Times Media secures print and online sponsorship

Accenture, the global consultancy company, has signed a nine-month sponsorship deal across Times Media’s print and online properties.

The deal will see the company became the first advertiser on The Times’ Need To Know business section.

A bespoke online section has also been created that will feature snippets of business news and information and daily video content, featuring senior business writers from both The Times and The Sunday Times.

The site will also have a “heat map” that will show readers a summary of the “most talked about” issues in the business world. A story’s headline will turn red and will increase in colour every time it is read. In addition, a weekly video will be created profiling a well-known business figure.

The sponsorship will support Accenture’s ongoing marketing strategy and aim to reinforce its “High Performance Delivered” strapline.

According to internal Times Media research, the Need to Know page is considered a critical daily read for 80% of business people.

The tie-up was brokered by News International Commercial, Accenture and its media agency Mediaedge:cia.

It follows News Corporation’s push to bring The Wall Street Journal and Times Media together to create global advertising campaigns (MW October 2).

Times Media is also benefiting from a 40% increase in its marketing budget (MW October 9).

A new Ipsos Mori survey published last month rev-ealed that Times Media is the most popular media brand among British business people. It found that 45% of its 3,500 respondents read the Times, The Sunday Times or Times Online at least once a week.