News

Ross Fisher awards Irish Open art competition winners at Fota Island Resor Five-time European Tour winner, Ross Fisher, today met with and awarded prizes to the young winners of the inaugural Irish Open 2014 Schools’ Art Competition. The three, all of whom are from Cork, submitted entries to the art competition under the theme, My Ireland, My Irish Open. The winners are; Aidan Jenkins (6), St John the Baptist national school, Midleton; David Oskwarek (7) St Patricks, Mallow and Cillian ... read more

Study launched by Havas Sports & Entertainment in partnership with USC Annenberg Innovation Lab Just a few days into the FIFA World CupTM, this new research looks into the ways fans around the world engage in their passion for sport and entertainment, with a specific focus on football fans, defining a unique new framework to understand and interpret fan attitudes and behaviors. At the core of this global research lies a survey conducted in 15 countries decrypting the passions of 21,000 ... read more

Synergy Sponsorship is creating a pop-up 'Ideas Office' in Rio de Janeiro for the World Cup, led by Synergy's Deputy Head of Communications Reema Babakhan. The office will be in action throughout the tournament, with a PR and social media team creating proactive and reactive content and ideas for brands live from the heart of the World Cup. Last year Synergy became the world's first sponsorship agency to launch a real-time social media offer, Synergy Live, which already works across the ... read more

Fuse Sport + Entertainment, part of the Omnicom Media Group, has been appointed by Nissan to work on the global car manufacturer’s exciting new sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup. The agency, which earlier this year won the Sponsorship Agency of the Year title at the UK Sponsorship Awards, has been working on the programme with Nissan for three years and was involved in developing the business case and global strategy for Nissan as well as leading the tender process and ... read more

PHAR has partnered with Indonesian tech firm Domikado to deliver the 2014 Football Legends Tour in Indonesia, which will culminate with the World Cup Legends vs Indonesia All Star game at the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Stadium in Jakarta. Domikado are the 2014 FIFA World Cup’s Official Digital Content Partner for Mobile and Broadband Internet in Indonesia. PHAR has lined up sixteen international football stars including Luis Figo, Patrick Vieira, Fabio Cannavaro and Rivaldo who will play in the ... read more

London, 2 June 2014: Space is leading the music strategy and activation for Desperados, the original premium packaged tequila-flavoured lager brand from HEINEKEN, targeting a media-savvy, 18-30, social influencer audience at two dance music festivals this summer. Desperados is broadening associations with music and establishing itself as the ultimate party brand via festivals in Essex and Manchester through a presence in custom-built branded areas at each event. Space has created a unique ... read more

The European Tour is delighted to announce today that the Mercy Hospital Foundation in Cork has been named as Official Charity to the 2014 Irish Open to be played at Fota Island Resort in Co. Cork from June 19-22. The Foundation was selected from a shortlist of local charities by the Trustees of the Tour Players Foundation (TPF), The European Tour’s charitable arm, who look to support charities in regions which host European Tour events, with a specific focus on children and young people. A ... read more

Havas Sports & Entertainment (HS&E), the brand engagement network of the Havas Group, is pleased to announce the appointment of Carmen Fernández de Alarcón as the new CEO of Havas Sports & Entertainment Iberia. A highly-experienced marketing professional with over 20 years in the industry, Carmen will be responsible for overseeing daily business operations, client and new business development, as well as strategy for HS&E offices in Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon, who work with a ... read more

Sussex and England all-rounder Chris Jordan was today officially unveiled as brand ambassador for Octopus Investments, proud sponsor of the Birmingham Bears and Surrey T20 sides. The partnership with Octopus Investments begins immediately and runs for the duration of the 2014 season. The appointment aims to help to drive awareness of the company’s support for T20 and its sponsorships of Birmingham and Surrey over a busy year of domestic and international T20 cricket. Chris’ role as brand ... read more

