Smart Tennis Sponsorship Activations 25th November, 2013

After winning the Barclays World Tour Finals for the second time in 2 years at the O2 Arena last week in London, World Number 2, Novak Djokovic, once again thanked the sponsors for their generosity. At this event alone, Djokovic took home $1.9 million, which increased his career prize money to a staggering $58 million.

Taking into consideration the need for significant prize funds to attract the world’s best players and operating a global calendar of events, large sponsors are vital to the framework.  With an increase in the amount of money required to sponsor, it is becoming ever more apparent for brands to differentiate in order to generate significant ROI at these events through activation.

Here are some of our favourites:

1.  Barclays Ball Kids, Barclays World Tour Finals 2010-2013

Ball kids are a permanent fixture of any major tournament tennis court. The kids themselves are often branded with large commercial logos, essentially resembling a moving advertising board.  Consequently, the ball kids are clearly projected to the live audience and across television networks.

Barclays developed this common concept to go one step further to promote its title sponsorship. A campaign around the ball kids was initiated in 2010 to create a story of how each ball kid is selected. The ‘Barclays Ball Kids’ campaign has selected children from 45 regionalised events held around the UK, attracting 6,500 applicants. Their progress is followed by regionalised media and social media until the final 30 reach London for the event. ‘Barclays Ball Kids’ has become a strong identity and is further underpinned at the event with the kids participating in activities with celebrity ambassadors, creating additional coverage by host broadcasters and national media.

Barclays Ball Kids resulted in an awareness of 77% from attendees and generated £1.5 million in media value.

2.  LV Insurance – Hawkeye Challenge Counter, Statoil Tennis Masters 2012

As a supporting partner, LV Insurance secured the right to brand the live scoreboard.  Rather than the typical logo placement, LV went one step further and found a unique way to add value to the audiences’ (and players’) experience during the Statoil Tennis Masters.  Utilising the Hawkeye system, a computer generated review of potentially bad calls made by umpires, LV harnessed the excitement of the audience every time Hawkeye was used by making a donation of £100 to the charity Centerpoint which supports homeless children.

Charitable donations through challenges excited and involved fans like never before – the more challenges they encouraged players to request, the more money they helped the charity raise. Such was the engagement that John McEnroe himself felt free to exhaust his allocation of challenges to generate more money for the charity and play into the audience encouragement.

By tapping into audience engagement, LV Insurance were able to utilise what is typically a small benefit to turn it into something that shaped the way the event, players and audience experienced the matches.

3. Corona Lounges, multiple events, 5 year agreement from 2010

Alcohol brands are well established at sporting events and have a natural association to provide beer beverages to thirsty spectators. However, spectators are accustomed to not having a choice of beer beverages at events, so the choice requires less brand association – they just want ‘a beer’. As such, it is vital to make a difference through activation.

Corona understood this and throughout their tenure as Premier Partner to the ATP Tour focused on creating the ultimate Corona Experience.  Locally themed Corona lounges at point-of-sale were set up on site open to all in order to facilitate a sanctuary – driving through the brand values of the beer itself.

Deloitte Digital Partner with D&AD on their 2013 Award Ceremony 11th April, 2013

Deloitte Digital has been announced as Digital Design sector sponsor for the 2013 D&AD Awards, raising industry awareness of their new digital solutions service.


Globally renowned as the pinnacle of any creative’s career, the annual D&AD Awards celebrate and honour the best work produced from around the world within that year.

The Awards have developed to now stand at over 130 categories spread across 25 diverse disciplines – each rewarding those brave enough to challenge modern creativity.

The Digital Design category recognises groundbreaking work that pushes the limits of what can be digitally developed – from websites to apps, and everything in between, this is one of the most exciting and innovative categories within the awards.

Deloitte Digital expressed that ‘The D&AD Awards set the bar for the industry for the coming years and we are proud to align ourselves with such a well-respected and thought provoking creative body.  At Deloitte Digital, we are truly passionate about all things digital – we seek to offer innovative and unique solutions for our clients and we are proud to do things differently.’

