THE awesome people over at U Mobile gave the Malaysian cheerleading community a huge boost this year by creating a whole new online arena for them to compete in – the U Cheer Off! online video contest!
It was the first time U Mobile sponsored CHEER, and it sure left a huge impression on the 15th anniversary of Malaysia’s biggest inter-school cheerleading competition.
The U Cheer Off! saw participating teams of CHEER2014 submitting short videos of their stunning routines to U Mobile. The videos were then uploaded to a dedicated app on the U Mobile Facebook page (facebook.com/umobile) for public viewing and voting.
After two weeks of voting, the winners were announced at CHEER 2014, and they were the Mickeymitez from SMK Damansara Jaya (cue the happy music)! For their efforts, they were given the first ever #CHEER4U award.
“We’re very happy to have won because everyone in Mickeymitez worked hard for it. We were posting it up on Facebook and Twitter, asking all our friends and family members to vote for us,” said Mickeymitez co-captain, Siow Wei Xiong.
And in true CHEER spirit, even the supporters of their “rivals” showed their love for the Mickeymitez’s video.
“Students from other schools voted for us too, including some from SM Sri Kuala Lumpur and the Zelts cheerleaders (from Seri Emas International School). It proves we have a lot of fans who are very supportive, regardless of which school they’re from.”
There were some nervy moments, though, when team Calyx’s (from SMJK Katholik) video almost caught up with them. That was when the team decided to go all out on social media, asking all their friends and family to vote for them.
But apart from that, taking part in the contest was a breeze. According to Siow, the video was shot during their training sessions and the whole team came together to edit the video, which only took one night.
“The idea was to show what Mickeymitez is all about, and to let people in on our journey toCHEER 2014. We shot clips of our stunts and if you watch the video, you’ll also see that we’re a bunch of fun-loving people. We’re like a family,” explained Siow.
And according to U Mobile chief marketing officer Jasmine Lee, that is exactly what U Mobile is all about.
“We’re always looking for people who encapsulate the U Mobile brand values – fun, passion, innovation and teamwork – and they really fit in that category,” said Lee.
“You could see that they are all very close and they enjoy each other’s company. To them, it’s not about winning the competition, but the enjoyment of the entire process.”
You can bet they’re enjoying it even more now, as U Mobile generously awarded all 25 members of the team with a smartphone each – a ZTE V817 – along with prepaid SIM packs and RM50 top-up vouchers.
But perhaps more importantly, the U Cheer Off! helped showcase our Malaysian cheerleaders’ incredible skills and athleticism to a wider audience on social media, especially with over 800,000 followers on Facebook.
With brands like U Mobile doing their part, the Malaysian cheerleading community can surely look forward to even more exciting days.
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