Hollis Sponsorship Bulletin

O2’s live venue partnership with Academy Music Group has been named Sponsorship Of The Year at the 18th Hollis Sponsorship Awards, held in front of a packed audience at the London Marriott Hotel last night.

The mobile firm also won the Brand and Entertainment & Event Categories to complete a hat-trick of wins. Sharing top billing was cosmetic brand TreSemme, which won the Best Use of Research, First Time and TV Sponsorship categories for its sponsorship of the Next Top Model franchise.

A number of changes to the Awards structure brought a 40% increase in entries and a bigger turnout on the evening. Commenting on the increased numbers, Hollis Awards organiser Rosemary Sarginson commented: “The range and quality of this year’s entries show that sponsorship has become an indispensible part of the brand marketer’s tool-kit. I’m thrilled to see such a positive response – particular for our new digital categories which were won by Ericsson and Nivea. My friends and colleagues in the sponsorship industry have negotiated the fragile economic situation through a mixture of innovation, creativity and courage.”

Other winners on the night included Sponsorship Consultancies of the Year Synergy and Limelight and Personality of the Year Suzi Williams from BT. In London’s Olympic year, former Olympic hero Alan Pascoe presented Karen Earl with an Outstanding Achievement Award to mark her career at the forefront of the sponsorship industry. The first ever Innovation Award went to the Tate Movie Project.

Aside from partnering Tresemme in its three wins, Sky’s growing significance in the field of sponsorship was evident in the shape of two other wins (Green Category and Education & Learning Category). The prestigious Arts Award went to Deloitte and its Royal Opera House sponsorship.

Other big brands to win awards included GE, RBS, Barclays, Nintendo, Ericsson, MasterCard, Nike, Aegon and Aviva, which was rewarded for for its landmark partnership with the UK Athletics. There was also a win for Volunteer It Yourself in the Low Budget Category. Best use of PR went to the amusingly entitled Betfair Bum-vertising campaign.

We were also delighted to announce the winner of the Barrie Gill Award For Most Promising Young Sponsorship Executive. Shortlisted were James Kershaw from ICON and Sandra Almqvist and Louise Elliott from Limelight Sports – all highly motivated individuals destined to make a mark in the industry – with Sandra taking the top prize.

Our sponsor Huggity (www.huggity.com) were on site to take a FanPic of the audience. The megapixel image will be on site (www.sponsorship-awards.co.uk)later today and guests will be able to tag themselves and friends.

Also on site will be photographs from the evening plus detailed resumes of all the shortlisted entries.

Interpublic Group of Companies has acquired London-based creative music and entertainment agency FRUKT Communications. It is to become part of Octagon Entertainment Group.

“The acquisition of FRUKT further strengthens Octagon’s industry leadership in the global entertainment marketing business and strengthens its global reach,” commented Harris Diamond, CEO of Interpublic’s Constituency Management Group, which includes Octagon. “Our clients will benefit from this expanded focus to connect and engage with the passions of sports and entertainment fans across multiple platforms.”

Established in 2001, FRUKT has helped leading brands such as Coca-Cola, Southern Comfort, Diesel and Starwood Hotels build and keep on-going dialogue with consumers through their passion for music and entertainment platforms. The acquisition will allow FRUKT to fast track its international growth and diversification into broader entertainment sectors.

Octagon Worldwide CEO and President, Rick Dudley, put the acquisition into perspective. “Our ongoing investment in the entertainment and music space over the past several years has successfully resulted in Octagon offering clients a unique blend of strategy, consumer insights and creative thinking based on our successful sports formula. The FRUKT acquisition adds tremendously to Octagon’s unmatched and comprehensive entertainment marketing services and strengthens our Octagon Entertainment Group.”

Dudley described the pairing as a great fit. “The FRUKT team is a highly-disciplined, strategic and creative team offering counsel and activation services to the corporate sector. They have a keen understanding of how companies can leverage fans’ passions for music and entertainment. They are as analytical as they are creative in their approach to problem solving. Entertainment has been a major area of investment for us, and we see a great opportunity for growth with this acquisition,” he said.

FRUKT’s co-founders cited further reasons why the fit is highly compatible. “We have a lot of experience in creating truly meaningful engagement with passionate consumers in a world increasingly dependent on brands to create entertainment. We create and deliver big, enduring entertainment ideas and Octagon has excelled at this approach in other markets and sectors. The mutual benefits were obvious to us,” said FRUKT, Creative Director, Jack Horner. CEO Anthony Ackenhoff agreed. “We have built our reputation around creating and activating smart strategies for brands that are rooted in entertainment and culture and that address and resolve real business challenges.”

Horner explained that becoming a part of Octagon’s global network will enhance FRUKT’s ongoing evolution from their roots in music to become a force in creating and activating global entertainment marketing campaigns.

Global sports research company RSMG Insights has extended its portfolio with the acquisition of IFM Group including IFM Sports Marketing Surveys. The transaction includes IFM comprising German-based IFM Sports and UK-headquartered IFM Sports Marketing Surveys as well as their associated entities and holdings. IFM Sports and IFM Sports Marketing Surveys will continue to trade in their respective markets as operating businesses under the RSMG Insights holding.
“We see this as another significant step towards strategic consolidation on a global basis as well as elevating the sports research industry,” Paul Smith, CEO of RSMG Insights, said. “Our goal is to create a transparent, comparable global platform for sponsorship valuation and research. With this merger, we are firmly on course to achieving that.”
RSMG Insights, which also comprises sports research companies REPUCOM International and SPORT+MARKT, was formed in November 2010 through the merger of these two companies along with additional backing from New York-based investment partners GF Capital Private Equity Fund.
“The sports business is a beacon in difficult economic times and, as such, brands and rights holders are more aware than ever of the importance of reliable analytics,” Erik Baker, Managing Director of GF Capital Private Equity Fund, added. “This acquisition is another signal of the ambition of RSMG Insights to set a new benchmark in the sports research industry.”
With more than 25 years’ experience in research and strategic consultancy in sports business, IFM Sports and IFM Sports Marketing Surveys have built a formidable reputation both in their European home markets and on a global level. The agency counts some of the major brands and rights holders in the world of sport and entertainment among its clients.
This merger will enable IFM Sports and IFM Sports Marketing Surveys to call upon the global network of expertise within the RSMG Insights group, comprising more than 1,200 employees in 20 international offices worldwide and currently carrying out project work in over 170 countries.
Former IFM Sports CEO Oliver Kaiser is founding a new venture, with a focus on strategy as well as consulting. RSMG Insights will hold a minority share in this entity.

Aberdeen Asset Management is to extend its sponsorship of the Cowes Week regatta until 2015.

This extension represents a further two year commitment to the event, enabling Aberdeen Asset Management to build upon the solid foundations already established with Cowes Week and ensure a stable financial footing for the regatta for the next four years.

Martin Gilbert, Chief Executive of Aberdeen Asset Management said: “Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week 2011 proved to be a tremendous success. We look forward to working with Cowes Week Limited to build on this positive start and are delighted to be extending our long-term commitment through to 2015 with this first-class sporting event.”

Commenting on the announcement, new Chairman of CWL, Peter Dickson, said: “I am delighted to be starting my period as Chairman on such a positive note. My predecessor, John Grandy, successfully steered the regatta through some challenging waters and I am very much looking forward to continuing his great work on the development of Cowes Week, in partnership with Aberdeen Asset Management and our family of event sponsors.”

Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week in 2012 takes place from the 11th to the 18th of August –later than usual in order to avoid a clash with the Olympic Games.