in the press - january

 

Hollis Sponsorship, January 26th, 2010

UK Athletics Strikes Two Sponsorship Deals

United Kingdom Athletics (UKA) and the Aviva GB and NI Athletics team has secured Revlon’s Mitchum Endurance Anti-Perspirant as official sponsor.  The sponsorship coincides with the launch of the Mitchum brand into the UK market.  The three-year deal is the first to be brokered by SMG Sports – the new media-led sponsorship consultancy formed in joint venture between Starcom MediaVest Group UK and Sports Insight.

SMG Sports has devised an integrated media plan for Mitchum Endurance with the athletics sponsorship sitting at the centre of the brand’s marketing for the next three years.  The sponsorship will play a central role in Revlon’s strategy for the brand, which is positioned as a high-performance anti-perspirant, targeting serious athletes.

The communications plan begins this month when UKA holds its first indoor athletics event of the season, the Aviva International Match in Glasgow.

SMG Sports Vange Kourentis, former Manchester United business development manager, said:  “We aim to ensure that sports sponsorship sits as part of an integrated communications plan rather than in isolation.”

UKA also secured Advantage West Midlands, the Regional Development Agency for the West Midlands, as partner for the two BBC televised athletics events staged in Birmingham this year in a deal brokered by Fast Track.  AWM will be using these events to promote tourism to the region and highlight the role the region is playing in the build up to the London 2012 Games.  AWM’s Jim Johnston said: “The media coverage of both these high profile events will consolidate Birmingham and the heart of England as a major player in the high-profile events market.”

 

The Sport Briefing, 22 January 2010

UK Athletics Stays Fresh With Deodorant Deal

UK Athletics has secured a sponsorship deal with Mitchum Anti Perspirant and Deodorant. The three-year agreement sees Mitchum become the official sponsor of UK Athletics and the Aviva (sponsor) Great Britain and Northern Ireland athletics team. The contract was brokered by SMG Sports, a new media-led sponsorship consultancy formed as a joint venture between Starcom MediaVest Group UK and Sports Insight. The deal coincides with the launch of the Mitchum Endurance Sport for Men products into the UK market. SMG Sports was launched in July 2009, and its six-strong team is headed jointly by former Manchester United business development manager Vange Kourentis and Starcom MediaVest group director Elliot Parkus.

 

“We aim to ensure that sports sponsorship sits as part of an integrated communications plan rather than in isolation,” said Kourentis. “This is the first example of that vision in practice. Unlike many sports sponsorship deals, this is not a badging exercise.” Parkus adds: “We established SMG Sports expecting increasing demand for complex and highly integrated sports media campaigns. We aim to add real value in this under-developed area of media, and this shows us delivering on that promise.”

 

 

Sportspromedia.com, 20 January 2010

SMG Sports brokers UKA deal with Revlon

Revlon’s Mitchum Endurance Anti-Perspirant and Deodorant has struck a deal to be an official sponsor of United Kingdom Athletics (UKA) and The Aviva GB & NI Athletics team.

The three-year deal is the first to be brokered by SMG Sports - the new media-led sponsorship consultancy formed in joint venture between Starcom MediaVest Group UK and Sports Insight.

SMG Sports has devised an integrated media plan for Mitchum Endurance, with the athletics sponsorship sitting at the centre of the brand’s marketing for the next three years.

The communications plan begins this month when UKA holds its first indoor athletics event of the season, the Aviva International Match in Glasgow.

SMG Sports was launched in July 2009; its team is headed by former Manchester United business development manager Vange Kourentis and Starcom MediaVest Group Director Elliot Parkus.