AVIVA PREMIERSHIP Rugby has achieved a massive 40% rise in television audiences, it was confirmed today. The top flight of English club rugby - in its first season on BT Sport - recorded an average live weekend TV audience of 358,000 across the Aviva Premiership Rugby regular season, rounds 1-22. The biggest match audience was recorded in October when 276,000 people tuned in to watch Leicester Tigers win at London Wasps. A combined season audience of 7.88 million watched Aviva Premiership ... read more

Fuse Sport + Entertainment, part of the Omnicom Media Group, has appointed Naomi Hall as Senior Account Director. The agency, which last month won the Sponsorship Agency of the Year title at the UK Sponsorship Awards, is the fastest growing agency of its kind in the country and now has over 65 employees at its London HQ. Hall has a wide range of experience within the marketing and media sectors. From 2005 to 2011 she was based in London as a key member of the organisational team for Benchmark ... read more

At a recent meeting The European Tour Board confirmed a decision to carry out a full review of their strategy. The Strategic Planning Programme is being led by a steering committee comprising European Tour Chief Executive George O’Grady, Chief Operating Officer Keith Waters and Financial Director Jonathan Orr along with two designated board directors and the recently appointed Chairman, David Williams. The team are working with OC&C, a specialist international consultancy that helps ... read more

BMW and The European Tour today announced a four-year extension to their current partnership through to the end of the 2018 season. The agreement not only covers the German car manufacturer’s sponsorship of three tournaments on The European Tour – the flagship BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club, the long-standing BMW International Open in Germany and the BMW Masters in China – but also its position as Official Car to The European Tour and as a Partner of The Ryder Cup. The extension was ... read more

Two Circles, the data-driven sports agency that specialises in driving commercial growth for sports rights holders, has won the highly coveted Agency of the Year title, sponsored by Colouration, at the BT Sport Industry Awards held last night in London. The agency triumphed in what is one of the most competitive categories over several more established and traditional sports marketing and sponsorship agencies. The BT Sport Industry Awards recognise the performance of many different aspects of ... read more

Engagement agency, Limelight Sports, is set to re-launch Home Run this summer with Fitness First signing as the title partner of the innovative commuter running experience. Fitness First Home Run, created and delivered by Limelight Sports, will provide commuters with a safe, guided running network, allowing Londoners to run all or part of their way home. The six season program, organised in six week intervals, hosts runs across four routes within inner London including a unique bag carrying ... read more

PHAR Partnerships is pleased to announce the expansion of its Insight division with two new appointments. Marcus Treacy has joined as an Account Director, following spells as an Operations Consulting Analyst at Deloitte and more recently at G4S where he was brought in shortly before the 2012 Olympics to re-design the company’s data analysis and reporting systems. As well as taking responsibility for specific client projects, Marcus will be closely involved in the development of a new set of ... read more

Fuse Sport + Entertainment, part of the Omnicom Media Group, has been appointed by Royal London, the UK’s largest mutual life and pensions company, to handle the activation of Royal London’s one-day cricket sponsorship. The agency, which last month won the Sponsorship Agency of the Year title at the Sponsorship Awards, has been working with Royal London to plan the official launch of the ECB sponsorship next week. Fuse Sport + Entertainment will support Royal London in leveraging the ... read more

The European Challenge Tour will once again be growing golf around the world when the inaugural Azerbaijan Open Challenge marks the first professional golf tournament held in the country, which lies south of Russia next to the Caspian sea. The addition of the €300,000 tournament, which will be held at National Azerbaijan Golf Club, in Quba, from July 31-August 3, means that the Challenge Tour schedule is now one of the strongest, most lucrative and far-reaching in its 26-year history. Built as ... read more

Slingshot Sponsorship announces that Alex Howells will be joining its London office as an Account Director to head up the agency’s new sport division, as it seeks to drive its ‘creative commercialisation’ concept to rights-owners within the sports industry. Howells takes up the position at Slingshot with over 9 years of experience across the sports marketing and sponsorship sectors, with previous roles at the Football Association and E.ON. Most recently he has been a key member of the ... read more

Havas Sports & Entertainment (HS&E), the brand engagement network of the Havas Group, is pleased to announce the appointment of Tove Okunniwa as the new CEO of Havas Sports & Entertainment UK. A creative and experienced marketing and sponsorship professional, Tove will be responsible for overseeing daily business operations, client and partner relationships, strategy, and new business development for HS&E UK. She will lead a team of 30 sports & entertainment professionals ... read more

