Sponsorship News

BDS Sponsorship has been appointed to undertake sponsorship consultancy for The British Postal Museum and Archive, incorporating The Mail Rail.

Running directly under the feet of millions of unsuspecting Londoners and passing many of the city’s most recognisable landmarks, The Post Office Underground Railway – The Mail Rail – ran largely unnoticed between 1927 and 2003 from Whitechapel in the east to Paddington in the west. Shut down a decade ago, the world’s first driverless, electrified railway has been frozen in time – until now!

Described by Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, as ‘a national treasure of global importance’, the British Postal Museum & Archive will open this forgotten masterpiece of innovation and industry to the general public for the first time in 2016 as part of a major new London tourist attraction.

The new national heritage centre, which is situated between Kings Cross and Farringdon, will attract over 180,000 paying visitors each year and will open up almost 400 years of records and objects from the reign of King Charles I to the present day. Interactive exhibitions will reveal curious items and fascinating episodes from our shared history and visitors will be taken on a journey exploring how the organisation radically changed the world.

Having completed the sponsorship strategy BDS Sponsorship have been appointed to secure sponsors for Alexandra Palace.

Opened as “The People’s Palace” in 1873, Alexandra Palace has hosted an eclectic mix of extraordinary events and experiences for over 140 years.

Most notably in 1936 Alexandra Palace became the ‘Birthplace of Television’. In 1936 the BBC leased the eastern part of the building and broadcast the first ever public television transmissions anywhere in the world. Alexandra Palace was the BBC’s major production centre and main transmitting centre until 1956 and then continued to produce television programmes at Alexandra Palace for the BBC until 1981.

Now 78 years on Alexandra Palace, as part of a site regeneration master plan, are opening the BBC Studios to the public for the first time through creating a major new ‘birthplace of television’ cutting edge and technology led world class visitor experience.

In addition to this Alexandra Place remains the UK’s most versatile event venue. It has hosted more than 150 events in the last 12 months. Annual footfall to the Palace is 800,000 and growing; whilst visitors to both the Palace and the 196 acre Grade II listed park is in excess of 3.5 million.

Alexandra Palace is one of London’s leading music venues and hosts concerts (of cutting edge and up and coming acts) with over 10,000 attendees to any one event.

Alexandra Palace also has a very successful track record of delivering brand experiences for companies, such as the Red Bull Soapbox, Heineken House, Smirnoff Night Life Exchange Project and the Red Bull Empire of Dirt. Events held at Alexandra Palace appear on all major UK TV stations during the year (and also provide international TV exposure such as, for example, very major TV coverage on Chinese Television).

Alexandra Palace has world class Xirrus wifi facilities on site that enable more than 4,500 visitors to log on at any one time and thus provide unique opportunities for brands to engage with the site’s visitors.

 

BDS have had a busy few months and now have a number of new clients that we are providing sponsorship consultancy services and / or sponsorship sales for, including:

• Chocfest: a 7 month event and communication programme will culminate with Chocfest: the UK’s largest ever chocolate festival. It will be a fun and positive celebration of all things chocolate and more. For 12 days over Easter 2015 more than 900,000 people will visit Chocfest to share their enjoyment and love of chocolate and millions more will be reached through the extensive media coverage.
• LiverpoolONE: attracting more than 26 million people every year, LiverpoolONE is the only site in the UK which combines city centre retail (140 stores), f&b, accommodation and a city centre park (5 acres). It is therefore one of the most flexible mass market locations in the UK for brand experiences and sponsorships. Combining larger events (using the park) and high profile in mall activity LiverpoolONE are seeking partners for year round engagement programmes that will enable brands to create meaningful connections with LiverpoolONE’s visitors.
• Glow @ Bluewater: Bluewater attracts more than 28 million people every year and Glow is a state of the art events venue at Bluewater hosting a variety of events (e.g. Winter Wonderland, music, comedy, sports, wedding shows, baby & toddler shows and vitality shows). There are a number of sponsorship and partnership opportunities available at both Bluewater and Glow that would enable sponsors to interact and communicate with the 28 million visitors, and targeted sections thereof.

In addition to the above BDS sponsorship are in the early stages of completing sponsorship consultancy reports for Alexandra Palace, Variety and Salford Community Leisure.