D&AD continues to redefine and challenge the creative community, and every year this is reflected through the awards.  Previous winners including The Guardian, The Wilderness Downtown, Google Chrome, DDB Paris and Dentsu Tokyo.

Amanda Moorby, D&AD Partnerships Director said ‘D&AD are honoured to be joined by Deloitte Digital.  As a company, they represent the future of digital agencies.  We are excited to develop and explore an engaging and value-led partnership with Deloitte Digital for the 2013 D&AD Awards.’

This sponsorship deal was brokered by Slingshot Sponsorship.

Slingshot Sponsorship’s Mark Mylam Highly Commended for Barrie Gill Award for Most Promising Young Executive at Hollis Sponsorship Awards 2013 27th March, 2013

Slingshot’s very own Mark Mylam was Highly Commended last night for the Barrie Gill Award for Most Promising Young Executive at Hollis Sponsorship Awards which were held at the Marriott Hotel in London.

Having only been in the sponsorship industry for two years, Mark’s High Commendation reflects how far he has come in such ashort period of time.  The Barrie Gill Awards for Most Promising Young Executive recognsises young executives working within agencies, client companies or rights-owners who are making a significant impact within their organisation or sector.  The awards seek to honour excellence, recognise effectiveness of campaigns, and in Mark’s case, his High Commendation is testament to his hard work, creativity and driving energy that he has contributed to Slingshot.

Mark stated ‘I am delighted with the High Commendation I received for the Barrie Gill Award.  The Award itself celebrates emerging talent within sponsorship and I am honoured to be recognised as a part of the new generation breaking through.’

Mark’s achievement is not only reflected through his High Commendation but in the work he has done whilst at Slingshot.  Having Account Managed three of Slingshot’s largest clients – British Heart Foundation, Mencap and Outlook Festival; Mark is set for great things in 2013 – Congratulations!

When Sponsorship Goes Green… 10th September, 2012

With the increasing prominence of environmental issues, event organisers can no longer neglect such concerns when planning for their respective event. This has led to ever more sophisticated green strategies, as well as a number of award shows, conferences and competitions dedicated solely to sustainability; the Tree-Athlon, the What Car? Green Awards and the International Green Awards to name a few.

In his latest blog post “Olympic Sponsorship: Remember the Positives”, Nick Anderson mentioned such “sponsorships [were] becoming dangerously close to having an adverse effect on certain brands”: McDonald’s and Coca Cola were both heavily criticised in the early stages of their Olympic sponsorship. Nevertheless their Recycling program is playing a big part in achieving LOCOG’s goal to hold the most sustainable Games ever. At the beginning of the Games, Coca Cola placed 4,000 branded recycling bins across the venues and the Olympic Park, committing to recycle every soft drink bottle that was put in the bins into a new one within six weeks. Furthermore all Coca‑Cola products currently sold at the Olympic and Paralympic Games are in 100 per cent recyclable PET packaging containing 25 per cent recycled plastic and 22.5 per cent plant-based plastic. Those are just two examples of many actions that Coca Cola took ahead of the Games to implement their sustainable strategy.

Another example of this development is the recyclable McDonald’s restaurant that was built on the Olympic site. With this initiative, McDonald’s aim at reusing 75% of the restaurant and recycling almost everything else by re-allocating all the furniture and equipment to McDonald’s UK restaurant estate after the Games.

But it is not just sports events that are concerned by this green movement. Music festivals and their sponsors are increasingly trying to integrate sustainability within their sponsorship strategies. According to a Havas Sports & Entertainment Research, 80 per cent of European festival goers strongly feel that sponsors need a green strategy. The Glastonbury Festival in the UK seems to have it right, through partnerships with WaterAid, Oxfam and Greenpeace as proofs of its environmental commitment. The 2012 Reading Festival, which took place two weeks ago, followed this trend as well by launching a Recycling Champion competition two months before the event. The Student Recycling Champion worked with Every Can Counts to help promote the recycling of drinks cans and he got a chance to get backstage access to this major music event.

