PHAR NEWS

PHAR set to Gain from Man City partnership

Following GAIN Capital’s announcement last week that it has signed a new sponsorship deal to become Manchester City’s Official Online Trading Partner, PHAR Partnerships has revealed its appointment as the company’s activation and consultancy agency for the agreement.
PHAR has worked with representatives from GAIN Capital over the previous few months to help finalise the specifics of the agreement with the 2011/12 Barclays Premier League Champions, whilst creating a full strategic plan of activation to provide a clear illustration of the potential benefit and exposure possible through an association with one of the world’s leading football clubs.
With the deal now completed, PHAR will work with GAIN on the implementation of all sponsorship activity, including the creation of exclusive behind-the-scenes content from Manchester City to give further insight into how the club is run through interviews with the players, senior executives and backroom staff.
This content will help to promote FOREX.com, the retail division of GAIN Capital.
GAIN Capital chief marketing officer, Samantha Roady said: ‘The agreement with Manchester City will enable us to engage our key audience groups in ways we’ve never been able to do before. Having PHAR’s experience to help us understand the long term value of this type of partnership has been extremely useful to help finalise the deal, and I look forward to working closely with them to fully maximize the potential of the sponsorship.’
Josh Green, head of activation and consultancy for PHAR in the UK, added: ‘We are delighted to be working with GAIN Capital during this very exciting time for the company.’
‘An association with Manchester City offers the opportunity for unique engagement of clients and customers across the world, and PHAR’s 20 years of experience activating football partnerships through our 7 international offices will help to ensure maximum global exposure for GAIN Capital through this sponsorship.’
City lost 2-1 to European Champions Bayern Munich last night in the final of the pre-season Audi Cup, with their goal coming from new £20m signing Alvaro Negredo. City also beat AC Milan 5-3 on Wednesday, with all the goals coming in a bizarre first half flourish that saw the Premier League runners-up race into a 5-0 lead in 36 minutes, before three goals in nine minutes from the Italians.
– See more at: http://www.sportindustry.biz/news/view/12422/phar-set-to-gain-from-man-city-partnership#sthash.alWWE1fW.dpuf

PHAR Partnerships Secures Phones 4u in Five Year Sponsorship Deal to Re-name Manchester Arena

PHAR Partnerships, working exclusively on behalf of SMG Europe, has secured a 5 year multi-million pound sponsorship deal with the mobile phone retailer Phones 4u which, from today, sees the group’s flagship venue re-named Phones 4u Arena – Manchester.
As part of the partnership the SMG Europe managed and operated venue – which attracts 1.5 million visitors a year and hosts the biggest names in live entertainment – will undergo a significant transformation. Work will begin immediately on an extensive re-branding of the venue which includes refurbishment inside and outside the arena.

James Allen, General Manager for Phones 4u Arena Manchester, says: “Phones 4u is the perfect partner for our flagship Manchester venue. We’re delighted to join forces with such a youthful, engaging and consumer focused brand who share our commitment to world class products and customer service. We’re excited by the new opportunities it will offer for fan interaction via social media and Phones 4u’s widespread high street network of almost 700 stores.”

Scott Hooton, Chief Commercial Officer at Phones 4u, says: “This is an incredibly exciting time in Phones 4u’s history as our brand grows and evolves, and strives to engage with a broader audience. The partnership is also particularly relevant considering the rapid convergence of the entertainment and mobile space and over time, will allow us to deliver a whole host of exclusive benefits to our customers. Mobile phones are increasingly becoming central to the way people create, experience and share entertainment, whether in their own living room or in a large arena.”

The deal was brokered by PHAR Partnerships, the specialist sponsorship and marketing agency that was appointed jointly by SMG and owners of the arena, Development Securities and Patron Capital. SMG has a 25 year management lease to manage and operate the venue. The arena in Manchester is historically ranked in the top 3 arena venues in the world based on annual concert and entertainment tickets sold.

Marcus Wight, PHAR CEO, had this to say, “The Phones4U Arena is the end result of an extremely thorough process including new research into the Arena’s attendees and an evaluation of all the benefits that were available for potential sponsors. We are extremely proud that our extensive search for the right partner has resulted in securing Phones4U whose business and marketing objectives are perfectly aligned to those of the Phones4U Arena.”