CNBC JOINS FORCES WITH SARACENS

 CNBC becomes Official Broadcast Partner to Saracens Rugby Club

 CNBC, the worldwide leader in business news, has become Official Broadcast Partner to the Saracens Rugby Club.

The global 2-year partnership, announced today and brokered by BDS Sponsorship, sees the world’s leading business and financial news network unite with one of Europe’s leading rugby clubs. The partnership strengthens Saracens links with the City of London and will help increase awareness of the Saracens brand, and the values of rugby, to CNBC’s international business audience.

The renowned CNBC brand will appear on Saracens playing jerseys, with the network also benefiting from player appearances, access to tickets, hospitality and branding at Allianz Park for two seasons.

The Saracens players will wear their jerseys with the CNBC logo for the first match of the season at the London Double Header on Saturday 7^th September when all four London clubs battle it out in a showpiece season-opening event at Twickenham. Saracens play London Irish with Wasps playing Harlequins.

The agreement allows Saracens to engage with CNBC’s unmatched affluent and influential business audience around the world, via its regional television networks in Europe, the United States and Asia Pacific.

The partnership will incorporate Saracens relationship with its international clubs, with the CNBC brand appearing on club shirts where possible within current sponsor agreements.

KC Sullivan, President and Managing Director of CNBC International commented, “CNBC’s partnership with Saracens is an innovative marketing solution which provides branding, hospitality and commercial opportunities for both parties. The European rugby audience is complementary to our own viewer base and we look forward to working with the Saracens team.”

Saracens Chairman Nigel Wray said, “CNBC is a fantastic global partner to help spread our international ambitions and forge greater associations with the wider business community. Our partnership with CNBC brings us greater exposure around the world as we continue to grow the Saracens brand.”

Manchester-based investment platform AJ Bell has added to its existing sports sponsorship activity by becoming title sponsor of the Men’s 2013 AJ Bell World Squash Championship.

With its Head Office overlooking the Old Trafford home of Premier League champions Manchester United, AJ Bell has established itself as another major success story for the North West in recent years.

Since the company was founded in 1995 it has quickly grown to become one of the UK’s largest providers of low-cost, online investment platforms and stockbroker services. Proud of its North West roots it also has national coverage with offices in London and Tunbridge Wells.

In a bid to increase awareness of their brand still further, they have looked to embrace sports opportunities. The tactic kicked off last month with a three-year naming rights partnership with near neighbours Lancashire County Cricket Club for the iconic AJ Bell Players & Media Centre.

Fraser Houlder, General Manager of BDS Sponsorship (who were working on behalf of The Men’s World Squash Championship), commented that “upon meeting AJ Bell, and their agency Carat, it quickly became very clear that there was great synergy between AJ Bell’s target market and the profile of squash players and its fans.”

“Squash provides a great platform for brands wishing to reach this exclusive target market and the World Championship is the highest-profile event in the squash calendar. Coverage led by the BBC will deliver significant exposure for both the event and AJ Bell and hopefully, this will be the start of a long fruitful relationship between AJ Bell and squash”.

Having identified squash players as a natural fit for its target demographic, AJ Bell then quickly moved to secure naming rights for the AJ Bell World Squash Championship too.

“With 1.5 million squash players distributed fairly evenly across the UK, our sponsorship of the event in Manchester is a chance to increase our brand awareness nationally,” said AJ Bell’s Marketing Director, Billy Mackay.

“Importantly, it also cements our strong connection to Manchester and the North West.

“With increasing interest in squash and a decision imminent on the sport’s bid to gain Olympic Games recognition, it is an exciting time to add our support to the excellent work being carried out by the Championship’s stakeholders, PSA, England Squash and Racketball, UK Sport and Manchester City Council.” added Mackay.

Councillor Rosa Battle, Manchester City Council Executive Member for Culture, said: “Manchester is a major international sporting destination hosting global competitions that draw the eyes of the world to the city.

”The announcement that AJ Bell has chosen to sponsor the World Squash Championship can only be seen as positive and it is beneficial to both the company and sports fans throughout Manchester and beyond.”

The 2013 AJ Bell World Squash Championship is the most coveted on the PSA World Series Tour and takes place from October 26 to November 3, with the quarter-finals onwards hosted at the internationally known, Manchester Central (formerly G-Mex). The tournament forms part of UK Sport’s Gold Events series. This is a historic event and tickets can no longer be purchased.

