Hollis Sponsorship Bulletin

This week’s big broadcast sponsorship story saw retail brand Littlewoods sign up as title sponsor of ITV soap Emmerdale for the next two years. It takes over from Reckitt Benckiser on August 31, 2009 in a deal which covers exposure on ITV1, ITV2, and ITV3 and online.

In addition to broadcast exposure, Littlewoods will also have access to cast members of the soap for use in promotional activities. This could involve activity in the Littlewoods magazine and via its home shopping website.

Previous Littlewoods ITV broadcast sponsorships include Trinny & Susannah Undress and The British Soap Awards – which the company sponsored earlier this year. The latest deal was brokered by Carat Sponsorship associate director Krane Jeffery who said: “We are pleased to see the success of Littlewoods’ sponsorship programme develop into an association with one of the UK’s biggest opportunities.”

The UK division of Worldwide Olympic Partner Panasonic has appointed brandRapport to leverage its Olympic sponsorship in the UK. Under the terms of the deal, brandRapport will work with Panasonic UK to pull together a four year strategy which the agency will then activate. As part of its role, brandRapport will receive and respond to all Panasonic’s Olympic sponsorship enquiries within the UK.

Commenting on the appointment, Panasonic UK advertising and sponsorship manager David Bonney said: “We have been working with the Olympics for over twenty years but with the home Games in 2012 we really wanted to make the most of this opportunity. BrandRapport has developed and implemented some successful Olympic campaigns over recent years and we look forward to working with them.”  

BrandRapport director Mark Bullingham added: “Over the next few months we will be working with all of (Panasonic’s) relevant marketing teams to ensure that we create a programme that will support their product campaigns and maximise the ROI from the sponsorship.” 

Note: As an official worldwide partner of London 2012, Panasonic has exclusive marketing rights for the audio, TV and video equipment category worldwide and can use Olympic and Team GB imagery throughout its campaigns.

An interesting legal story from the US… As part of its descent into, and emergence from, bankruptcy, General Motors has been allowed to cancel dozen of sponsorship deals across areas like motorsports, golf, athletics and NFL.

The judge overseeing GM’s bankruptcy case said it was okay for the car manufacturer to leave 56 contracts in the old GM shell which has been wound down. This means that the new, streamlined GM – which has just come out of bankruptcy – is no longer liable for a wide array of team sponsorships, event sponsorships & personal endorsements. It has also wiped out a number of naming rights deals.

The deal they said would never happen was struck this week – an extension between South Korean electronics giant Samsung and English Premier League club Chelsea FC.

Samsung and Chelsea initially linked up in 2005 via a £10 million a year shirt sponsorship deal. There were rumours earlier this summer that the two had reached impasse over renewal price – but now the two sides have unveiled a three-year agreement which links them through until 2012/13.

No price has been put on the deal. Chelsea was initially pushing for double the last contract – but is unlikely to have got near that price because of the recession. Samsung, meanwhile, wanted to pay the same as last time – but is unlikely to have been able to achieve that either. Best guest in the current market is that the deal was worth £12-14m.

Samsung’s priority is clearly global brand exposure. But under the terms of the new deal it also gets an exclusive on all consumer electronics sold via the football club, including mobiles, digital cameras and IT equipment. Presumably this will lead to a spate of marketing initiatives involving high-profile members of Chelsea’s playing staff (who are also tied into the club contract with Samsung).

Commenting on the deal, Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon said: “The renewal of our partnership is a significant step forward on the original deal, and we are pleased to deliver additional rights for Samsung. We very much welcome the continued partnership and anticipate mutual success from deepening our relationship.

Less positive are reports that Carling has decided not to renew its shirt sponsorship with Scotland’s Old Firm clubs Celtic and Rangers. The hunt is now on for a new sponsor willing to work with both clubs. The estimated price tag is £1-£2  million (down on the £2.2 million from Carling). Depending on which company picks up that deal, Carling may re-emerge as a pouring rights partner at both clubs.

The management team in charge of England’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup is looking for a founding sponsor. The hunt is being headed by England 2018 director of partnerships Jonathan Gregory – who joined from Wembley earlier this year. England 2018 says it is already talking with a “number of potential partners” about getting involved in bring the tournament to England.

As with the Olympics, such a sponsor would only have rights up until the bid decision is taken. If England won the right to host  the event, the brand would then need to apply for the right to sponsor the event (unless the brand in question already had an arrangement with the event via FIFA). England is one of the favourites to win the event but faces competition from Australia, Russia and the US. A decision will be taken by FIFA in December 2010.

