Hollis Sponsorship Bulletin

In one of the year’s biggest sponsorship deals, BSkyB has  unveiled a 5-year, £15 million partnership with London-based entertainment venue the O2. The deal, which makes Sky a founding partner, includes a VIP ticketing service for the broadcaster’s subscribers and the right to broadcast O2 shows on Sky. The broadcaster joins adidas, BMW and Coca Cola as a top tier partner of the AEG-owned venue.

Aside from the above rights, Sky will also gain access to marketing opportunities in and around the Greenwich site.  For example, the O2’s 3D cinema will be used to showcase Sky+ HD. There will also be a reward programme which gives Sky customers VIP access to events and screenings. On the latter point, Sky has already started hunting for an agency to handle activation of the new-look programme.

Commenting on the deal, Brian Sullivan, MD of Sky’s customer group. said: “We are working with AEG to create a number of branding, demonstration and customer engagement opportunities that no other single entertainment venue can offer. We will use this relationship to both engage new audiences and reward our valued customers.”

The latest sponsorship survey from IFM Sports Marketing Surveys is predicting a resurgence in confidence in the sector towards the end of this year. Despite an expected 8% drop in sponsorship revenues during 2009, IFM SMS’s mid-year summary said that two thirds of business leaders expect a settling down period over the next few months - with 20% looking at growth on the horizon at the end of 2009.

The survey, which covered 450 sponsorship professionals across the world, also found that there is a growing demand for campaign accountability - with clients closely scrutinising ROI from areas like hospitality and talent endorsement. While hospitality is still acknowledged as having a role in deal-making, buyers now want business advantage to be measurable. They are also seeking to evaluate endorsement - rather than going on gut feeling.

Also interesting is the growing realisation that sports sponsorship cannot be treated in isolation. According to IFM SMS, brands are increasingly focusing on the cross over between sport and entertainment. “With this comes learnings on both sides,” says the survey; “the entertainment industry using sport to help it increase brand exposure and the sports industry using good entertainment examples to develop more inventive engagement techniques to enhance experience.” At the same time, says IFM SMS, “there is growing emphasis on corporate social responsibility which “now has a key place on the balance sheet with companies realising the need to sponsor from grass roots to elite level.”

Brewer Marstons has pronounced its sponsorship of this summer’s Ashes series as an unqualified success. With England coming out on top after five tests, the company said that an extra million pints of its flagship brand Pedigree had been drunk in UK bars and homes during the series. According to Marstons, the brand beat sales records with 350,000 pints sold over the eight week Ashes period.

Commenting on the beer’s performance, Marstons marketing manager Des Gallagher said: “As a passionate supporter of the England team, we’ve always had faith that victory over the Aussies was in the making. Now our faith has been rewarded not only with a historic victory, but with the knowledge that more cricket fans than ever before have chosen Pedigree to accompany the world class action.”

Marstons centred its entire summer strategy around the series - changing Pedigree’s brand colours to the red and white of St George. Its England Has It campaign poked fun at the Aussies with straplines such as Britannia Rules. Matilda Waltzes. Marston’s also gave drinkers the chance to win Ashes tickets or apply for Ashes giveaways. In terms of on the ground activity, most notable was its March of the Maidens which saw supporters “caught with a Maiden” in pubs and cricket grounds with pictures posted on a blog.

The online betting sector’s interest in the Premier League has been further underlined this week with the news that Bodog Europe is to be the exclusive betting and gaming partner at Fulham FC. Commenting, Bodog Europe MD Keith McDonnell said: “We are thrilled to kick off what we are certain will become a long-standing partnership with Fulham. During our discussions, it quickly became apparent that we share a deep commitment to the service and entertainment of our fans and customers. It’s a perfect fit.” 

The sponsorship includes perimeter advertising at Fulham’s Craven Cottage stadium, inclusion in the club’s matchday programme and a presence on www.fulhamfc.com. Bodog Europe will also offer betting services to Fulham’s member database and customers who register at Bodog.co.uk.

With more than 200,000 people turning up to day one of the Notting Hill Carnival, organisers pointed to sponsorship as one of the reasons why there were so few arrests.

