Opus Restructures Sponsorship And Promotions Division
GWR’s sales house Opus has secured Kit Kat and Tesco as the first brands to make use of its newly restructured local radio sponsorship and promotions division.
The new structure, which follows similar moves at rival radio groups, is intended to provide clients with more sponsorship and promotions opportunities on a national and local level. It will also streamline the planning and booking process by bringing all sponsorship and promotions activity under one line of management.
Head of national sales, Lewis Burns-Allan, has been appointed to the newly created position of head of all sponsorship and promotions across the local radio group and former director of Vibe FM, Phil Beal, has returned to Opus as head of sponsorship and promotions for the national team.
Commenting on the restructure, Burns-Allan said: “These changes are the result of three years solid growth in sponsorship and promotions and continues our commitment to investing as a company in an area that is increasingly requested by our clients. Developing innovative client solutions with thorough briefs continues to be our priority. We want to make it easy for people to buy into radio sponsorship and promotions.”
In an initiative similar to Virgin Radio’s Access All Areas scheme (see Virgin Secures Sainsbury’s For Nectar Promotion), Opus is launching an Interactive Lunch With Kit Kat, which comprises a new interactive show broadcast across The Mix network.
Tesco Motor Insurance has also been signed as the sponsor of The Mix’s 50-strong fleet of branded promotional Black Thunder Vehicles (see Opus Secures Sponsor For The Mix’s Black Thunder Fleet).
The latest figures from the RAB, for the third quarter of 2002, show that sponsorship and promotions is the radio industry’s fastest growing sector, with revenue growing by 17.6% year on year to 19.2 million (see Sponsorship And Promotions Boost Commercial Radio In Q3). The sector has experienced significant growth since the first quarter of 2001, when revenue stood at just 13.3 million (see below).
The popularity of radio sponsorship was highlighted recently when Woolworths was secured as the multimillion sponsor of the Network Chart Show, in what is thought to be the biggest sponsorship deal in British radio history (see Woolworths Signed As New Chart Show Sponsor).
Opus: 020 7518 2642 www.opusonline.co.uk
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