Sky Sports ‘MO’bilises Top Talent to Champion Men’s Health Awareness with Movember

Sky Media, the advertising sales arm of Sky, has announced an exciting new partnership with Sky Sports and global men’s health charity Movember known for its ground-breaking work.

In collaboration with the agency Bicycle, the content-led campaign aims to leverage Sky Sports’ top talent to drive awareness, sign-ups, and donations for Movember, while also showing that you don’t need to ‘grow a mo’ to join in. There are countless ways for women and anyone else to show support and get involved, from moving 60km in the month, hosting an event or taking on an epic challenge.

Featuring popular Sky Sports presenters Simon Thomas, Pete Graves, Clinton Morrison, and Hayley McQueen the campaign will include four bespoke 30-second TV commercials which will air across Sky Sports platforms. The campaign will also incorporate digital and social content including exclusive interviews with presenters who are growing moustaches to personally champion the cause.

Movember’s 2024 campaign with Sky Sports is strategically designed to engage new and existing audiences, reigniting excitement and increasing participation and will even see co-branded ‘Sky Sports Presents’ idents as part of the creative playout.

“Our partnership with Movember goes beyond the typical campaign; we’re using our platform to engage millions of viewers in meaningful conversations about men’s health,” said Karin Seymour, Director of Client & Marketing. “With top Sky Sports presenting talent like Simon Thomas and Pete Graves leading by example, we aim to spark action across the UK, motivating people to grow, donate, and make a lasting impact.”

Throughout Movember, Soccer Saturday and Sky Sports fans will be able to monitor the progress of the moustache growing in action as Simon Thomas and Pete Graves, both take part in the Movember challenge.

The campaign will be visible across various Sky platforms, including Video on Demand (VOD), SFVOD, digital editorial, social and linear TV channels, ensuring widespread reach and engagement.

Anne-Cecile Berthier, Country Director UK & Europe at Movember, said: “We are excited to work with Sky Media to bring millions of eyes to Movember, helping to raise funds and awareness to change the face of men’s health.

“As a charity, we work tirelessly to deliver innovative, breakthrough research and support programmes that enable men to live happier, healthier and longer lives. And we couldn’t do it without our global community of supporters. So, whether you’re growing a Mo, taking on an epic challenge or hosting an event, we’re encouraging everyone to get involved this Movember.”

Since its inception in 2003, Movember has grown into a global movement, funding more than 1,300 men’s health projects around the world. The charity is dedicated to addressing four critical areas of men’s health: mental health, suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer. Sky Sports’ campaign aims to remind audiences of the tangible impact their involvement can make.

Lexus Aces Sky Sports Sponsorship as ‘Presenting Partner’ of the New Tennis Channel

Lexus has struck a new partnership with Sky Sports as the “Presenting Partner” of its brand-new channel Sky Sports Tennis. Brokered by Sky Media and MSix & Partners, the year-long partnership includes exclusive sponsorship of the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour throughout 2024.

This seven-figure deal includes broadcast sponsorship of over 4,000 matches from more than 80 tournaments across the ATP Tour and WTA Tour, and non-live tennis programming on the new dedicated channel. Lexus will also align with Tennis content on Sky Sports digital and social platforms, reinforcing association with Sky Sports subscribers while also extending reach to non-Sky Sports subscribers. The partnership allows Lexus to reach and engage with millions of Tennis fans every month across multiple platforms, with the aim of growing their association with the sport.

Across broadcast, the sponsorship will comprise 15-second accreditation to open and close each programme, while additional 5-second accreditations will top and tail each centre break. Meanwhile, the sponsorship will also extend across Sky’s owned and operated digital platforms with impactful video and display assets, and Sky AdVance to retarget Tennis viewers across the web. On Sky Sports social platforms, Lexus branding will be attached to Tennis video content, including highlights and key Tennis moments, throughout the year.

To amplify the partnership, Lexus will use the Sky Sports Tennis logo and “Presenting Partner” designation across its owned and bought media. In addition, Lexus and Sky Sports have exciting plans to activate the partnership, bringing exclusive and bespoke content to Tennis fans, with the potential to use Sky Sports talent, brand ambassadors and key names from the world of Tennis.

This partnership follows Lexus’ recent multi-year agreement with the ATP Tour, as Platinum Partner and Official Automotive Partner. The automotive brand has furthered its presence in the sport by welcoming UK Tennis players Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter as ambassadors. The brand also has a wider commitment to Tennis in the UK as Official Performance Partner and Official Automotive Partner of the Lawn Tennis Association.