Chris Boothman, carnival chief, said a boost in sponsorship revenues meant more money for security - with the result that there were fewer arrests. “We have worked really hard with police. We have had more money this year than we have in the last five. I think the result today is a good one.”

The headline sponsor at this year’s event was Activision’s new game DJ Hero - signifying a growing trend for games and movie titles to be positioned as event or property partners. Those attending the Carnival were able to enjoy a DJ Hero showcase from Norman Jay, who has performed at the event with his Good Times sound system for 3 decades.

[DJ Hero is being developed by FreeStyleGames for Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 and Wii and is due for release at Christmas].

Last week saw Panasonic Consumer Electronics sign up to sponsor James Cameron’s 3D sci-fi spectacular Avatar. This week, retailer Sainsbury’s has announced that it is to sponsor a week’s worth of 3D programmes as part of broadcaster Channel 4’s recently-announced 3D season.

Under the terms of the deal, Sainsbury’s will be included in trailers promos for a couple of weeks prior to the launch of the 3D season. In return it will stock 10 million pairs of 3D glasses needed to watch the shows in 3D. Commenting, Sainsbury’s senior brand manager Alex Seligman said: “This is an innovative idea and we’re delighted to be part of such a big TV event. We hope customers will enjoy trying something new and we’re sure they’ll see the difference.”

Separately, business news channels CNBC has signed HSBC Private Bank to sponsor on-air and online activity in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. HSBC Private Bank will sponsor 60-second vignettes based around a 13-part series called Alternative Investing. It will also sponsor a dedicated programme page for Alternative Investing on CNBC.com, which will include episodes, market data and a guide to alternative investments.

A good week for English cricket… After winning the Ashes comes the news that Npower is extending its title sponsorship of domestic Test Match cricket through to 2011. The renewal means it will now be at the crease for the 2011 Test series against India with the option to extend until after the end of the next Ashes series in 2013. The company will also continue to develop its grassroots programme Urban Cricket however it has decided not to renew its partnership of the Twenty20 Cup.

Rugby Union club Wasps has signed its biggest ever sponsorship deal - with information storage group EMC.

The deal is worth £1 million (cash and VIK) over two years and is an expansion of a previous arrangement under which EMC was an official supplier to the club. Under the new deal, EMC becomes shirt sponsor. Director of rugby Mark Rigby called the sponsorship “a real boost to the team.”

EMC is a major player in its sector - with global revenues of $15 billion and an active presence in 60 countries.

British Gas has been unveiled as title sponsor of the Great Swim series. The deal gives BG title sponsorship of a series of four one mile open-water swims taking place this summer in London, Scotland, The Lake District and Suffolk. 

Organisers expect 10,000 swimmers of all abilities to take part in the events which will be televised on Channel 4 in late September. The festival builds on last year’s debut Great Swim at Lake Windermere - which was an immediate hit with swimmers. After just one year in operation, it was voted as the fifth best open-water swim in the world. 

The British Gas sponsorship is part of a broad strategic link with swimming. Recently, it pledged £15 million towards a six year partnership with governing body British Swimming. It has also set itself the target of getting 10,000 non-swimmers into a swimming pool within a year. 

Commenting on the latest announcement, Rick Vlemmicks, director of marketing at British Gas, said: “At British Gas, we know that swimming is important to our customers as well as the nation. We are passionate about driving participation and believe swimming should be open to all, from World Champions to recreational swimmers to kids learning to swim in schools. Events like the Great Swim series will play an important role in supporting our Paddling Pool to Podium vision for swimming in Britain.” 

The Great Swim Series is being organised by Brendan Foster’s Nova International, the company’s which also manages mass participation running programme the Great Run. In the last year, the company has branched out into different sports looking at new opportunities and new audiences.

British Superbikes’ GSE Racing Team is looking for a new sponsor following the announcement that Wrigley’s Airwaves is to terminate its title sponsorship deal at the end of the 2009 season. The deal has not been renewed because Airwaves has decided to pursue other marketing avenues.

Commenting, team principal Darrell Healey said: “GSE Racing would like to thank Wrigley’s Airwaves for their involvement and contribution to the team’s success over the past 5 years. The team at GSE Racing will be in discussion with a number of brands regarding title sponsorship for the 2010 season onwards for which we have an ongoing contract as a fully supported factory team with Yamaha.”