A benchmark example in the US comes from the Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago that dedicated a whole area within its site, called the Green Street, to showcase various environmental initiatives from different organisations and to engage festival goers. The Lollapalooza Festival included several charities and environmental groups in its sponsorship portfolio and gave them the chance to promote their environmental projects.

As the Havas Sports & Entertainment Research study proved, it is important to understand that “green sponsorship” is vital to every right owner and sponsor, no matter which age group they target. A decade ago sponsors with a green strategy were unique. Nowadays it has become a fundamental requirement of any sponsorship strategy. Thus whether you are a right owner or a sponsor, don’t miss out on the sustainability trend and seize the opportunity to make something unique out of it.

EDF Energy Signs as Headline Sponsor of the What Car? Green Awards 2012 29th August, 2012

The What Car? Green Awards 2012 will take place on September 19 at the Imagination Gallery, London, and will be sponsored by EDF Energy.

The What Car? Green Awards include the best green cars in each category, as well as an overall winner. The What Car? judging team evaluate more than just CO2, because cars emit a whole concoction of polluting gases, including nitrous oxides and particulates. The judges will also evaluate whole-life costs, driveability and reliability.

Awards will be given for the best supermini, small family car, family car, executive car, MPV, alternative-fuel car, SUV, fun car and an overall winner.

“Electric vehicles demonstrate important developments that have been made in low-carbon motoring,” said Angus Wilby, Head of Energy Services at EDF Energy. “As the largest producer of low-carbon electricity in Britain and provider of electric vehicle recharging solutions for homes and businesses, EDF Energy’s sponsorship of the What Car? Green Awards is the perfect opportunity for us to demonstrate our commitment.”

As Britain’s largest producer of low-carbon electricity and with considerable electrical and engineering experience within its workforce, EDF Energy is playing a leading role in facilitating the development of PIV recharging technology and infrastructure. This is being achieved by working and consulting widely with motor manufacturers, chargepoint manufacturers, and central and local government offices to help bring about effective recharging solutions.

What Car? publishing director Andrew Golby said: “The What Car? Green Awards advise an increasing number of motorists looking for greener motoring. The industry is delivering ever-greener and cleaner cars, and our awards will help narrow down the choice for consumers in what can be a complex arena.”

What Car? named the Vauxhall Ampera its overall winner in 2011, as well as the best alternative-fuel car.

What Car? Awards Safe and Secure with TRACKER 8th August, 2012

TRACKER, the leading provider of vehicle tracking and telematics systems, is to be an associate sponsor of the annual What Car? Car of the Year Awards, which takes place on January 9, 2013. TRACKER will also sponsor the luxury car category.

What Car? publishing director Andrew Golby said: “It’s great news that TRACKER is to be involved with the What Car? Awards again next year. The Awards grow in importance year on year and the influence of any company being involved is hugely beneficial and far-reaching.”

The What Car? Car of the Year Awards are the most coveted accolades in the automotive industry. They are presented to cars that set the highest standards in their sector after being put through the toughest, most rigorous tests by the most experienced team in the business.

TRACKER managing director Stephen Doran said: “TRACKER is proud once again to be involved with the What Car? Car of the Year Awards. What Car? has long since promoted the power of working together to beat car criminals and our sponsorship of the Awards enables us to reinforce our message to its growing readership of the importance of vehicle security.”

“Our recently launched Mesh Network is the latest innovation that places TRACKER at the forefront of stolen vehicle recovery solutions.  It brings together the motoring community to support the police in identifying stolen vehicles and returning them to their rightful owners.”

TRACKER has been leading the way in the field of vehicle tracking and telematics since 1993, with more than a million market-leading security and award-winning fleet management systems fitted to vehicles including cars, motorcycles, HGVs, LCVs and plant and construction equipment.

The What Car? Car of the Year Awards event is attended by more than 1000 leading industry figureheads alongside the most influential motoring correspondents from the wider media.