Sky Sports, the new home of Tennis in the UK and Ireland, has recently agreed five-year partnerships with the ATP and WTA to show year-round Tennis, with over 80 tournaments and 4,000 matches available to customers. The new channel will also broadcast exclusive live coverage of the US Open in August. Coverage will be expertly analysed by former top British players Tim Henman and Laura Robson, presented by Gigi Salmon, with commentary from the well-known voice of Jonathan Overend.

Chris Hayes, Director of Lexus in the UK, commented: “We’re excited to be supporting a new Sky channel that will bring Tennis to a wider audience than ever before. This year promises to be particularly exciting, with more tournaments, and new opportunities for fans to engage with the sport. We’re looking forward to showcasing the passion, skill and pursuit of perfection of the world’s leading players, which mirrors the dedication, skill and craftsmanship that goes into every Lexus car.”

Dan Morrissey, Head of Sponsorship Activation at Sky Media said: “Sky Sports Tennis is the perfect match for Lexus to increase its visibility amongst highly engaged, premium audience. We look forward to working with Lexus and mSix&Partners, to launch and activate the partnership across the brand-new Tennis channel, and its digital and social platforms.”

Sky brings TV and digital closer together with new Search Behaviour Targeting

Sky Media, has announced new Search Behaviour targeting capability for the AdSmart addressable platform. Driven by wider industry demand to bring digital and TV campaigns closer together, Search Behaviour attributes allows brands for the first time to target audiences based on specific online search behaviours including frequency and intent.

Using search data categorised by frequency and intent, which is then matched to Sky’s first party data – advertisers can engage audiences who are in market and actively searching for products and services. Leveraged through market leading AdSmart, targeted ads are delivered into relevant households in both live and on demand content across millions of Sky, Virgin and Now homes.

Seven search behaviour categories are available at launch: Home & Garden, Travel, News, Job & Education, Arts and Entertainment, Games, Pets and Animals. Search Behaviour Targeting identifies people at every stage of their purchase journey, from initial research, through to adding items to their online basket. Search behaviour habits can be combined with any of the other existing 1000+ AdSmart attributes to refine campaigns. This could include postcodes, lifestage, mosaic groups or an advertiser’s own first party data. As an example, a custom campaign could see a holiday or insurance company target those who are actively searching for holidays or flights. This could be further refined or creative adapted to those looking at beach, sightseeing or ski holidays in a specific area of the country. The Search Behaviour targeting capability has been developed in conjunction with Captify, who are the largest independent holder of search data.

Ruth Cartwright, Investment Director at Sky Media – “TV remains the most effective and engaging platform for brands. Being able to embrace the best capabilities of digital but in the brand safe, big screen, world of TV, makes campaigns more relevant and impactful. That’s what we’re hearing from brands and agencies, so that’s where we’re focusing our innovations.”

Helping advertisers connect with audiences wherever they watch is part of an ongoing roadmap of innovation from Sky Media, bringing TV and digital closer together. AdSmart launched nearly ten years ago and was the world’s first TV addressable advertising platform. Launched a few years later Sky AdVance opened-up digital targeting based on TV viewing and upcoming Creative Optimisation will help performance brands programmatically adapt their TV creatives to optimise response.

Barclaycard Payments and Sky Media partner to champion the small businesses behind some of the UK’s biggest cultural events

On Saturday 1st October, a bespoke TV campaign, created in partnership between Sky Media and credit card and payment services provider, Barclaycard Payments, aired for the first time during Saturday’s Premier League coverage. The greatly anticipated West Ham v Wolves game saw 954k viewers at its peak at 6pm as West Ham scored the first goal of the game.

The bespoke campaign features UK-based small business Piglet’s Pantry. The advertisement is the second installment in a three-part series celebrating the transformational journeys of small businesses – and often the unsung heroes – behind some of the UK’s key cultural moments.

On October 1st 2022, audiences who tuned into the Premier League got the chance to hear from the much-loved pie business, Piglet’s Pantry, about its transformational journey from a small baked goods business to a national enterprise feeding millions of fans at some of London’s biggest sport events. In the clip, Owner and Managing Director, Joanna Hunt, told Businessman & Entrepreneur Tim Campbell MBE how sporting events have been instrumental in her journey and why SMEs are the backbone of nationwide events.