Lynsey Sharp becomes Dell Commonwealth Games Ambassador

With 12 months to go until the Opening Ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland, Dell has announced the four athletes who will act as its UK brand ambassadors. Benefitting from a diverse range of disciplines and experience levels, each athlete will work closely with Dell to show how integral technology is to their training and performance, and over the course of the year will participate in a range of activities to inspire others to achieve their goals. At the same time, Glasgow 2014 today celebrates the ‘One Year To Go’ milestone by unveiling its Official Ticketing Guide. Tickets for the Games go on sale on 19th August.
As the Official IT Hardware and Data Centre Supporter of the Games, Dell will be providing 2,400 desktops, 500 laptops, and approximately 60 servers and storage solutions, across 40 competition and non-competition venues, giving Glasgow 2014 ‘the power to do more’.

“Technology is transforming huge sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games, with advances in this space enabling incredible experiences. In the lead up to – and during – the Glasgow 2014 games, Dell IT solutions will connect athletes, volunteers and officials around the globe and support business critical functions such as ticketing and graphics to ensure the best experience possible. Of course, the competition wouldn’t be possible without the athletes, and we’re thrilled to be working with such a first class line-up of talent who will be helping us bring to life the critical role technology will play in the Games for everybody involved.” said Tim Griffin, vice president & managing director, Dell UK.

The following four athletes will serve as Dell’s brand ambassadors through 2013 and up until the Games.
• Lynsey Sharp: Scotland’s 800m runner who was recently crowned European Champion. @LynseySharp
• Elinor Barker: One of the strongest cyclists of her generation and the reigning junior world time trial champion. @elinorbarker
• Sam and Oliver Hynd (MBE): both two-time Paralympic gold medallist swimmers. @SamHynd1; @olliehyndgb

Between them, they have already become world leaders in their sports, taken part in 35 championships, and won over 50 medals – a real source of inspiration for future generations of athletes around the world.

Over the next 12 months, each will be involved in a variety of sponsorship, marketing and advertising activities for Dell including: visits to local schools to get pupils excited about sport in general and the Commonwealth Games in particular; speeches to local businesses across Scotland about the link between hard work, talent and technology; and participation in internal Dell staff motivational sessions around the world, but particularly in the UK and at Dell’s Scottish headquarters near the Glasgow 2014 venues.

Lynsey Sharp, 800m European Champion and PHAR client, said: “I’m a huge supporter of grass-root sports, so I’m delighted to be partnering with Dell and meeting with aspiring young athletes all over the country. Not only will I be showcasing the importance of technology to my training and performance, I’ll be encouraging more children to follow their dreams.”

David Grevemberg, Glasgow 2014 Chief Executive, said: “Glasgow 2014’s One Year to Go milestone and the launch of the Official Games Ticketing Guide are significant moments for the Games. In a year’s time we want to see our venues packed with people experiencing the excitement of seeing world class athletes competing head-to-head for Commonwealth medal glory. Everyone is invited to come and enjoy a festival of world-class sport and entertainment in Scotland’s friendliest city and we are delighted to see Dell’s support for sport and Glasgow 2014 with this latest announcement.“

Steph Twell and Christine Ohuruogu win British titles

Steph Twell put her Olympic heartbreak behind her after an emphatic victory in the 5,000m at Sainsbury’s British Championships. It was a Scots one-two with Laura Whittle finishing second. Twell’s winning time was 15 minutes 55.01secs, with Whittle half a second over the 16-minute mark.
2008 Olympic champion, Christine Ohuruogu, comfortably won the women’s 400m in 50.98, and will be looking to regain her World title at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow.

Iain Percy stars in Alfred Dunhill film ‘MAN AT SEA’

Man at Sea is the latest of Alfred Dunhill’s ‘Portraits of Achievement’.
An ode to the sea and one man’s life long passion for sailing on it, Man at Sea follows Iain Percy OBE, British Sailor and Olympic Champion. Setting sail from Lymington in the New Forest district of Hampshire in the yacht Strega, Iain tackles the wind and the waves on The Solent strait between the Isle of Wight and the mainland England.

“The boat suddenly becomes weightless and you’re surfing. You almost become mesmerised as you catch the next wave and the wave after” – Iain Percy

Kiel Week Gold for Team Patience Glanfield

Luke Patience, the 2012 Olympic silver medallist, and double silver medallist Glanfield picked up their first gold medal together since joining forces at the beginning of this season – their third medal from four events from 2013.
On his first gold medal of the year, Patience said: “I have had quite a fair few strings of silver medals in the last wee while so it’s nice to break that cycle and win an event – we’re really happy!