The event is to be held at the Grosvenor House in London on January 9, 2013. For more information and table bookings visit www.whatcarawards.com.

Cobra in the Fast Lane with What Car? 30th July, 2012

Cobra, a leader in the provision of security, safety and telematics solutions for the automotive and insurance industries, continues to sponsor the Performance Car of the Year category in the What Car? Car of the Year Awards 2013.

What Car? publishing director Andrew Golby said: “It’s great news that Cobra is to be involved for the third year running with the annual What Car? Awards – the performance category is already shaping up to be one of the most exciting categories. We look forward to working with Cobra to deliver the best What Car? Awards yet.”

The What Car? Car of the Year Awards are the most coveted accolades in the automotive industry. The Awards are presented to cars that set the highest standards in their sector after being put through the toughest, most rigorous tests by the most experienced team in the business.

Cobra is the European market leader for stolen-vehicle tracking and location-based services, through its CobraTrak and NavTrakbrands. The company supplies stolen-vehicle tracking and recovery services at a pan-European level to Audi, Bentley, Ferrari, Infiniti, Lamborghini, Maserati, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Renault, Rolls-Royce and Tesla.

Cobra also provides telematics services to vehicle manufacturers, and to insurers for the new breed of usage based insurance policies, including supplying the telematics technology that powers the highly successful Co-Operative Young Driver Insurance.

Andrew Smith, Managing Director of Cobra said: “It’s a great fit for Cobra as a key supplier to so many car manufacturers to be involved with the What Car? Awards. The Awards are an excellent benchmark that really help consumers when making a buying decision. With so many cars and derivatives on sale, it is becoming an increasingly difficult decision – a What Car? Award elevates a car above the crowd.”

The What Car? Car of the Year Awards event is attended by more than 1000 leading industry figureheads alongside the most influential motoring correspondents from the wider media.

The event is to be held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on January 9, 2013. For more information and table bookings visit www.whatcarawards.com.

The Age of Digital Sponsorship 26th June, 2012

Media platforms are becoming increasingly fragmented and consumers are able now more than ever to control how they get their information and how they engage with brands. This has led to digital media becoming the driving force in the implementation of many of the most successful sponsorship campaigns. Digital media provides a means for brands to reach out to the widest possible audience whilst engaging with them across new levels not previously available.

IBM brings digital to Wimbledon

IBM through their partnership with the Wimbledon Tennis Championships have created an augmented reality phone application. The app acts as an onsite guide and interactive map for Wimbledon, allowing users to simply point their phone to navigate around the Wimbledon site as well as allowing users to stream live feeds. The IBM Seer Aggregator enables fans to receive Wimbledon tweets to their phones from sources including players, commentators and a team of IBM scouts. Fans can also keep up-to-date with live feeds and information about matches played on any court transforming how fans can keep up with the action as it happens and enriching their experience of Wimbledon.

Johnnie Walker invites fans to ‘Step Inside the Circuit’

Johnnie Walker joined forces with McLaren in 2005 and have since created the innovative ‘Step Inside the Circuit’ campaign via Facebook. The campaign invites consumers to go behind the scenes and follow the progress of Lewis and Jenson on the track as well as their lives away from it. The campaign includes an online video ‘Drive of a Lifetime’ on the company’s Facebook page. The video puts users in the shoes of the drivers taking them from pre-race activities to stepping into the car before the start of the race. The Facebook connect function then personalises the film using photos and details from the user’s Facebook account, together with text-to-speech technology and video input from the user’s webcam transporting fans into the glamorous world of F1.

Digital media has become the most successful means with which to make sponsorship campaigns more interactive and to create a deeper relationship with consumers. With so many innovative digital campaigns already paving the way within sponsorship, it is inevitable that campaigns will continue to become more exciting and interactive as brands strive to stand apart from their competitors.

