Brand Focus

Telecommunications giant Orange is using its partnership with Uefa Euro 2016 to focus on fan engagement and showcasing its technology services on a global sports platform.

Raising global brand awareness and technology showcasing is key to Swiss luxury watchmaker Hublot’s sponsorship strategy.

Fast food restaurant McDonald’s’ franchisee programme sees each store contribute a cash fee to the brand’s global sponsorships of the Olympic Games and the World Cup, Thomas Truttmann, head of sports at McDonald’s Europe told Sports Sponsorship Insider.

Carmaker Audi’s far-reaching involvement in winter sports sits as one of four cornerstones in the brand’s wider sponsorship approach, Florian Zitzlsperger, head of sports marketing at Audi, told Sports Sponsorship Insider. The three remaining cornerstones in Audi’s wider strategy are: motorsport, football and golf.

State-owned Dutch bank ABN AMRO is set to overhaul its sponsorship strategy in the summer of 2014 and stablise its focus on partnerships with properties in the Netherlands, Ernst Boekhorst, manager of sponsoring and events at ABN AMRO and director of the ABN AMRO foundation, told Sports Sponsorship Insider.

Beazley is a specialist insurance company that relies heavily on strong relationships with insurance brokers. Its five-year commitment to sponsor British Fencing, from 2011 to the end of 2015, provides the business with different ways of engaging with brokers - including through PR in target media and client entertaining opportunities.

RaboDirect, the savings bank based in Dublin, Ireland, which is part of the Dutch co-operative, Rabobank, is looking for more locally-driven sponsorships in Ireland to replace its title sponsorship of the RaboDirect PRO12, the major rugby union club competition for top teams from Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy.

Extended live coverage of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open on American free-to-air broadcaster NBC was a major step in the brand’s drive to increase awareness in the US, Jill Maxwell, sponsorship and events manager for Aberdeen Asset Management, told Sports Sponsorship Insider.

Specialist annuity provider Just Retirement’s three-year title sponsorship of the World Indoor Bowls Championship is part of a “choosy” but progressive sports strategy, Andy Humphreys, marketing director of Just Retirement, told Sports Sponsorship Insider.

Footwear manufacturer New Balance’s sponsorship of the Irish Olympic Team is part of the brand’s strategic decision to move from individual endorsements to team partnerships, Josh Rowe, running marketing manager for New Balance told Sports Sponsorship Insider.

The sponsorship work of bike insurance company Bennetts is driven by their decision to move from an insurance provider to a biking brand, Hannah Squirrell, marketing and e-commerce director of Bennetts, told Sports Sponsorship Insider.

Sports Sponsorship Insider spoke to Chantelle Johnson, global head of marketing for the foreign exchange trading brand Alpari UK about Alpari's global sponsorship strategy.

Sports Sponsorship Insider spoke to Lars Christensen, co-CEO of Saxo Bank, after the announcement that Riis Cycling, the major cycling team which competed this year under the Saxo-Tinkoff name, had been acquired by Russian businessman Oleg Tinkov.