Genie succeeds Stella as Empire film awards sponsor

Genie, the mobile Internet company spun off from BT, has signed its first sponsorship deal – as sole sponsor of the film awards staged by EMAP’s Empire magazine.

The event is due to be televised on the evening of Saturday February 24 and will be aired on both Channel 4 and Film Four.

The Empire Awards have been sponsored for the past three years by Stella Artois, which has a long association with film events. The new deal is Genie’s first foray into sponsorship and is initially for this year’s event, although the company hopes to make it a long-term relationship.

Genie will sponsor the whole of the awards which take place on February 19 and a new award for best debut film. The Genie service is being given branding opportunities at the ceremony and on the magazine’s website. It will also benefit from the TV coverage.

The company spokesman says: “This deal is an ideal fit with our target demographics – male and female ABC1s, aged 15 to 44.”

He says Genie is looking for further sponsorship opportunities, some of which will be international. More announcements are expected by the summer in what the spokesman calls “left-of-field, edgy and different types” of deals.

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