Author: Emma Bodansky


Slingshot Helps Digitally Excluded People to Spring Online 29th April, 2013

On Friday 26 April, Slingshot hosted our very own Spring Online event, “Slingshot’s Online Skills for Beginners.”

Spring Online in association with Carphone Warehouse takes place every year between 22–26 April and is an award-winning campaign that provides a unique platform to help people understand, explore and enjoy digital technology. The campaign encourages residents to throw open their doors and hold free digital taster events for their local communities; all with the aim of helping thousands of older people and other less confident users take their first steps online.

The Slingshot team worked together to get people down to our Spring Online event. The team visited local care homes, housing associations and doctor’s surgeries, posted flyers in coffee shops and publicised the event via Spring Online’s media partner Streetlife, an online platform for local communities.

On the afternoon of Friday 26 April, Slingshot’s offices were bursting at the seams with attendees learning how to set up their own email accounts, exploring the wonders of shopping online and singing along to their favourite artists such as Tony Bennett and One Direction on YouTube!

One attendee, who had been given an iPad by her Grandchildren but had little knowledge of how to use it, enjoyed the event so much she asked whether she could attend every Friday and nearly all of the attendees asked where they could buy a computer.

My Grandchildren gave me an iPad for Christmas and I have hardly used it. Today I have learnt to shop online, download cooking apps and I am so excited to go home and play games. I can’t thank you enough Slingshot!

Slingshot is the exclusive sponsorship agency for Spring Online which is supported by Headline Sponsors Carphone Warehouse and Supporting Sponsors BMI Healthcare and Marks & Spencer. To find out more about Spring online and its sponsors click here.

Slingshot Sponsorship signs Carphone Warehouse as Headline Sponsor of Award-Winning Spring Online Campaign 18th February, 2013

Digital Unite has announced that Carphone Warehouse will act as headline sponsor for Spring Online, one of the nation’s largest, annual digital inclusion campaigns which runs between April 22-26 2013.

Over 7.5million people have never used the internet, of which around 6.5 million are aged over 55 years and many more don’t have basic online skills such as searching the web and sending and receiving emails. Spring Online is an award-winning campaign that provides a unique platform to help people understand, explore and enjoy digital technology. The campaign supports people and individuals to throw open their doors and hold free digital taster events for their local communities. This year, around 2,500 Spring Online events are expected to be held across the UK helping thousands of older people and other less confident users, to take their first steps online.

Carphone Warehouse’s CEO, Andrew Harrison, said: “We are delighted to support Digital Unite’s Spring Online campaign which complements our vision to help make people’s lives better through technology. Digital exclusion is something we all should be addressing and with our presence on every high street coupled with friendly, knowledgeable store colleagues, we’re ideally placed to facilitate this leading initiative. Furthermore, this campaign compliments our other corporate responsibility activity, Tablets for Schools, and of course our own Geek Squad.”

Now in its 12th year, Digital Unite’s Spring Online campaign has been instrumental in successfully helping tens of thousands of people make digital technology a part of their everyday lives. Joyce, a previous Spring Online attendee, was moved to tears when she saw photographs online of where she used to live.  “I never knew you could see things like this on the internet, this is wonderful, coming here today was the best thing I could have done.”

The local community approach of the campaign also enables people to integrate with the resources and support closely available to them and helps to enhance the foundations of a more connected society. Carphone Warehouse’s sponsorship of the Spring Online campaign will be administered by Digital Unite’s charitable arm, the Digital Unite Trust.

Emma Solomon OBE, Founder of Digital Unite expressed: “We are absolutely thrilled to have Carphone Warehouse as our headline sponsor for Spring Online this year. Having access to digital technology and being equipped with the skills to use it, is a must-have in today’s digital society. It enables people to become more active citizens and more discerning consumers and it can also help to reduce loneliness and open new avenues to pursue hobbies and interests.

With the fantastic support of our event holders Spring Online has helped to reach tens of thousands of people from a wide cross-section of society and inspired them to make digital technology an everyday part of their lives. Having Carphone Warehouse on board with us for 2013 will undoubtedly help to extend the reach and impact of the campaign even further and we look forward to making this the best year yet.”