Barclaycard’s music-based sponsorship strategy took another step forward this week with the launch of a new website. Designed to support its recent sponsorship deals, the site – Barclaycardunwind.com – will offer registered Barclaycard customers access to tickets, gigs and competitions.

So far this year, Barclaycard has signed deals with The Mercury Prize, event promoter Live Nation and radio group  Global – owner of the Heart, XFM, Galaxy brands. The new site will be promoted via an ad campaign and customer communication channels such as statements and emails.

Commenting on the latest development, Barclaycard senior sponsorship and promotions manager Dan Mathieson said: “Through these partnerships we can provide customers with ticket offers, prizes, VIP experiences and exclusive access to tracks. There is something for everyone on the site.”

The music industry as a whole has been suffering in recent years. But a recent report from collecting agency PRS for Music said sponsorship was quite buoyant. Increasingly, brands are look to work directly with artists – either as live event partners or through online and mobile partnerships.

Heineken-owned lager Amstel has appointed iris experience to create a series of activities at The Big Chill festival – which takes place at Eastnor Castle Deer Park in August.

Amstel has been trying to gain a foothold in the UK market for the last few years and has become a regular feature during The Big Chill weekend. This activity involves the creation of The Amstel Fringe – a programme of events designed to complement The Big Chill’s lineup. Activities including picnics, a reading corner and dating events. 

Iris, which has been on a roll in recent week, is not just handling the event activities. It is also managing pre-event promotion via viral marketing and social networking sites.

The latest internet-based survey from Nielsen Company has found that personal acquaintances and opinions posted by consumers online are the most trusted forms of advertising globally. However there was good news for sponsorship – which also came out well in the 25,000 strong survey.

The Trust in Advertising element of the survey was first conducted in April 2007 and the two years since then reveals that brand sponsorship has seen the greatest increase in levels of trust among online consumers. According to Nielsen, the figure has risen from 49% in April 2007 to 64% in April 2009 – an absolute increase of 15%. Brand sponsorships are closely followed by ads before movies which have also increased from 38% to 52% – up 14%.

When it comes to trusting brand sponsorships, Nielsen says Latin American countries lead the way with 81% of both Colombian and Venezuelan internet consumers and 79% of Brazilians trusting this form of communications. 52% of British internet consumers trust brand sponsorships, placing Britain 34th out of 50 countries surveyed. Least impressed were the Swedish who came in with just 33% in favour.

Jonathan Carson, president of online, international, for the Nielsen Company said brands should take note of the international fluctuations: “The regional differences provide a clear guide to advertisers as to how they should focus their ad strategy in different countries. It also shows that, despite the authority of word of mouth when it comes to decision-making, brand advertisers still have a major say.”

Note: The latest Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey was conducted in March-April 2009 among 25, 420 internet consumers in 50 markets across Europe, Asia Pacific, North & Latin America and the Middle East. The survey provides insight into the opinions and preferences of internet consumers. On July 15th, Nielsen will release a white paper covering consumers’ trust in advertising, how they see the benefits of advertising as well as comparing the effect on consumers of television and online video advertising.

The British Rally Championship (BRC) is looking for a title sponsor for the 2010 edition of its series. The move follows the decision by Tesco 99 Octane Fuel not to renew. Promoting the Championship, BRC manager Mark Taylor says: “The sponsorship of the BRC means an association with a series that has a worldwide following. The championship has been a training ground for many world rally champions and the coverage on Sky Sports is available to about half a billion homes worldwide.” More BRC information about can be found at www.rallybrc.co.uk

It’s been a good week for energy drink brand Red Bull. At the weekend, its Formula One team dominated the German Grand Prix. Meanwhile in the UK, it agreed a four-year extension to its sponsorship deal with UK Athletics (UKA).

The deal, which is worth around £400,000, runs from 2009 to 2013. It gives Red Bull the exclusive right to provide energy drinks at UKA competitions – while also giving it a strong in-field presence at televised events. It also has the right to provide energy drinks and drink stations across UKA offices, to coaching staff, and at high performance centres including training camps, conferences, and squads.

As official energy drink, Red Bull will also work with UKA athletes – providing nutritional and performance support programmes on a year-long basis. Commenting on the deal, UKA chief executive Niels de Vos said: “We are delighted to continue our relationship with one of the leading brands in the industry. There is a natural synergy between our elite athletes and Red Bull and the extension of the long term collaboration reflects this. I look forward to enhancing what is already a strong partnership over the coming years.