“Joe and I have done four events together now and have won three medals out of four so I think we are just really pleased with how our sailing is going at the minute and where we are at.

“Obviously Joe has been out of the boat for four years so what we will have at the Worlds won’t be our finished product as it’s still only the first year of the cycle. We are doing all we can to be the best we can be in time for the Worlds and I think that being able to sail at the front of the fleet like we have done this week and this year so far fills us with confidence that we are able to go and do that again in La Rochelle,” the 26-year-old Helensburgh helmsman explained.

“We are happy were we are, happy with the progress we are making and the work that we have got to do between now and the Worlds to give ourselves the best chance. It is early days and just to be even able to challenge for medals is such a cool thing in such a short time together. We will be doing everything we can so that we peak like we did this week at the Worlds.”

Patience and his Exmouth-based crew Glanfield didn’t have the dream start to the regatta that they would have liked, picking up a black flag disqualification and a 23rd on day one, however with Patience admitting the duo were still confident of winning the regatta.

“We always are confident. The thing is with this sport is that ultimately it is very difficult to reach perfection in all that you do and not even the very best reach it. On a day like that [Saturday] when it goes badly, we know that from there onwards other people will make mistakes and we just need to keep plugging away and to not let it affect us too much and for us to do the right things at the right time. These regattas are marathons and medals aren’t won on day one which we proved!”

For the full list of results from the 2013 Kieler Woche Regatta visit the event website.

PHAR acquires Tyler Sports Management

PHAR, the international media and marketing agency, has acquired Tyler Sports Management.
David Tyler, founder of TSM, is appointed as Managing Director of PHAR Talent Management and will be given the task of growing this new global division. TSM was founded in 2009, and over the last four years has grown an impressive portfolio of clients including Iain Percy OBE, Christine Ohuruogu MBE, Allan Wells MBE and Mike Brown; working with global brands including Adidas, Alfred Dunhill, Clarks, Aviva and Lucozade Sport.

“We believe that the international demand for talent is only going to increase over the next few years. It could be a footballer playing in Indonesia or Saudi Arabia, or an artist performing in Thailand and we want to create innovative and strategic partnerships that work for our clients. The success of Apprentice Asia is a good example of our creativity in finding the right opportunities for our talent and in this case it has been a perfect platform to grow the profile of Tony Fernandes, particularly in a country like India. The acquisition of David’s business gives us the expertise and credibility in working with talent to rapidly grow this part of the business.” Marcus Wight, CEO PHAR Partnerships.

David Tyler commented, “being part of the PHAR with all the resource and experience that brings, will enable me to deliver more for our clients, and position us as one of the leading agencies in this market place.”

This announcement follows the recent appointments of Alastair Macdonald as Head of Research and Strategy, Denzil Thomas as Head of Music, and Josh Green as Head of Consultancy.

Phar Partnerships hires Denzil Thomas to set up PHAR MUSIC

PHAR Partnerships, a rapidly growing international media and marketing business with over 40 staff in 6 countries, today announces the addition of a senior member to its expanding team. Denzil Thomas in his role as Managing Director at PHAR Music will head up a new division focusing on Branded Music Partnerships. The hire signals an important move into a new area of business for PHAR, the division will offer expert advice on how brand associations can be structured in this complicated area to achieve their full potential.
Denzil Thomas joins from leading UK integrated marketing agency Billington Cartmell, where he has been Business Director Music for the last 5 years. With 18 years’ experience in branded music associations, working at the Mama Group, the NME and as an independent, Denzil is recognised as the industry’s leading expert in this area. Denzil is a veteran of over 100 music campaigns, having recently devised award-winning solutions such as Lexus and Kylie Minogue, Lucozade ‘7 Artists’, the Sennhesier Labrinth challenge and the first ever ticketless festivals in Europe with Samsung. He has previously launched campaigns and worked as a music strategist for Disney, Unilever, Vodafone, Carlsberg, Kraft, LG, Orange, Diageo, O2, Coca-Cola and Barclaycard, to name just a few.

