MoneyGram launches "Cricket for Peace' Programme

MoneyGram International (NYSE: MGI), a leading global money transfer company, is leveraging its ICC partnership for the ICC World Cup 2011 championship by launching the MoneyGram "Cricket for Peace" programme across South Asia. The multi-country, multi-language consumer initiative will be launched across nine cities in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.

MoneyGram's unique Cricket for Peace initiative is a theme-based music contest that links cricket with world peace. The programme invites music -and cricket-lovers across the three world cup hosting nations to create music compositions that depict how cricket can foster the spirit of world peace.

Today, through March 12, 2011, amateur music groups in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka will create music compositions that creatively capture the spirit of world peace through cricket. Notably, the call for entry also includes charity organisations working with children and senior citizens who will also participate with their compositions in a special category provision. A central jury will shortlist five entry songs as finalists and those bands will perform their compositions at a media event in one of the following cities: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Mohali, Mumbai, Dhaka or Colombo. These events will take place a day before world cup matches and are aimed at adding a new dimension of excitement to world cup activity.

The entry form can be downloaded from www.moneygram-cricket.com or can be requested by sending an email to cricketforpeace@gmail.com

Further, a MoneyGram Cricket for Peace finale will take place a day before world cup final match in Mumbai on April 1, 2011. It will be performed by nine artists selected from the three host countries. The individuals will come together to create the Cricket for Peace anthem that will be multi-lingual and multi-ethnic in nature, highlighting languages such as Hindi, Bangla, Sinhalese, Marathi, Tamil and others.

Commenting on the Cricket for Peace initiative, Juan Agualimpia, MoneyGram International's senior vice president and chief marketing officer, said, "Cricket, like music, can be a great unifier. It is universal and can bring people from around the world together for one purpose. The MoneyGram Cricket for Peace initiative is a unique program aimed at delivering a relevant social message using the game of cricket as the platform. MoneyGram's brand and services are well known in 'cricketing countries' and, with our long-term cricket sponsorship, we aim to create a greater socially-relevant connection with our customers by combining the heritage of music and cricket for a greater purpose."

MoneyGram will promote the Cricket for Peace initiative through strong public relations activities in-country as well as to the 40 million expatriates of Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. The programme creates compelling social media content that will appeal to and engage the resident and expatriate communities across Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.

MoneyGram's partnership with ICC offers the company a multi-country opportunity to reach its target customers across South Asia, Middle East and Africa. The company plans to grow its service network across South Asian regions and especially in key receive markets such as Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. As the ICC World Cup 2011 is hosted in these receive countries, the sponsorship give MoneyGram the opportunity to use Cricket for Peace as a key platform to create strong brand visibility in these important markets.