Halls Mentholyptus to back Superbikes championship

Adams-owned Halls Mentholyptus is to sponsor the British Superbikes championship in a deal believed to be worth £200,000. The sponsorship is the first time a packaged goods company has backed the series.

Integrated marketing agency Mercier Gray brokered the deal on behalf of Halls. The event runs for 12 rounds from March to September and is televised live on Sky Sports with highlights on BBC1. The contract runs for one season, and Halls branding will appear on perimeter boards and the podium and interview backdrops.

To promote the sponsorship, Mercier Gray has arranged a link-up between Halls and News of the World to find “Halls Angels” – people willing to “polish the helmets” of bikers arriving at the events.

Halls sales and marketing manager John Kerslake says that sponsoring the event enables Halls to extend its marketing activity, which traditionally occurs during winter because of the nature of the product, into the summer. Kerslake says: “Our target market correlates well with the Superbikes audience, and as a packaged goods brand, we will stand out.”

Mercier Gray managing director Rob Gray says: “There are three ways to get involved in Superbikes: by sponsoring the championship, an individual rider, or a team. We’ve gone for the championship sponsorship because we can guarantee exposure for the brand irrespective of how a team or rider performs.”