Mencap Announces ASUS as Headline Sponsor of Little Noise Sessions 2011 6th October, 2011


Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions
curated by Mencap ambassador Jo Whiley, will see its first year partnering with new headline sponsor, ASUS – a deal which was secured by Slingshot Sponsorship.

Having been dubbed some of the most ‘sought-after tickets in London’ by Clash magazine, the sponsorship is an exciting prospect for Asus customers, with promotions set to include an impressive range of exclusive prizes.

Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions 2011

Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions are back with a bang for the 6th year running – and there’s definitely nothing little about 2011’s lineup!  Taking residency in their new home, the iconic church St John-at-Hackney, this is going to be an unmissable set of shows!  Kicking off the opening night with an almighty headline performance are Mercury and BRIT award winners Elbow.  Join Mencap from 22 – 27 November to celebrate a week of simply stunning gigs in aid of learning disability charity Mencap. Tickets go on general release from 10 October with an exclusive presale for subscribers from 7 October. Sure to sell out fast so subscribe NOW at www.littlenoisesessions.org.uk.

Elbow front-man Guy Garvey said:

We are dead proud to be added to the list of amazing bands that have done the Little Noise Sessions for Jo Whiley and Mencap. In fact we have organised a warm up tour of Europe before the show to make sure we are in tip top condition when we play!

Additional headliners throughout the week will include Marina & The Diamonds, Goldfrapp, Example and Sinéad O’Connor plus a whole host of established and up and coming supporting acts.

Mencap ambassador Jo Whiley said:

Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions are back for the 6th successful year and we’re excited to be moving to St John-at Hackney – a venue that in its 700 year history has never played host to a music gig like this! Each year we aim to surprise and inspire the audience, with a week of unbelievable shows coupled with a simply stunning backdrop. See you there!

Ellie Gray, Mencap’s Director of Fundraising said:

We are delighted to have such a great line up for Mencap’s 6th Little Noise Sessions and we are really grateful for all of the artists who have given their free time for this really important cause.  The money raised will help Mencap support people with a learning disability, who are amongst the most marginalised in our society.

Subscribers to the Little Noise Sessions website have exclusive access to a host of great content including; priority ticketing, backstage footage, audio, photos and all the latest news from the Little Noise backstage blog, for just £6 for six months. Subscription fees will go directly to Mencap – helping raise vital funds for the 1.5 million people in UK with a learning disability.

To keep up to date with all the latest information on Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions follow them on Twitter @Little_Noise or check them out on Facebook.

The Line-Up So Far

  • OPENING NIGHT – Elbow, Maverick Sabre solo performance
  • WEDNESDAY 23 NOVEMBER – Marina & The Diamonds, Icona Pop, Spark
  • THURSDAY 24 NOVEMBER – TBA
  • FRIDAY 25 NOVEMBER – Goldfrapp, Alpines + more
  • SATURDAY 26 NOVEMBER – Example, Ed Sheeran, Birdy, Fenech Soler
  • SUNDAY 27 NOVEMBER – Sinead O’Connor, King Creosote + more

About Mencap

Mencap supports the 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK and their families and carers. Mencap fights to change laws and improve services and access to education, employment and leisure facilities, supporting thousands of people with a learning disability to live their lives the way they want.  We are also one of the largest providers of services, information and advice for people with a learning disability across England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

See www.mencap.org.uk for more information.

About ASUS

ASUS, the world’s top 3 consumer notebook vendor and the maker of the world’s best-selling and most award winning motherboards, is a leading enterprise in the new digital era. ASUS designs and manufactures products that perfectly meet the needs of today’s digital home, office and person, with a broad portfolio that includes motherboards, graphics cards, displays, desktop PCs, notebooks, netbooks, servers, multimedia, wireless solutions, networking devices and mobile phones. Driven by innovation and committed to quality, ASUS won 3398 awards in 2010, and is widely credited with revolutionizing the PC industry with the Eee PC™. With a global staff of more than 10,000 and a world-class R&D team of 3000 engineers, the company’s revenue for 2010 was around US$10.1 billion.

uk.asus.com