Hollis Sponsorship Bulletin

While England has managed to sign up Brit Insurance as its team sponsor, Twenty20 cricket also continues to be of great interest to brands. This week, for example, saw Indian telco Airtel sign up as title partner of the new Twenty20 Champion’s League tournament which starts in October of this year.
Airtel has signed up as title partner for five years in a deal with the event’s commercial rights holder ESPN Star Sports. The deal is said to be worth £4.2 million over the five-year period – though this hasn’t been confirmed by the rights holders.

The event will involve 12 teams from India, Australia, South Africa, England, West Indies, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. They will play 23 matches in 16 days, competing for £4 million in prize money. Commenting on the deal, Bharti Airtel marketing director Shireesh Joshi said: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with ESPN for the title sponsorship of the Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament. We have seen a great synergy between our brand and cricket, since both cater for and connect to a wide spectrum of consumer segments.”

If you want to know where all the marketing money is – look East. Organisers of the 2010 Asian Games revealed this week that they have secured 28 sponsors for the event – which takes place in  Ghuangzhou, China next year.

Speaking at a press conference, the Ghuangzhou organising committee director Fang Da’er said the sponsorships secured to date are worth 400 million yuan (U$60 million). This is four times the amount generated by the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, itself regarded as a success.

Commercially, The Games is riding on the momentum created by last summer’s Beijing 2008 Olympics. However it’s also worth pointing out that the Chinese economy has not fared as badly as more established markets such as Europe and the US. As a result, there are a number of companies from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan which are seeking to use the event as a sports marketing platform.

Meanwhile, still on the subject of Asia, there are reports this week that FA Premier League side Manchester City is set to secure a £30 million, four-year sponsorship deal with Air Etihad. On the red side of city, Manchester United has just unveiled a £10m five-year deal with Indian telco Airtel.