Carat Sport has negotiated a twelve-month sponsorship deal on behalf of the Department for Transport for their ‘Think! Road Safety’ Campaign. The package includes sponsorship of the Great Britain Rugby League team for matches including the forthcoming three-Test match series against current world champions Australia and the five-match Australian tour of Great Britain during October and November.

The enhanced six-figure deal for the 2003 ‘Think! Road Safety’ Test and tour series builds on the huge success of last autumn’s ‘Think! Don’t Drink Drive’ Test Series vs. New Zealand. The deal includes performance related bonus opportunities for the Rugby Football League dependent on the size of the television audiences and media coverage generated by the series.

Chris Green, Marketing Director, Rugby Football League, said:

‘It is a source of great satisfaction to the Rugby League that besides acquiring a prestigious sponsorship for this major event in our calendar we are providing media exposure to a socially important message. We like to think that we are a ‘family’ orientated sport and there is no doubt that road safety is a key issue for all the members of our communities as well as the public at large’.

David Jamieson, Transport Minister responsible for Road Safety, said:

‘It’s great we have been able to team up again once with the Great Britain rugby team and work together to promote road safety. We are committed to reducing casualties on our roads and our involvement with the RFL is a useful way of reminding fans and their families of the importance of driving safety.’

David Reilly, Director, Carat Sport, said:

‘It was our objective to identify how we could use sport to bring further depth to the Think! Road Safety campaign. Working with the RFL provides us with a flexible environment in which to promote multiple road safety messages. In addition, the RFL has demonstrated its willingness to work in partnership with the Think! campaign to jointly promote key road safety messages.’

For more information please contact:

Joe Rudkin, PR Executive, Carat, 020 7430 6248 or e-mail joe_rudkin@carat.co.uk