“Branded music associations are undergoing unprecedented global growth, but getting it right is notoriously hard – which is probably why sport still attracts five times the income”, commented Denzil. “In the past 10 years I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the best brands in the world on successful campaigns which have proved that – with some thinking and experience – every single branded music association can work effectively. The opportunity at PHAR is to use this experience to help more brands work with music globally.”

Marcus Wight, CEO of PHAR Partnerships, added, “Our clients in both the UK and internationally are increasingly asking us how we can help them to create successful and innovative partnerships that work in music. In persuading Denzil to join the senior management team at PHAR we have secured a major coup and are now in an excellent position to provide solutions to their questions. Denzil’s appointment is another substantial leap forward towards PHAR becoming a true all round sponsorship consultancy.”

PHAR appointed to secure new title sponsor of the Grand National

The Grand National, the world’s most famous horse race, is looking for a new title sponsor from 2014 onwards. Aintree Racecourse and The Jockey Club have appointed sponsorship specialists PHAR Partnerships to lead the search for the new sponsor. PHAR will act as the exclusive agency on the project and seek to secure a brand befitting the world class nature and global appeal of the event.
This is only the second time in 30 years that The Grand National has been available for sponsorship and represents an amazing opportunity for a brand to associate with the nation’s favourite sporting event and benefit from a substantial package of rights including full branding at the race, ticketing, hospitality and experiential opportunities.

This year’s event represented the start of a new era for the race with Channel 4 broadcasting the race for the first time and attracting an incredible audience of over 9 million in the UK and attended by over 150,000 people over the 3 days. The race itself was full of drama and excitement as Aurora’s Encore, a 66-1 outsider, came home the winner. As well as impressive domestic viewing figures it was watched by an international audience in the hundreds of millions.

John Baker, North West Regional Director of the Jockey Club added “we are excited to be working with PHAR, their expertise in this space fills us with great confidence that they will secure the right brand for the Grand National as we enter an extremely exciting new era for the race.”

PHAR CEO, Marcus Wight, expressed his delight at the appointment. “We feel extremely privileged to be working with Aintree and The Jockey Club to secure a new sponsor of the Grand National and the fact that it has become available for only the second time in 30 years is another reason why so many brands are showing an interest. It is one of those rare occasions when the nation comes together and we are looking for a brand that wants to enhance the appeal of this ‘national treasure’ that brings fun and excitement into people’s lives.”

Manchester Arena appoints PHAR to secure naming rights deal

Manchester Arena, the largest indoor arena in Europe, has appointed PHAR Partnerships, the specialist sponsorship agency, with the aim of securing a new long-term Naming Rights Partner for the venue.
PHAR will act as exclusive agency on the project, and seek to develop the Manchester Arena’s relationships with leading national and international corporate brands.

It will work with the owners of the arena, Development Securities and Patron Capital and also the arena’s operators, SMG, the world’s number one arena facilities management company and operator of over 225 venues globally.

With 1.2 million ticket sales each year, Manchester Arena is the second highest attended indoor arena in the world after the O2 Arena in London. It regularly hosts some of the biggest acts in music, comedy and sport including Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Coldplay, Take That, Muse, Peter Kay, Michael McIntyre, Ricky Hatton and Amir Khan and is widely regarded as one of the best indoor venues in the world for live music.

PHAR has been involved in a number of naming rights and sponsorship deals over the past two years including The British Champions Series and QIPCO, Expedia and the PGMO and ASDA and The Big Jubilee Lunch. This track record, breadth of experience across diverse sectors and with top international brands will create strong opportunities for a high quality naming rights partnership for the Arena.

John Knight, Regional VP for SMG Europe said: “It’s the first time in 15 years that the Naming Sponsorship has been available for the Manchester Arena. We believe PHAR’s experience and international contacts book will bring this rare opportunity to the attention of high level decision makers.”

Matthew Weiner, Director, Development Securities said: “For a brand looking to increase its exposure both nationally and internationally, and seeking to associate with the biggest and best talent, the Manchester Arena is a clear choice. We are confident that with PHAR’s support, we will find the right brand partnership for this first class asset.”

PHAR CEO, Marcus Wight, expressed his delight at the appointment. “The Manchester Arena is the entertainment hub of the North and provides a brand with a captive audience, content, community engagement and international profile. There’s huge value in a brand associating itself with the Arena, where people go to enjoy themselves and we really look forward to creating a long-term partnership that delivers for all parties.”