Viacom Outdoor Secures Carling For Busking Sponsorship
Viacom Outdoor has secured Carling as the first sponsor of an innovative new advertising platform that will see branded buskers perform across the London Underground Tube network (see Viacom Outdoor Plans Sponsored Buskers).
The £600,000 deal will see the drinks brand sponsor several hundred musicians at Tube stations across London, including Oxford Circus, Charing Cross and Tottenham Court Road for 16 weeks.
The sponsored buskers will wear specially branded T-Shirts and will be surrounded by floor graphics and 6-sheet posters. The special promotion will be supported by an extensive poster and PR campaign.
Commercial backing will cover the recruitment and auditioning of the buskers, who will be vetted over the coming weeks to create a pool of good musicians. The buskers will not be paid by Carling and will rely on the generosity of tube travellers.
Stuart Cain, director of media services at Coors Brewers, commented: “This is a uniquely entertaining opportunity for us to establish Carling’s position as a committed supporter of London’s underground music scene and grassroots talent. In keeping with the brand personality, Carling Live Underground Music is about providing a little bit of humour and entertainment to London Underground commuters’ daily lives.”
Neil Deeprose, board director of BBJ, the agency handling the campaign, added: “This project is a fantastic way of further enhancing Carling’s music credentials. The London Underground audience matches our core Carling consumer,and we know that you have to take a unique approach to be talked about in London.”
Earlier last year Viacom Outdoor secured a sponsorship deal with Vittel to launch a water sampling initiative addressing the problem of passengers overheating on the Tube (see Viacom-Outdoor Wets Appetites With Sponsorship Deal).
UK advertising expenditure rose by 4.9% year on year during the fourth quarter of 2002 to £3.7 billion. This brings total adspend for the year to £13.9 billion, an increase of 0.8% on the previous year (see Outdoor Growth Boosts UK Adspend During 2002).
Viacom Outdoor: 020 7482 3000 www.viacom-outdoor.co.uk
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