Arts & Media Sponsorship

PR Log (Press Release) – Apr 11, 2007 – Arts & Media Sponsorship

The sponsoring of television and radio broadcasts is a young and dynamic market that grew in value by 76.9% between 2000 and 2004. In 2004, media sponsorship reached a value of £115m. This represented the first times that media sponsorship exceeded the amount spent annually on the arts (such as theatres and festivals), which came to £105m in 2004. The arts sponsorship figure has remained fairly static since a temporary upsurge around the Millennium.

Among the many television programmes that have won sponsors since 2000 are reality shows (such as Big Brother), situation comedies (sitcoms, such as Will & Grace) and lifestyle programmes (covering travel and home improvement). Coronation Street, the most-watched UK soap opera, has been sponsored by Cadbury's chocolate for many years, and some channels have sponsors for every film shown on television (such as Stella Artois for films on Channel 4). Broadcast sponsorship allows companies to associate themselves with popular programmes and exposes their brands to millions of viewers, often at a lower cost than advertising spots.

Arts sponsorship links company and brand names to the arts in order to provide `image' benefits, but the deals are usually more complex than media sponsorships. They may involve capital projects (such as the building of arts centres), in-kind sponsorships (the exchange of goods and services rather than cash), or the provision of temporary staff or business advice. These more rewarding partnerships are being encouraged by Arts & Business (A&B), the public forum for arts sponsorship in the UK. Statistics from A&B suggest that the appeal of the various art forms is fairly constant, divided broadly between visual arts and exhibitions, music-based arts and theatre-based arts.

Financial-services companies dominate arts sponsorship, whereas the larger sports sponsorship sector (worth £412m in 2004) has a broader client base. Recent examples include a £2m `Invest and Inspire' campaign from Barclays (which helped the British Museum and other national institutions), Deutsche Bank's Pyramid Award Scheme for grass-roots involvement, and Egg's work with the Derby Playhouse (which won the A&B Champions award in 2005). Other frequent arts sponsors include telecommunications and alcoholic drink companies; for example, music festivals are sponsored by the Tennent's and Carling beers, while Beck's beer is a long-term sponsor of the visual arts (Beck's Futures).

The future for arts and media sponsorship is overshadowed by several factors. With regard to arts sponsorship, it may be difficult to maintain momentum if companies switch their sponsorships from arts to sport (a very real possibility due to London hosting the 2012 Olympics). London is the dominant focus of arts sponsorship, accounting for more than 50% of the UK expenditure. In broadcasting, there are inherent limits to sponsorship due to regulation — no sponsoring of news or current affairs is allowed, and the BBC is forbidden to accept either sponsorship or advertising. It is also possible that alcoholic drinks brands may eventually be banned from arts and media sponsorship, just as tobacco sponsorship came to an end in 2005

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