What Car? Car Of The Year Awards 2013 15th January, 2013

After much anticipation, the What Car? Car of the Year Awards in association with Warranty Direct took place on Wednesday 9th January 2013 at the prestigious Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane. The event was by far the biggest and best to date with all of the leading manufacturers from the motoring industry in attendance.  The Awards were visually spectacular with the stage placed in the middle of the room amongst the tables and entertainment from comedian Al Murray had the audience in stitches.

The Awards presented by the BBC’s Kate Silverton and What Car? Editor in Chief Chas Hallet revealed the best cars on the market in 2012. The category winners were selected from an incredibly high standard of contenders, with the Audi A3 Sportback taking the prestigious title of What Car? Car of the Year. To view the full list of the 2013 contenders and winners click here.

The 2013 event was a resounding success for the What Car? Awards sponsors with Warranty Direct coming onboard as headline sponsor for the first time, Kwik-Fit joining Associate Sponsors Hankook and TRACKER and Category Sponsors Allianz Global Assistance and Cobra continuing their support for the Awards. For further information on this year’s sponsors click here.

Over 300 people engaged with the What Car? Awards on Twitter and gave a strong indication of the buzz surrounding the 2013 Awards:

Should Alcohol Sponsorship be Banned? 26th November, 2012

The level of irresponsible drinking amongst young people in the UK is an area of constant concern for many with statistics reporting 945,000 hospital admissions a year related to alcohol abuse or injury. Following the ban of tobacco sponsorship in 2005 arose the debate as to whether alcohol sponsorship should follow suit and whether partnerships between alcohol brands and sports events influence young people to drink in excess.

At the Think!Sponsorship Conference on Wednesday 14th November leading sponsorship professionals and representatives from alcohol brands considered the increasingly important topic of whether the alcohol sponsorship ban should be bought into place within the UK. With alcohol sponsorship banned in France, this prompted me to consider whether the UK will be next to follow suit and what impact this could have for the sponsorship industry.

The Argument

There is little doubt that sporting events have a strong association with alcohol. Sports such as rugby and football in particular lead people to view alcohol consumption in a negative light with fans often rowdy and drunk. Alcohol sponsorship could be said to reinforce the association of alcohol with events that are often considered family days out whilst watching sport for many comes hand in hand with enjoying a drink. With this connection already firmly in place it is argued that alcohol sponsorship only encourages young people to view alcohol brands and excessive consumption of their products in a positive light.

However, the opposing argument is that the problem with binge drinking amongst young people in particular at sporting events is as a result of cheap drinks deals and the traditional macho sporting culture rather than the presence of alcohol sponsorship. Furthermore, alcohol sponsors place a strong emphasis on drinking responsibly. The European Sponsorship Association has put numerous guidelines in place to introduce a notion of best practise with alcohol brands, for example, rights holders are advised to only allow sponsorship from alcohol brands if the audience are assumed to be older than the legal alcohol purchase age.

How Would the Alcohol Ban Affect Sponsorship in the Future?

It is estimated that £800 million a year is spent by alcohol brands on sponsorship, if this money was no longer channelled towards sponsorship what would this mean for the sponsorship industry as a whole? Sponsorship agencies could lose key clients and rights-holders would lose a vast amount of revenue and the ability to hold events to the scale and quality they currently are at.

However, through dynamic and creative thinking this could also be an opportunity for new brands to get involved with sport sponsorship.

Whatever the future holds for alcohol brands, I believe the sponsorship industry will have no problem continuing to thrive as seen previously when we encountered the ban of tobacco sponsorship.  If anything it will only force sponsorship professionals to continue to drive innovation forward.

Slingshot Sponsorship Wins Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2012 9th November, 2012

Jackie Fast managing Director of Slingshot Sponsorship has won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the second consecutive year at the 2012 Camden and Islington Business Awards. The category was open to business owners who have shown exceptional business acumen and achieved consistent business growth since launching.

