Children in Need ramps up partnerships for marketing support
Children in Need is looking to brands to provide more marketing support ahead of this year’s November telethon as it unveils a raft of new corporate partners.
Peugeot will be among a group of brands joining existing partners, such as Asda, Boots, Welcome Break and Greggs. The car maker will donate a car and a trip to the Le Mans 24-hour motor race to be auctioned by the charity.
Lego, Debenhams, Domino’s Pizza, Cineworld and Bosch are also working with the charity for the first time in 2011. Lego will create a building-block model of Children in Need mascot Pudsey the bear, while department store Debenhams will be involved in a joint fashion initiative.
Other partners will take part in various projects from staff fundraising to selling merchandise branded by the charity.
Children in Need head of marketing Sarah Monteith says that the contribution from brands is integral to hitting the charity’s targets this year: “Corporate partners have a route to consumers who can generate income, whether they are donating or fundraising.”
The partnerships also represent “extra money and extra comms” for Children in Need, while brands benefit from the “halo effect” of being associated with the charity and the BBC, Monteith claims.
She adds that the charity is under increasing pressure to raise money as financial troubles hit disadvantaged children, and as government cuts prompt regional charities to see Children in Need as an alternative source of income.
“There is a massive step up in what we are doing for 2011 and 2012, because the need is ever greater. The applications come thick and fast.”
