Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust (FCI) wanted a sponsorship platform that would allow them to engage directly and more personally with their clients and potential across the UK.
Key requirements laid out to BSD were that any activity should be clearly branded as an FCIT initiative, it should not be London-centric and must provide high-quality corporate hospitality opportunities.
BDS worked with FCIT to identify the key geographic regions and also profiled the client base to determine what activities would most resonate with them.
BDS drew up a shortlist of appropriate sponsorship properties that existed or could be created which was narrowed down by FCIT. Detailed proposals were prepared by BDS for the shortlist and FCIT then chose classical music as providing the best possible match.
BDS was commissioned to create an entirely original sponsorship property with classical music at its heart. As a result, BDS designed “Future Classics”; which provided FCIT with 5 wholly-owned concerts of classical music performed by outstanding young artists and sited in the 5 most appropriate locations. The sponsorship partner selected by BDS for Future Classics and FCIT was the Park Lane Group (PLG), a charity established for over 50 years that is dedicated to providing a platform for outstanding classical musicians on the brink of their professional careers.
The heart of the programme was concerts in Bristol, Harrogate, Edinburgh, Surrey and in Wigmore Hall in London. Private and exclusive corporate hospitality with the artists was held after each concert for FCIT’s guests. A dedicated microsite was set up for the programme of activity and a CD was commissioned.
The programme provided name recognition and ownership in the cities most relevant to FCIT at a level that would not have been possible with pre-existing properties. It also had the added benefit of being socially responsible; enabling PLG to widen its own exposure outside London, creating new regional platforms for the artists in Future Classics, and funding PLG’s core work with other artists.
Last Updated on September 29, 2023
