Hollis Sponsorship Bulletin

Hill & Knowlton’s sports marketing & sponsorship team has been invited to expand its work on the Carling Cup. 

Following Carling’s decision to renew its association with the event for three more years, H&K Sports will manage  and activate the partnership - reporting directly into the Carling brand team. Under the stewardship of H&K Sports associate director Anthony Scammell. responsibilities will include developing & delivering a plan which details how best Carling should activate the Carling Cup association, as well as running both a proactive and reactive press office.

Commenting on the appointment, H&K Sports MD Andy Sutherden, said: “Carling set the blueprint for effective title sponsorship back in 1993 and is quite rightly one of the most respected brands in domestic football. So for H&K Sports, this is a significant extension to its activation work and testament to the industry leading campaigns the agency has managed on behalf of Carling over the past six years.”Carling brand director Martin Coyle said: “Over the last six seasons, the Carling Cup sponsorship has been a very effective way of maintaining our awareness with football fans. The sponsorship represents a significant investment for the brand and H&K will be a key player in helping us.”H&K Sports works for a broad range of clients and sports including adidas (football, rugby union & cricket), Aviva (athletics), HSBC (golf), Worthington’s (darts), Gillette (rugby union & rugby league) and ATP (tennis). The company was part of the agency team which helped football sponsorship debutant Castrol win the Hollis award for Best International Sponsorship through the creation of the Castrol Performance Index (www.castrolfootball.com).

Panasonic Consumer Electronics is to sponsor director James Cameron’s upcoming 3D sci-fi spectacular Avatar via a deal with 20th Century Fox. The rationale for the deal is to build awareness of the company’s 3D-ready plasma televisions and 3D-enabled Blu-ray Disc players - both of which are being brought to market during 2010. 2D and 3D versions of Cameron’s new film open in December.

High street electrical retailer Comet is to sponsor the next run of ITV1 gameshow Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? The deal, which covers the series from September to November, will feature idents from Addiction London  while the deal was negotiated by ZenithOptimedia. Commenting, Comet head of marketing Bill Moir said: “We’re delighted to be partnering such a high-profile and popular show. The sponsorship is the perfect platform for us to demonstrate our staff’s knowledge to customers.”

Separately, Dairy Crest flavoured milk brand FRijj is sponsoring Sky’s football show, Soccer AM for the upcoming soccer season. The multi-platform sponsorship is FRijj’s first foray into sponsorship with Sky and is said to be worth £2 million. For that price, FRijj will get coverage via broadcast, online, mobile and VOD. Marc Dubery, liquids sales and marketing director at Dairy Crest, said: “The humorous tone of the show fits well with the FRijj brand and will allow us to further build brand awareness.”

Online gaming firm 188Bet has reinforced its new status as one of the FA Premier League’s key sponsors. Having already signed shirt sponsorship deals with Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic, the company has now secured multi-year deals with Aston Villa and Chelsea.

The latter deal which last for three years is not a shirt sponsorship but it does position 188Bet as Chelsea FC’s official betting partner. The key rationale for the move is to build 188Bet’s profile in Asia. However there will also be promotions aimed at reaching Chelsea’s domestic fan-base.

Commenting on the deal, Chelsea CEO Peter Kenyon said: “Having just concluded a major extension with Samsung, we are delighted to have finalised another significant deal with 188Bet. Chelsea had a number of companies bidding to be our official betting partner but 188Bet was the right choice, financially and in terms of their ambitions & aspirations globally.”

In a separate development, Manchester United has signed a three-year sponsorship with Betfair.

Financial services group Standard Life has become the first ever title sponsor of the British Basketball Federation (BBF). The five-year deal sees Standard Life sponsor all four of the BBF’s teams, including the men’s and women’s teams that will attempt to qualify for London 2012.

Standard Life is hoping to tap into the sport’s growing popularity according to the company’s chief marketing officer Simon Gulliford: “Few sports have experienced the meteoric rise in ranking that British Basketball has achieved and we look forward to working in partnership with the BBF over the next five years,” he said.