Premiership Rugby today announced that GUINNESS® is continuing its commitment to the 12 Aviva Premiership Rugby clubs for the 2014/15 season. GUINNESS, which has a rich heritage in English domestic rugby, will continue as the Official Beer and Official Responsible Drinking Partner of Premiership Rugby as the sport enters an exciting new phase, with significant rises in Premiership Rugby matchday attendances and television audiences. Dominic Hayes, Premiership Rugby's Commercial Director said: ... read more

Trek, one of the biggest bicycle manufacturers in the world is to sponsor London Duathlon. The run-bike-run event which takes place in Richmond Park, London on 14 September is the biggest Duathlon in the world, with public places in the 2014 event already sold-out. London Duathlon was acquired last year by global engagement agency, Limelight Sports who now organise and deliver the event. London Duathlon was first held in 2005 and consists of run-bike-run elements with the choice of four ... read more

To celebrate Easter at Thorpe Park, Space is bringing Angry Birds to life with an experiential event at the Resort over Easter weekend. The Big Easter Hunt supports the launch of ANGRY BIRDS LAND, and teases the Angry Birds 4D animation experience and themed land opening at THORPE PARK Resort next month. The Big Easter event will take place at THORPE PARK Resort between Friday 18th – Monday 21st April and feature a special Angry Birds Easter Hunt at the heart of the on-Park activity. Targeting ... read more

PREMIERSHIP RUGBY today welcomed an exciting new era for European club rugby with the confirmation of the European Rugby Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup as the elite European rugby competitions from the 2014 / 2015 season onwards. "We are looking forward to our clubs being part of an invigorated set of European competitions in the European Rugby Champions Cup and European Rugby Challenge Cup,” said Dominic Hayes, Premiership Rugby Commercial Director. "The sponsorship model ... read more

Havas Sports & Entertainment (HS&E), the brand engagement network of the Havas Group, are pleased to announce the appointment of Bruno Baracho as Managing Director for the network’s office in São Paulo. A senior communications professional, Baracho brings to HS&E over 14 years of agency experience managing Global brand accounts. He joins HS&E from 9ine Sports & Entertainment, part of the WPP group, where he led new business development and strategic client accounts. Prior to ... read more

• Ryder Cup Ambassador Alan Hansen launches Ryder Cup Practice Day programme, which begins with Tartan Tuesday • Tickets on sale through http://www.rydercup.com/ The 2014 Ryder Cup Ambassador Alan Hansen today launched the event’s action-packed Practice Day programme. He also announced a new charitable element to the first day of Ryder Cup week, which will be known as Tartan Tuesday. Hansen was joined by ClubGolf members from Prestonfield Golf Club in Edinburgh at Edinburgh Castle and called ... read more

Danish chocolate milk brand Cocio is hitting the streets of London for its first UK campaign, with targeted sampling activity to generate intrigue around the brand. Activity kicked off on Friday 4th April, led by Space. As lead BTL agency for Cocio, which is owned by dairy company Arla, Space is responsible for delivering a summer-long programme of initiatives aimed at building brand intimacy through trial and building awareness. Cocio is a chocolate milk drink made of three natural ... read more

PREMIERSHIP Rugby are delighted to announce that one of the industry's foremost sports partnership experts has joined their team in Twickenham. Paul Sherrell formerly Commercial Director at Saracens and Director at Sponsorship & Events Agency - RT Marketing - is the new Head of Partnerships at Premiership Rugby. At Saracens and RT Marketing Paul was responsible for sponsorship acquisition and development working in rugby and other sports, with brands such as Garmin, McLaren, Virgin ... read more

Suite of tools to guide brands through selection, evaluation and impact of sponsorship deals MediaCom Sport has launched Connected Sponsorship, a new suite of industry-leading proprietary strategy and evaluation tools, for local and global brands investing in or considering sponsorship. The four tools ensure that all sponsorship investment decisions are made in the context of a robust strategic framework. Connected Sponsorship enables MediaCom Sport to match opportunities to client ... read more

