Hollis Sponsorship Bulletin

ChannelFlip, online video broadcaster for men, has secured New REGAINE® for Men Extra Strength Foam as sponsor for its new online series, Richard Hammond’s Tech Head. The 20 x 5” series of videos, devised, created and produced by ChannelFlip Media, will launch across a range of platforms, including YouTube, iTunes and www.channelflip.com, from this week.
In each episode, Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond takes a light-hearted and irreverent look at technology from a virtual studio, with each episode focusing on a different theme. Episode titles range from “The outrageous claims made by Toaster Manufacturers” to “What did weirdos do before the internet?”
The sponsorship deal was developed by Carat Sponsorship and confirmed by Justin Gayner at ChannelFlip and Sandra Chatelain of McNeil Products Ltd. Carat Sponsorship, who are managing the campaign, helped REGAINE fully integrate into the sponsorship through creative involvement and ensuring the activity echoed its below the line digital communications.

Special K’s Chocolate and Strawberry variety of breakfast cereal will feature as the official sponsor of the popular TV show Desparate Housewives on C4 and E4 from September with re-runs of Series 6 and then from October when season 7 will begin.

In keeping with the storylines from Wisteria Lane, the Special K idents throughout the programme created by Leo Burnett London, will centre around a “delicious secret worth knowing” and shows the lengths women go to find out how others manage to look so great – in this case Special K is their secret.

Sarah Cumming, senior brand manager for Special K, said: “Desperate Housewives is a perfect fit for the Special K brand and to raise awareness of our chocolate and strawberry variety which is aimed at shape watching women who want a delicious low fat treat.”

The sponsorship is running from September 13th to late December 2010 , then restarting for part 2 of season 7 in early March 2011 and was negotiated by Maria Donaldson of Carat Sponsorship.

Frozen food brand Birds Eye is the new sponsor of ITV3’s peak time schedule in a new deal conceived and negotiated by Carat Sponsorship. 
ITV3 appeals to an older age-group demographic to which Birds Eye hopes to target some of its best-selling products that have an older age profile. The sponsorship, which will run for 12 months, will feature Birds Eye Simply Fish, Traditional Dinners and Pies.  ITV3’s peak time schedule features classic ITV shows such as Doc Martin and Lewis.
Sponsorship manager at ITV Kirsten Gillard said: “The audience synergy and the scope for longevity were key factors in the partnership.”

Toy and games company Lego is to sponsor Disney XD -the new name for boys action-adventure channel Jetix. The partnership, negotiated by agency Carat Sponsorship, will see Lego promote two new games, Creationary and Lunar Command, via a series of on-screen competitions.

The deal is an interesting development for Lego which has only recently developed into the non-digital games area. Both Creationary and Lunar Command are real-world games in which players build models using Lego to win. Creationary is available exclusively in Argos for a period of time while Lunar Command will be sold in Toys R Us.

In a separate development, Activision has professed itself very pleased with the decision to launch its DJ Hero game at the Notting Hill Carnival. As a result of that success, the company will explore other festival-based sponsorships, says Guitar Hero/DJ Hero brand manager Jon Edney: “Working with properties such as the Notting Hill Carnival is testament to where the brand now stands in terms of its profile and credibility. There will be undoubtedly be plenty more brand-defining partnerships to announce. Experiential activity has developed into a crucial element of the mix.”