An impressive array of speakers and special guests has today been revealed for Future Sponsorship 09, Europe’s leading sponsorship conference, which takes place in London for the first time at the luxury May Fair Hotel on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 November 2009.

The annual pan-European conference which brings together the most important senior executives in sponsorship is designed for the industry by the industry to debate the really important issues of the past year and shape the future of the burgeoning marketing sector.

The Future Sponsorship 09 speaker line up is filled with industry thought leaders including:

 Julie Clark, Head of the Sport & Leisure Practice, PriceWaterhouseCoopers in the UK and a member of the Global Hospitality & Leisure practice – Advises on a wide range of organisations, Governments and funders throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa

 Steve Cumming, Category Director – Sponsorship, PR and Events, Diageo – Heads the world’s leading premium drinks business’ sponsorship marketing portfolio

 Graham Fleet, Managing Director, IMG Consulting – Responsible for developing both international and national sponsorship campaigns and a specialist in Olympic marketing.

 Theo Gupta, Global Music Marketing Partnerships Manager, Nokia – Responsible for Nokia Music’s artist partnerships and artist relations.

 Roger Harrison, Marketing Director, PUMA – The driving force behind the European marketing division of one of the world’s leading sport lifestyle labels

 Toby Hester, Head of Football Brand, Castrol – Responsible for the global brand’s elite FIFA World Cup tournament activation for 2010 and 2014.

 Iain Higgins, Company Lawyer, International Cricket Council – Currently working with the ICC’s Security Task Force, charged with creating a safe and secure environment for international cricket in the future.

 Paul Samuels, Executive Director of Sponsorship, AEG Europe – Responsible for overseeing all sponsorship at The O2 as well as being a leading voice in sponsorship evaluations, sales and negotiations within the sponsorship industry.

 Nuala Starks, Music Sponsorship, O2– Directs the brand’s sponsorship programme around The O2 having held a sponsorship role at Orange and been Mobile Commerce Manager at Sony Music.

 Lesa Ukman, Founder and Chairman, IEG LLC – The world’s foremost expert on sponsorship and a tireless champion of the industry.

 Robin Wright, President, Engine and WCRS – Part of the management team that led the buyout from Havas in 2004 and star of BBC Radio4 Programme, Advertising: The Most Fun You Can Have With Your Clothes On!

Further industry speakers will be announced in the coming months, while this year’s special guest speakers include former England cricketer Darren Gough, former FIFA, UEFA and FA referee Graham Poll and internationally renowned DJ, Pete Tong.

2009 has already been a rich year of content for the sponsorship industry and the amassed speakers, panellists and delegates will use Future Sponsorship as the forum for the debate of some fascinating topics including:

• Swimming Naked – Was the sponsorship industry caught with its pants down in the credit crunch?
• A Sponsorship Hangover Cure – What to do to ease the headache of the financial crisis
• Banned and Brand – How sponsors should manage the use of drugs in sport and entertainment
• Rent a Rock Star – What is the future relationship of music and brands?
• Life After Lahore – How have the tragic events of the Lahore bombings changed sponsorship?
• A Brands Eye View – Will brand spending on sponsorship increase in the months to come?
• Does the Cap Fit? – Will budget capping by governing bodies and rights holders benefit sponsors?
• Cool Brands – And the role of sponsorship
• Rebranding – How to design the best sponsored event
• Sponsorship and Social Change – Are sponsorship campaigns being maximised as a force for good?
• The Sponsorship Buzz – How to use social media to amplify sponsorship assets

A full two day delegate pass including access to all presentations and networking sessions, plus entry to the ESA Awards Night on Wednesday 25 November starts at just £795 + VAT (€938). That’s less than the price of most one-day conferences and a saving of €250 on last year’s best price!

Further information on Future Sponsorship 09 can be found at www.future-sponsorship.com

Notes To Editors:

Future Sponsorship
Since its inception in 2005, Future Sponsorship has grown exponentially to become Europe’s leading sponsorship industry conference. Traditionally staged in Brussels, the event will now take place in London in 2009 where sponsorship and marketing professionals will participate in an open forum to debate the key issues within sponsorship, to learn and share knowledge, to hatch fresh ideas and to build new industry contacts.

The programme is geared to accommodate rights holders, corporate brands, agencies and suppliers, across B2B, B2C, public or private, sports, arts, leisure, entertainment or non-profit sectors.

The conference partners with a number of Europe’s leading national sponsorship associations including those in Sweden (SEFS) and Germany (FASPO) to ensure the delegate list has both a pan-European and global mix.

Booking Details
A full two day delegate pass including access to all presentations and networking sessions at Future Sponsorship, plus entry to the ESA Awards Night on Wednesday 25 November starts at just £795 + VAT (€938). This price is available until the 31 August 09

Past delegates are able to claim a package price that includes hotel accommodation and breakfast at the luxury May Fair Hotel for a total of £975 + VAT (€1,150)

Further details of Future Sponsorship 09 can be found at www.future-sponsorship.com

Future Sponsorship is also on LinkedIn. To join the group, simply click on the following link: http://www.linkedin.com/in/futuresponsorship09

European Sponsorship Association
Future Sponsorship is proud to be the European Sponsorship Association’s (ESA) annual flagship event and is also the venue for ESA’s annual Awards Ceremony. ESA is the voice of the sponsorship industry across Europe and as a membership association it looks after the interests of its members who are drawn from all areas of the sponsorship industry. ESA focuses on best practice and strives to raise industry standards through a series of educational events and the Future Sponsorship conference. In addition to its networking activities, ESA is also active in policy and governance, representing the sponsorship industry at national and EU levels.