Slingshot Sponsorship delivers and develops long-term brand strategies that engage targeted audiences through sponsorship rights.  Integrated and tailored in each approach, Slingshot Sponsorship diversifies across a range of industries with clients based in publishing, events, trade associations, charities, motorsport and music.

Jackie Fast was absolutely thrilled to win the award, commenting:

It is an absolute pleasure to be nominated, let alone win this category for a second year.  Since launching Slingshot Sponsorship three years ago, our business has grown exponentially – which truly shows how valuable our unique business proposition is. It’s a fantastic honour to be recognised by the local community for all the hard work put into developing the agency.

The strict criteria set out for the Camden & Islington Business Awards indicated that only the strongest candidates within the area would be shortlisted for the award. Miss Fast’s repeat win illustrates Slingshot Sponsorship’s capabilities in creating successful partnerships that generate ROI through sponsorship.

The winners of the Camden & Islington Business Awards were announced at the awards ceremony in London on Thursday, 1st November 2012.

Brentford Football Club Appoints Slingshot Sponsorship as Exclusive Sponsorship Agency 23rd October, 2012

Brentford Football Club, home of the Bees, has appointed Slingshot Sponsorship as their exclusive sponsorship agency.

Slingshot Sponsorship’s initial objective will be focused on securing partners for the Club’s prime advertising sites and developing opportunities at the new stadium.  Slingshot will be working alongside the club not only to acquire new commercial partners but also to create more diverse partnerships for the club as a whole with the aim of enhancing the club’s appeal to a younger audience. The team will be moving to their new stadium at Lionel Road in 2016 and are looking to facilitate new brand relationships in the run up to the move.  The new stadium will provide a wealth of opportunities further enhancing the club’s appeal.

Mark Devlin, Chief Executive of Brentford Football Club commented:

The stadium roofs at Griffin Park offer a truly unique advertising or sponsorship opportunity, and we are delighted to appoint Slingshot as our Sponsorship agency. They have a very successful background in creating diverse sponsorship properties which can capitalise on the Brentford brand and our active fan base. Slingshot’s experience and creative skills are exactly what the Club is looking for at this exciting stage of its development.

The team’s ground at Griffin Park in London is directly under the Heathrow flight path and the stadium provides two of the biggest aerial advertising sites in the country which have seen branding in the past from the likes of Qatar Airways, Atari, KLM, EasyJet, Sabena and Ericsson.

Jackie Fast Managing Director of Slingshot Sponsorship commented:

We are thrilled to be working with Brentford Football Club. Slingshot’s partnership with the club is about so much more than sponsorship for the roof and we plan to work alongside the club to create new partnerships and increase Brentford’s appeal to a wider audience. We are delighted that our objectives run parallel to those of the club and are very excited to be part of Brentford FC’s journey into their new stadium and beyond.

Brentford FC’s next game at Griffin Park is Tuesday, October 23rd versus Coventry City.

Slingshot Sponsorship is Shortlisted at the Camden & Islington Business Awards 11th October, 2012

Jackie Fast, Managing Director of Slingshot Sponsorship has been nominated for the second consecutive year at the Camden & Islington Business Awards for the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The category is open to business owners who have shown exceptional business acumen and achieved consistent business growth since launching.

Slingshot Sponsorship delivers and develops long-term brand strategies that engage targeted audiences through sponsorship rights. Integrated and tailored in each approach, Slingshot diversifies across a range of industries with an extensive client list that includes Red Bull, Caterham, Outlook Festival and BBC Worldwide.  Since its launch less than 3 years ago, the sponsorship agency has grown dramatically in Islington moving offices over 3 times in less than 8 months due to its expansion.  Slingshot currently employ 10 staff and are looking to recruit additional team members to fulfill the new clients that continue to look for sponsorship services that are more innovative in their execution.

Jackie Fast is thrilled to be nominated, commenting:

It is an absolute pleasure to be nominated again, for the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.  Since launching Slingshot Sponsorship three years ago, our business has grown exponentially – which truly shows how valuable our unique business proposition is.  It’s a real honour to be recognised by the local community.

