Hollis Sponsorship Bulletin

The England cricket team’s Second Test Win over Australia appears to have had a knock-on commercial impact following the news that Brit Insurance is to become a major news sponsor for the team. The company replaces Vodafone, which pulls out later this year after 12 years as national team sponsor.

Governing body the ECB is believed to have secured around £4 million a year for the deal – which runs for four years starting from January 2010 .

Brit Insurance is regarded as a good fit for the sponsorship – since it is already a high-profile friend of cricket. Currently, it has a naming rights deal with the Oval which also involves the sponsorship of Surrey county cricket club.

Under the terms of the deal, the Brit Insurance logo will appear on all playing and training kit worn by the England cricket teams. The brand will also have advertising in stadia during England matches, image rights and access to players for marketing purposes. “We are delighted to welcome Brit Insurance as the new principal sponsor of the England Cricket Teams,” said ECB CEO David Collier. “With an established brand and excellent reputation within the sport we are looking forward to working closely with them.”

In a major boost for UK sponsorship, England has been selected to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup. With London 2012 on the horizon and England also a front-runner to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018, the UK could be on the verge of a dynamic decade for the sports marketing sector.

England beat off competition from South Africa and Italy after proposing a commercial package worth around £300 million. Japan, after the disappointment of not being selected to host RWC 2011, has been named as host nation for the 2019 edition.

The current blueprint for the 2015 World Cup will see matches played between September 4 and October 17. Games will be played in 10 cities and 12 stadiums across the country – with the Final at Twickenham. Deloittes estimates that the event could be worth £2.1 billion to the British economy.

This week saw Arts & Business unveil the shortlists for its 31st Awards. With seven categories up for grabs, leading contenders include brands like Barclays, BP, Co-operative Group, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Qinetiq, Shell and UBS.

Commenting on the line-up, A&B chief executive Colin Tweedy issued a bullish assessment of the arts sponsorship market: “With 300 new sponsorships already in the first quarter of 2009, businesses know that growing their brand share is even more important in a shrinking market and that cultural collaborations provide the best way to do that. We are delighted that in spite of the recession the calibre, variety and ingenuity of this shortlist is as strong as ever.” 

Tweedy also outlined his belief that the private sector would “recover from this recession before the public sector. Arts & Business will continue to do all we can to ensure that the private sector’s contribution to the UK’s cultural vibrancy remains at the heart of our economy’s renewal.”

For more on the Awards, visit http://www.aandb.org.uk – or why not take a  look at the A&B page on Facebook?

Sports and entertainment group Wasserman Media Group is to manage Castrol’s 2010 FIFA World Cup ambassador programme. As part of the partnership, WMG will negotiate, secure and manage a number of high profile ambassadors for the South Africa-hosted event. Commenting on the arrangement, Castrol global sponsorship manager Donald Smith said: “Our association with Wasserman has already delivered strong value to our business through accessing their skills and capabilities.”

The London 2012 organising committee (LOCOG) has named Ticketmaster as official ticketing services provider for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. As part of the deal, Ticketmaster also becomes a tier three partner.

Commenting on the deal, LOCOG commercial director, Chris Townsend (also the current Hollis Personality Of The Year), said: “We’re thrilled to be welcoming Ticketmaster onboard. When tickets go on sale in 2011, we’ll need a team of world-class ticketing experts in place, ensuring we manage demand and deliver a first-class customer service.”

Meanwhile, in a separate development, LOCOG is running an ad campaign which thanks global and domestic partners to London 2012 for their support. Created by ad agency McCann Erickson, the print campaign draws attention to the fact that the London Games are now just three years away.

Energy supplier British Gas began sponsoring Christian O’Connell’s Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio this week. The deal, brokered by agency Carat, runs until the end of 2009 and is said to have cost six-figures. Explaining the rationale for the deal, British Gas senior marketing manager Andrew Hogan said Absolute connects with consumers: “British Gas is helping people look after their worlds, and Christian is part of that, helping look after their mornings”.

Sponsorship consultancy Generate has been appointed by music and arts venue the Roundhouse as their retained agency. Initially, Generate will seek a partner for the venue’s creative studios programme for 11-25 year olds. 

Commenting, the Roundhouse’s director of development  Bernadette O’Sullivan said: “We’re delighted to be working with Generate and look forward to securing partners for the Roundhouse. We pride ourselves on our reputation as a destination for innovation, which is why we’ve been named as one of the top 5 cool arts brands for three years.”

Commonwealth Games England (CGE) has appointed Duncan Lewis as its marketing director. In his new role, Lewis will be responsible for overseeing the CGE brand and attracting sponsorship for the England team that will compete in the New Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Despite all of the sponsorship money that has been sucked into London 2012, Lewis believes the CGE brand has huge potential because of the English team’s success at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. He also expects CGE’s cause to benefit from the halo effect of London 2012. Not only are broadcasters like to give the Delhi Games extra attention, but sponsors will be looking for ways to generate media exposure in the two years before the Olympic event.

Korean electronics giant Samsung has appointed Imagination London to activate its sponsorship of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The agency will work with Samsung to develop a branded environment that athletes and the public can visit during the games. Imagination also worked with for Samsung at the Beijing Olympics last year.

Close season has seen the missing pieces of the Premier League sponsorship jigsaw puzzle continue to be filled in. This week, it’s the turn of Portsmouth which has announced a three year deal with online recruitment website Jobsite.

Under the terms of the deal, the Jobsite logo will appear on the team shirt, website, matchday programme, tickets and merchandise. The deal will also see the Fratton end of the club’s stadium renamed as the Jobsite Stand. The deal is slightly unusual in that a growing number of the EPL’ sponsors are international businesses. Jobsite, a division of Associated Northcliffe Digital Group, is UK-focused.