Ministry of Sound sponsors Prince Naseem’s title fight
The Ministry of Sound nightclub will be the sole broadcast sponsor of featherweight boxer Prince Naseem’s World Boxing Organisation world title fight against Kevin Kelly, to be shown on BSkyB on Friday.
The 1m deal for the fight, put together by BMP Optimum, includes break bumpers, opening and closing titles on live and delayed broadcasts, and on-air promotions.
The ring in Madison Square Garden will also carry Ministry of Sound logos, and Ministry of Sound music will be played as the boxers come in for the fight. The event marketing deal has been drawn up by Sports Network.
“Although we’ve done almost nothing with sponsorship in the past, now we have the magazine, which launched this month, we are looking for some good causes to sponsor,” says a Ministry of Sound spokeswoman. The Ministry of Sound recently looked at sponsoring a war memorial, through the Friends of War Memorials charity, although negotiations broke down (MW November 20).
BMP Optimum TV buying manager Richard Foster says of the Naseem sponsorship: “With a significant number of Ministry of Sound branded promotional trailers being transmitted, the sponsorship will work with the current advertising campaign.”
Separately, BSkyB has appointed agency Pittard Sullivan – the agency which launched Fox Network in 1986 – to work on the development of on-air brands. Pittard Sullivan will report directly to general manager of broadcasting Elisabeth Murdoch.
BSkyB has also appointed direct marketing agency Evans Hunt Scott, following the resignation of JDA last week.
