Hollis Sponsorship Bulletin

British Airways has signed up as official airline of the England 2018 World Cup Bid and is partnering with football hero Gary Lineker OBE to rally the nation to back the bid.

As England 2018 ambassador, Gary unveiled the British Airways aircraft that will fly the England 2018 bid book to Zurich, home of FIFA. The Airbus A319 aircraft will sport a giant black and white football on its nose. The bid book represents England’s formal proposal to FIFA and sets out the country’s vision for hosting the World Cup.

British Airways launches its campaign by flying the England 2018 team to FIFA’s headquarters on May 13, to officially hand over the bid book to President Sepp Blatter. The value in kind partnership will allow the England 2018 team to fly around the globe to meet with key figures in world football as they seek to earn the right to stage the tournament in England. In December,  British Airways will fly the England 2018 team into Zurich for the final presentation to FIFA.

Willie Walsh, British Airways CEO, said “It’s our goal to support the bid campaign to bring the World Cup to England in 2018. We have a world-class airport in Heathrow Terminal 5, and the infrastructure for transport, accommodation, security and stadiums to stage a global event in this country. We look forward to playing our part in backing the bid.”

There will also be an opportunity for British Airways customers to back the bid by providing their messages of support in Terminal 5 in the coming weeks. These will be reproduced on the livery of the plane taking the England 2018 bid to FIFA’s headquarters in December.

British Airways is to be headline sponsor of The Telegraph weekly world edition’s Best of British Awards which take place in April.  British expatriates nominate and vote for their favourite British establishments from around the world via www.telegraph.co.uk/expat.

John Lewis yesterday became the 26th domestic sponsor to join the London 2010 team with the title Official Department Store Provider.  As a Tier Three Provider to London 2012, John Lewis will offer its staff the opportunity to work at LOCOG in the build-up to the Games, help to furnish lounge and reception areas at Games-time venues, and provide warehouse space.  The John Lewis shop on Oxford Street and  a new shop due to be opened in 2011 adjacent to the Olympic Park at Stratford are set to become key retail outlets for Games-related merchandise.  These shops will give back all net profit to London 2012 on Olympic merchandise sold.

London 2012 Chairman Sebastian Coe commented: “We are thrilled that John Lewis has chosen to join us on the journey to 2012.  They supported us during the bid and so it is fantastic to have them on board as a sponsor.  They bring a wealth of retail experience which will  be invaluable to us as our merchandise programme ramps up and crucially, members of their staff will join our own to provide expertise and ensure those visiting our Games receive the warmest of welcomes in 2012.”

Andy Street, Managing Director of John Lewis commented: “Sustainability and community are at the heart of our business and we are therefore delighted to be involved with the regeneration of east London through anchoring the Olympic development in Stratford with our latest full-line department store as well as helping to fund the most exciting sporting event for a generation.”

Contributing to LOCOG’s budget of £2 billion for staging the Olympic and Paralymic Games are seven Tier One Partners – adidas,  BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB, six domestic  Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS.  There are now 13 domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, Crystal CG, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, GSK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, The Nielsen Company, Populous, Ticketmaster and Trident.

The Worldwide Olympic Partners signed up for London 2012 are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos Origin, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Samsung and Visa.

IMG Consulting is to handle all aspects of British Airways’ sponsorship activity with immediate effect. The news follows a rigorous sponsorship agency review conducted by BA during the course of the last couple of months.

Working with the airline’s in-house sponsorship and communication teams, IMG Consulting will be responsible for all aspects of the BA sponsorship portfolio, from day-to-day enquiries through to planning and activation internally and externally. Commenting, British Airways global sponsorship manager Luisa Fernandez said: “We are delighted to welcome IMG Consulting on board. Their wealth of experience along with their global network and creative ideas will help take our projects to the next level.”

The news is a coup for IMG Consulting - which will now be involved in the activation of BA’s tier one London 2012 sponsorship. BA has already started leveraging its Olympic  association through Great Britons, a programme which aims to help people to be the best they can be. The scheme looks for individuals who demonstrate the values associated with Olympic and Paralympic Games and who strive to be the best, whether their passion is in sport, music, fashion, performing arts, art and design, innovation or community.

South African brewer SAB (part of the multinational group SABMiller - owner of lager brands such as Miller, Grolsch, Peroni Nastro Azzurro) is to sponsor the forthcoming British & Irish Lions rugby union tour of South Africa.

SAB’s lager brand Castle secured title sponsorship of the tour in a deal worth around £1.7m - confirming its status as one of the most important sports sponsors in the country. It sponsored the last Lions tour of South Africa in 1997 and will also be involved in the hotly-anticipated upcoming cricket test series between Australia and South Africa.

The Lions’ ten day tour of South Africa is expected to be one of the sporting highlights of the year - with analysts predicting it will be worth around £70 million to the local South African economy. It’s also a big earner for the Lions team - which has picked up a number of blue-chip sponsors. These include brands like HSBC, Guinness, adidas, British Airways, Marks & Spencer and First Cape.

Irish airline Aer Lingus has signed an £800,000 six-month deal which will see it sponsor Johnny Vaughan and Lisa Snowdon’s Breakfast Show on London station Capital FM.

The deal, which starts in March, was negotiated by media agency MediaVest. Aside from on-air exposure and integration, it will include podcast and on-line elements.

The rationale for the sponsorship is to make Londoners aware of new Aer Lingus routes out of Gatwick. These include flights to Nice and Munich. The deal gives Aer Lingus access to just under one million listeners per week.

Meanwhile, Classic FM (part of the same group as Capital) has signed an ad-funded programme deal with British Airways - for a 13-week series called Travellers’ Tales.