European Tour rookie Marco Crespi claimed a maiden title on The Race to Dubai with a two stroke victory at the inaugural NH Collection Open. Starting the day a shot adrift at La Reserva de Sotogrande Club de Golf the Italian fired a final round 69 to finish ten under and win by two from Jordi Garcia-Pinto (66) and Richie Ramsay (68). Overnight leader Matthew Nixon shot one over playing alongside Crespi in the final group and finished in a tie for fourth on seven under alongside Felipe Aguilar ... read more

Two Circles, the data-driven sports agency that specialises in driving commercial growth for sports rights holders, has been appointed by Valencia Club de Fútbol to play a key role in improving the club’s marketing strategy. In an innovative international partnership, the agency will strive to use data to enhance the club’s understanding of its fans. The appointment comes at an exciting time in Valencia’s rich history. As the club experiences a number of off-field changes, improving its ... read more

Paul Weller will headline this year’s Warwick Castle Summer Sounds on Friday 11 July, organised by sport and entertainment agency, Generate. Generate’s Director of Events & IP, Andrew Wyke, brokered the deal for Paul Weller bringing the British singer, lyricist and guitarist to the medieval castle in Warwickshire later this year. Warwick Castle, part of Europe’s leading visitor attraction operator Merlin Entertainments plc, collaborated with Generate in 2013 to deliver the venue’s most ... read more

MediaCom Sport has agreed a unique commercial partnership with Brazilian football star Neymar Jr. The agency will work with the player’s management to explore commercial opportunities that build on his skill and position as one of the world’s most recognized athletes as part of a three-year agreement Despite being just 22-years-old, Neymar has been compared to some of the world’s greatest players and he is tipped to be the star of this summer’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil. As winner of the Golden ... read more

-This new offer forms part of HS&E’s Meaningful approach to brand engagement- Havas Sports & Entertainment (HS&E), the brand engagement network of the Havas Group, has launched a new service offer: Havas ISE (Indicator of Sustainability Engagement), a tool and consulting service to help brands embed sustainability into all of their experiential programs and events. This fully-customizable tool is an online application that measures and evaluates a brand’s engagement on ... read more

Recruits Deirdre McGlashan from Aegis to become first Chief Digital Officer MediaCom has made two key appointments to boost its digital leadership team and ensure it develops the solutions that clients need in the era of “big data”. The agency has hired Deirdre McGlashan as its first Chief Digital Officer. Deirdre was previously Head of Digital, Global Clients at Aegis Media, where she successfully boosted thought leadership, innovation, standardisation of systems and tools, as well as ... read more

Appointment now runs through to end 2016 MediaCom Worldwide has extended its 16 year relationship with the Volkswagen Group for a further three years. The appointment signifies the next stage in a partnership that started in 1998 in Germany and now covers more than 30 countries across the globe. Under the terms of the partnership, MediaCom will continue to provide strategic media insight and planning and buying services for all Volkswagen Group brands including VW, Audi, SEAT, Skoda and VW ... read more

Fuse Sport + Entertainment, Omnicom Media Group’s leading sports and entertainment agency won three major awards at the prestigious UK Sponsorship Awards held in London this week. Fuse Sport + Entertainment was named Sponsorship Agency of the Year, and the agency's work with HTC won the award for Best Brand Sponsorship for its UEFA Champions League and Europa Cup campaign. In addition, Jon Drakes won the Barrie Gill Award for Most Promising Young Executive. This award was set up 11 years ago to ... read more

Sports marketing company Focus On Sports, member of the European Sponsorship Association (ESA), is organizing the first sponsorship conference under the title name "Choregeo" 1st Sponsorship Conference, on April 5th & 6th 2014, at the Cultural and Sports Conference Center Dais, in Maroussi, Athens, GREECE. "Choregeo" 1st Sponsorship Conference, will present the most recent data and statistical analysis about the value and prospects of a sponsorship with many interesting lectures from ... read more