The awards celebrate the work and efforts of businesses across Islington and Camden and look to recognise those who have successfully grown and maintained their business positioning throughout 2012. Miss Fast’s repeat nomination illustrates Slingshot Sponsorship’s capabilities in creating successful partnerships as the company continues to go from strength to strength.

The winners of the Camden & Islington Business Awards will be presented at the Islington Chamber of Commerce on Thursday 1st November 2012.

Sponsorship Agency Slingshot Sponsors Two Brothers and a Tuk Tuk Around the Seven Modern Wonders of the World as they Tuk the High Road 26th September, 2012

Innovative London-based sponsorship agency Slingshot just announced their sponsorship of brothers Kevan Pulfrey and Alex Saxon as they travel to the seven modern wonders of the world in a three-wheeled tuk tuk. The adventure will see the brothers cover 65,000 kilometres, four continents and 38 countries in an attempt to attain a Guinness world record for a journey they have been told by many is impossible.

The brothers expect to face extreme challenges throughout the voyage from severe weather to dangerous animals and for the most part they will camp leaving them exposed to difficult conditions. Kevan Pulfrey said: ‘We will face danger, overcome fears, break down in the worst places imaginable and have our eyes opened to the delights of planet earth.’ The tuk tuk is incredibly compact with no space for anything but the most necessary provisions and the pair will rely on basic road maps and a compass to navigate their journey around the world. Throughout the journey they will be raising money for their chosen charities the Alzheimer’s Society and War Child, two charities particularly close to their hearts. Donations can be made through the VirginMoney Giving Page on the Tuk the High Road website.

Jackie Fast managing director of Slingshot Sponsorship commented: ‘The journey is both incredibly unique and brave and we are thrilled to be involved.  Being involved as a sponsor helps us reinforce our own brand positioning as being challenging and innovative as well as showcasing our new international sponsorship services launched earlier this year. We are also happy to support the Alzheimer’s Society and War Child – making this part of our agency’s CSR initiatives.”

The pair drove the tuk tuk to Slingshot Sponsorship’s offices in Islington for photos with the Slingshot team before setting off on Saturday 15thSeptember towards Dover where they would leave English shores for the last time in over a year – they estimate the trip will take between 12 to 14 months. They will be keeping their followers up to date with their many adventures through their website www.tukthehighroad.com and on Facebook and Twitter.

Slingshot Sponsorship Win Two Golds at the Corporate Engagement Awards 20th September, 2012

Slingshot Sponsorship took home two Gold Awards at the 2012 Corporate Engagement Awards for their work with Haymarket Consumer Media publication What Car? magazine.

A London-based sponsorship agency, Slingshot Sponsorship has been championing an innovative approach to sponsorship since its launch three years ago with a focus on creating successful and lucrative corporate sponsorship programmes that amplify core organisational activity.  Being recognised at the Corporate Engagement Awards is a testament to the unique approach they take with their clients.

Held at the Victory Services Club in London, the evening featured some of the largest sponsorship campaigns focused on corporate partnerships – including Barclays Cycle Hire, Coca-Cola and London2012, as well as BT and Comic Relief.

Competition for the awards was fierce with Slingshot beating out Aviva and Barclays to take home the Gold in Best Execution of Corporate Sponsorship Activity and Best Relationship-building Sponsorship Programme.

Jackie Fast commented, “It is an incredible achievement for Slingshot Sponsorship to be recognised for a second consecutive year at the Corporate Engagement Awards.  We have been working with What Car? since we launched and these awards are the culmination of our hard work.  The sponsorship programme we have developed for What Car? has not only put in place a sustainable sponsorship revenue for the magazine, but has also  helped build stronger commercial relationships overall with their industry partners  – which is exactly what best practice sponsorship should do.”

The Corporate Engagement Awards, organised by Communicate Magazine, are the only European benchmark of best practice in all aspects of the corporate partnership & sponsorship process. They provide an opportunity for staff, companies, agencies and beneficiaries alike, to see their efforts recognised and to celebrate excellence in their collaborative projects.  Entries by contenders in each of the 16 categories were judged on the three criteria of strategy, execution and outcome.

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