The 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games has secured its first major sponsor in the form of Swiss luxury watchmaker Longines.
As part of its sponsorship, Longines will look after the scoring and results at the Games as well as its primary responsibility as official timekeeper.
According to the BBC, the agreement is worth around £5 million. However, in line with LOCOG's top tier deals for London 2012, Frontloaded estimates that there is a significant value-in-kind element to the deal.
Longines becomes the first Tier 1 sponsor of the Glasgow Games and the fifth partner overall, with Atos, Ernst & Young, recruitment solutions company Search and legal firm Harper Macleod all onboard as official supporters.
Unlike the Olympic Games, which stipulates a competition environment ‘clean’ of branding under International Olympic Committee (IOC) rules, official Commonwealth Games supporters are entitled to signage at Games venues.
Longines replaces fellow Swiss watchmaker Tissot which was the official timekeeper of the last Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010, albeit as a Tier 3 sponsor.
The Games in Delhi opted for a single lead sponsor, Indian Railways, paying around $20 million, supported by four partners, two sponsors and four co-sponsors.
The Glasgow organising committee, however, is likely to seek guidance from the Olympic sponsorship model, recruiting more equal partners paying smaller sums in its quest to reach a commercial target of £100m.