 fans watching the action in 2008 when Taiwanese player Lin Wen Tang triumphed in a thrilling three-way playoff.

In addition to worldwide PR, Two Up Front will once again staff and run the on-site media centre.

"Two Up Front have played a crucial role in the UBS Hong Kong Open’s success story and we are delighted to once again work alongside them on this year’s tournament,” said Martin Capstick of Parallel Media Group.

"The Open’s worldwide profile has increased dramatically thanks in part to their co-ordinated and innovative PR campaigns, and media attendance in each of the past two years has been at capacity with more than 200 international journalists coming to the event,” he said.

Two Up Front’s sports PR portfolio includes the European and Asian Tour’s Ballantine’s Championship in Korea, as well as high profile rugby, football, tennis and motor racing events around the region.