Blyk signs up as Rise festival sponsor

Blyk, the ad-funded mobile network, is sponsoring free music festival Rise in its first major sponsorship. The festival will take place on July 13.

The network will promote the event, which features an opening performance from London grime producer and Blyk member, Casso Blax. It will send its 65,000 members a text of the line-up and will give them the opportunity to download free wallpapers and ringtones from artists performing at the festival. Members will also be able to enter an exclusive competition to award fans backstage access.

Blyk director member sales and marketing, Dean Merrion, says the sponsorship shows that music is “at the heart” of the brand’s strategy.

Blyk, which has a 16 to 24-year old membership base, links young people with brands they like and gives them free texts and minutes every month. It was founded in 2006 and operates in Helsinki, Finland and the UK.