Hollis Sponsorship Bulletin

 Brewer and pub operator Marston’s is to be an official sponsor of talkSPORT radio’s World Cup coverage this summer. The deal means Marston’s will get its beer brands in front of talkSPORT’s loyal following of football addicts during the biggest global sporting event of the year.
Marston’s Marketing Director Peter Jackson said: “We’re delighted to be able to extend our already-established association with world-class sport to now include the most exciting international football action of 2010. The deal with talkSPORT will give us access to dedicated footie fans over the summer as they follow England’s progress – and we hope this will cement our role as a true supporter of English sport.”
 
The brewer already has a strong association with sport –Marston’s Pedigree is the official beer of the England cricket team and Marston’s sponsors the sport from grass roots level to first class cricket at test match grounds.
Pedigree will be kicking off the company’s on-air sponsorship in June, followed up by its other talented players – Wychwood Hobgoblin, Jennings Cumberland Ale, Banks’s Bitter and Ringwood Best Bitter.
Marston’s is one of six major sponsors of the radio station’s World Cup coverage.  The six-figure deal includes Pedigree sponsorship of talkSPORT’s World Cup countdown and the much-loved Man of the Match feature, as well as online promotion through the station’s websites, magazines and email campaigns. 
 talkSPORT is also planning to set some of its outside broadcasts in some of Marston’s pubs.

In a six-figure deal negotiated by Carat Sponsorship, UTV Pitch, the sales house of men’s media brand talkSPORT, and Europe’s top-circulating sport magazine Sport, signed a agreement with skin and beauty care company Beiersdorf for the brand Nivea For Men to be an official partner of talkSPORT’s 2010 FIFA World Cup coverage.

The deal, which was negotiated by Charlotte Pilkington at UTV Pitch and Krane Jeffery, Sponsorship Director at Carat Sponsorship, will encompass all the platforms available under the UTV Pitch banner – talkSPORT, talkSPORT Magazine, talkSPORT.net and Sport magazine, and runs until the end of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in July.

The association is being used to promote Nivea For Men’s status as the Official Men’s Grooming Supplier to the England Team which was announced in February.  The campaign includes a range of features and promotions on-air leading up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup that will tie into the Nivea For Men’s strapline for the campaign ‘Preparation is Everything’.  Additional features will run around talkSPORT’s coverage of England’s 2010 FIFA World Cup matches, as well as sponsor credits around all 2010 FIFA World Cup matches.

Sport magazine will run a range of England focused advertorials with the same ‘Preparation’ theme, as well as display ads, a cover wrap and sampling campaign.  The on air and in print content will be replicated online across talksport.net and in the talkSPORT online magazine.

On the field and in the dressing room, it’s been a bad winter for top-flight English cricket. But this doesn’t appear to have dampened sponsor enthusiasm for backing the sport.

This week saw Betfair become the England & Wales Cricket Board’s official betting partner. The betting exchange is already an official partner at Test Match Grounds – but this deal will extend the range and depth of activities it can engage in. It will, for example, be able to introduce promotional activity at Test matches throughout this summer – including a presence at the summer’s showpiece The Ashes.

Betfair rose to prominence when it sponsored Channel 4′s coverage of the 2005 Ashes – which England won, thus sending C4′s ratings through the roof (and winning Betfair a Hollis Award in the process). Since then, the brand has worked with the sport in a variety of interesting ways; for example by taking the naming rights to the Sky Sports blimp – which provides live aerial coverage around Test Matches.

The other big cricket sponsorship story saw brewer Marstons sign up as partner of Yorkshire County Cricket Club for the next three years. The deal – which extends Marstons presence in the North of England – includes pouring rights, venue branding rights and the use of players for promotions.

Marstons has developed a strong sponsorship strategy around cricket in recent years. It is official beer of the ECB and, with Yorkshire, now has partnerships with nine top cricket clubs/grounds (including a partnership with Lord’s). It has also taken the partnership into media (via a tie-in with talkSport) and endorsements (partnering Matthew Hoggard).