MEC:Sponsorship, part of global communications specialist Mediaedge:cia (MEC), has been shortlisted for four prestigious industry awards for its
innovative sponsorship solutions for Visa, Norwich Union and Specsavers.

The Hollis Sponsorship Awards, taking place on 30 March at the Café Royal, sees three nominations for the full service sponsorship consultancy.

Visa’s Olympic sponsorship leveraging across ten EU markets – Team Visa – is up for the ESA International Sponsorship Award, Norwich Union’s CSR campaign Do the Right Thing is shortlisted in the Brand Sponsorship
category, whilst Specsavers’ sponsorship of Scottish football match officials is nominated as a First Time Sponsor.

MEC:Sponsorship has also been shortlisted in the Sport Industry Awards, taking place at the London Hilton on 4 May, for Specsavers’ sponsorship of Scottish football referees in the ‘Best Sponsorship of a Team or
Individual’ category.

Judges of the Sport Industry Awards were impressed by the entry – Mike Reynolds, director of the Institute of Sport Sponsorship referred to the Specsavers’ campaign as ‘a solid sponsorship backed up by a good integrated
PR campaign,’ whilst Colin Farrington, director-general of the Institute of Public Relations, added that he was ‘impressed by the campaign with a positive fan and media reaction.’

Antonella Socci, head of sponsorship for Visa EU, comments: ‘It’s a great honour to be shortlisted for an award and it is just reward for everyone involved in the campaign across Europe. The integration of our Olympic sponsorship in our European marketing plans has been particularly impressive and will help us drive the brand forward.’

Jeremy Clark, managing director of MEC:Sponsorship, adds: ‘Our award nominations are a recognition of all the hard work put in by our experienced teams across Europe and clearly demonstrate how the right
sponsorship strategies can deliver tangible results for brands.’

For further information, call:

Stuart Wareman – (020 7803 2306) – stuart.wareman@mecsponsorship.com