Standard Life’s partnership with British Basketball will run from 2009 to 2013. BBF commercial director Simon Tuckey said: “We have worked hard over the past three years to attract a partner who would not only benefit the sport but believe in the goals we have set, and we feel Standard Life more than fits those criteria. We are delighted they have come on board and look forward to a long, successful relationship.”

Comment: This deal is the latest in a long line of partnerships which have come about since London won the right to host the 2012 Olympics. For companies which were unable or unwilling to buy official 2012 sponsorship packages, linking up with domestic federations is a great way of forming an indirect link with the London Games.

Still on the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board has shortlisted golf and rugby sevens for possible Olympic inclusion from 2016. The two sports will now be put to a vote by members of the IOC on October 9. Golf’s Olympic proposal is for a 60-player 72-hole stroke-play competition for both sexes. The International Rugby Board hopes the inclusion of sevens will help grow the game in new markets.

Guitar Hero, the hit game from Activision/Harmonix/RedOctane, is to sponsor Absolute Radio’s coverage of the V Festival. Under the terms of the deal, the Guitar Hero brand will be linked to radio broadcasts of live performances and online interviews/images.

Guitar Hero also has a direct relationship with the V Festival – which involves a dedicated area where festival visitors can play the popular game. In addition, Guitar Hero will also have a presence at Absolute Radio’s backstage area – which is used as a base for guests and prize winners.

Watchmaker Seiko has extended its 25-year sponsorship of The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) by another four years from 2010 to 2013. The relationship started way back at the 1985 World Indoor Games.

Commenting on the deal, which was brokered by agency Dentsu, IAAF president Lamine Diack said: “We are delighted to continue our long partnership with Seiko. Their technology and services have been vital to the success of our events for a quarter of a century and we look forward to another four years of cooperation”.

Seiko executive VP Shinji Hattori said: “We will continue to repay the sport’s trust in our timing technologies with new systems and services that help the growth of the great sport of athletics.”

Over the four years, Seiko will supply timing and distance measurement services to 19 IAAF events, including the 2011 World Championships in South Korea and the 2013 edition in Russia.

The Football Association and Wembley Stadium have completed the integration of their marketing departments. As a result of the reorganisation, head of sponsorship across the two bodies will be Peter Daire – who is already head of sponsorship at the FA. He will report to Jonathan Hill – whose role as FA commercial director also expands to encompass activities at Wembley.

Until now, Wembley’s commercial activities have been run at arm’s length to those of the FA. However the departure of Wembley commercial director Jonathan Gregory to run England’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup has smoothed the way for closer co-operation. The hope is that Wembley’s sponsorship sales will benefit from being handled in tandem with the FA’s strategy.

Spanish banking giant Santander has been a big backer of motor racing circuit Formula One in recent years. Now there are rumours it is poised to announce a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

The stand-off over the Team 2012 sponsorship package continues to cast a shadow over elite athlete funding for the London Olympic Games.

Team 2012 was created by the government to help cover a hefty shortfall in public funding for prospective UK Olympians. In essence, companies which sign up to it will be granted access to talent as part of their marketing and promotional activities. However the programme has run into problems because of a potential clash with top athletes’ personal endorsements.

Leading athletes are concerned about a clause in the Team 2012 contract which bars them from entering any new arrangement which “derogates from and/or conflicts with the Team 2012 agreement”. In other words, athletes who are part of the UK Sport-administered programme appear to limit their own earning potential. As a result, leading names such as swimming sensation Rebecca Adlington and cycling champs Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins have refused to sign.

The government however is starting to pile on the pressure – suggesting that top athletes should see Team 2012 as pay back for all the years of public support they have drawn on during their developmental years. There’s also a suggestion that, by refusing to sign, top stars with serious earning potential are driving a wedge between themselves and lesser known athletes who can’t command big commercial fees. For the latter, Team 2012 is being promoted as a lifeline.