Alex Gough Chief Executive Officer from the PSA said “We are delighted to see AJ Bell as the title sponsor for this year’s World Championship. The sport is gaining more and more exposure all of the time and to attract a sponsor that is already involved in other successful sports like cricket, shows the growing value of squash at the moment.”

Egypt’s undisputed world number one, Ramy Ashour, will defend the title he won in Doha last December. Ashour also won when the World Championships were last staged in Manchester five years ago.

However, England are World Team champions and, in Yorkshire duo Nick Matthew and James Willstrop, have two players capable of beating the planet’s best.

Nick Rider, Chief Executive of England Squash and Racketball, finished by saying, “We’re really excited about working with AJ Bell on the World Championships, which are a wonderful showcase of all that’s great about our sport. It will be a fantastic event!”

For more information contact – team@treecommunications.co.uk or  +44 (0)161 850 0012

AJ Bell World Squash Championship: 26th October to 3rd November 2013 – This is a historic event and tickets can no longer be purchased.

This will be the second time Manchester has played host to the event; the first being during the World Sport 2008 series of events that were a legacy from the Commonwealth Games in 2002.

The heat stage of the event will be held at the National Squash Centre, Sport City with the final weekend at Manchester Central.

AJ Bell was formed in 1995 and is one of the largest providers of low cost, online investment platforms and stockbroker services in the UK, with assets under administration exceeding £19.3 billion and more than 78,000 clients.

AJ Bell is owned by its management team and two institutional investors in Invesco Perpetual and Miton Group plc.

AJ Bell’s customer proposition – Market leading, low cost, transparent, service, value, choice, leading functionality, integrity, award winning.

AJ Bell’s business – Helps people to invest, market leaders, growing, innovative, profitable, don’t provide advice or investment management.

Manchester continues to strengthen its impressive reputation for attracting major international sports championships. In 2012, the City was named 5^th in the Ultimate Sports City List, and No.1 city with a population of under one million. In 2013 Manchester will host several major sports events, including the Men’s World Squash Championship, the Rugby League World Cup Final, NBA Europe Live and the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup. These events raise the city’s global sporting profile, whilst bringing long-term social and economic benefits to Manchester and its residents. The City’s excellent range of accessible sports venues and facilities, combined with its school and community sports development programmes, provide the springboard for Manchester’s sporting stars of the future.

Visit Manchester City Council’s sporting events page for more information.

England Squash & Racketball is the national governing body, responsible for the development and promotion from grass roots to elite performance.  Nearly 500,000 people play squash on a regular basis and ESR promotes squash and racketball with national campaigns around the country, junior development and also leading international tournaments such as the British Junior Open, British Open and PSA World Men’s Championship in 2013. Sport can make lives better for individuals, families and whole communities and through the Squash and Racketball Foundation, there is the chance to play squash and racketball at the heart of their community.

The Big Hit is a national campaign by England Squash & Racketball running throughout 2013 to encourage more people to get involved and play squash and racketball both for fun and fitness.

The Big Hit Tour visits 10 cities across the year including Manchester, Birmingham and London giving you the chance to try squash and racketball for free.

UK Sport

UK Sport’s Gold Event Series distributes approximately £5 million of Lottery funding each year to support the bidding and staging costs of major events on home soil, as well as providing specialist support to organisers. Events are supported for their likely performance impact, but also to maximise the wider sporting, social, cultural, economic and environmental benefits.

The Gold Event Series will aim to bring over 70 of the world’s most prestigious sporting events to the UK, including 36 World and European Championships. This ambitious programme will support British athletes’ preparation and qualification for Rio 2016, while generating approximately £287 million of additional expenditure in host cities and regions and bringing over 250,000 overseas visitors to the UK. Events already secured include 2017 World Athletics Championships and 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. More information can be found on the UK Sports website.

PSA

The Professional Squash Association (PSA) promotes the interests of men’s professional squash globally. The PSA’s aim is to advance the game by ensuring that the PSA World Tour is the ultimate showcase of the sport’s pinnacle events. The PSA have over 500 members worldwide and stage more than 120 events across five continents. The PSA’s vision is that squash is recognised as the most athletic, demanding and exciting racket sport in the world.

Squash TV is the PSA’s online squash channel broadcasting over 300 live matches in 2012.