The inspiring 90-second clip, filmed at King Power Stadium and presented by Sky Sports, first aired during the ad break of the West Ham v Wolves game. The clip was also shown during the Leeds v Villa match and airs again tonight during the Leicester v Forest match, with the ad running until 30 October 2022. 30-second cutdown clips of the advert are also being published across other Sky Media channels and platforms including linear, AdSmart, VoD and digital with a longer 120-Second version on @SkyUK social channel.

The three-part series takes viewers behind the scenes of some of the UK’s most loved events to meet the small business community supporting them. The previous installment, presented by Sky Arts, saw Tim Campbell MBE speaking with Electro Love founders, Damian Walshe and Airon Baker, who took their nostalgic 80s and 90s themed experience to the Isle of Wight Festival this summer. In it, the founders discussed how iconic British festivals allowed them to turn their passion into a career (watch it here).

The series is part of Barclaycard’s ‘The Payment Part is Just the Start’ campaign, which aims to get small businesses to rethink what payments can do for them – beyond being used for purely transactional purposes.

Sarah Jones, Director of Planning at Sky Media said: “We’re very excited to see this content go live during the Premier League coverage. Barclaycard’s commitment to supporting SMEs combined with Sky Media’s strength in bringing small brands on to TV makes it a natural partnership.”

Richard Atkinson-Toal, Marketing Director, at Barclaycard Payments said: “The stories showcased in this partnership are not only packed with insightful wisdom from real small business owners, but they’re compelling and feel-good too. At Barclaycard Payments, this is what we do – support small business with their growth. We’re pleased to be partnering with Sky Media to bring these stories to the masses in a way that really aligns with our purpose.”

The third and final part of the year-long series airs in December and will feature a behind the scenes sneak peek of one of the suppliers responsible for filming the latest Sky Original drama Christmas special.

Learn more about the partnership at: https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/business/business-matters/customer-case-studies/sky-partnership

Electronic Arts scores three-year deal as sponsor of Sky Sports Premier League coverage

EA SPORTS, Lead Partner of the Premier League, to feature prominently across live Sky Sports coverage of top-flight football and the broadcaster’s digital touchpoints as part of sponsorship brokered by mSix&Partners.

Electronic Arts (EA) and Sky Media today announced a sponsorship agreement that sees the video game company sponsor Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage from the start of the 2022/23 season until the end of the 2024/25 season. The three-year, multi-platform deal was brokered between Sky Media and global media network mSix&Partners.

EA SPORTS FIFA – the world’s largest sports video game franchise – will appear right before and after each of the exclusive 128 Premier League matches per season broadcast live on Sky Sports, on non-live Premier League programming on the dedicated Sky Sports Premier League channel including On Demand, and across digital touchpoints including Skysports.com, the Sky Sports App and Sky Sports social channels.

From August 5th 2022, fans tuning in to watch the likes of Jack Grealish, Virgil Van Dijk, Son Heung-min and Kai Havertz will be treated to unique creatives as part of their pre- and post-game viewing experience. EA SPORTS will draw parallels between real-life and game-play footage from the iconic FIFA series which will be echoed across digital in the form of premium display and video campaigns on the Sky Sports website and sponsorship of Premier League content on Sky Sports’ Facebook, Twitter and Instagram social channels.

James Salmon, EA SPORTS FIFA Marketing Director, said:
“This is a momentous sponsorship for EA SPORTS that signifies our long term commitment to delivering authentic experiences for football fans globally. We’re hugely excited to be part of the Premier League experience on Sky Sports with bespoke content that blurs the lines between the virtual and real world of football.”

Brett Aumuller, Managing Director at Sky Media said:
“We’re absolutely thrilled to announce EA SPORTS joining our stellar line-up of sponsors for the Premier League. EA becomes the first official Premier League partner to sponsor our Sky Sports coverage, as well as first to include social media rights. This innovative partnership will come to life across multiple platforms and capture the excitement and scale only the Premier League can deliver.”

Abby Stanworth, Head of Partnerships at mSix&Partners said:
“EA SPORTS and Sky Sports are a perfect match, and we are delighted to have worked with them to bring one of the biggest and most iconic media sponsorships to life. EA is one of the embedded accounts we have at mSix&Partners and this announcement is an exciting example of what close collaboration can achieve. The Premier League is one of the most-watched sports leagues in the world and we can’t wait to see EA SPORTS and Sky Sports deliver truly original, relevant, and engaging content for its fans over the coming years.”

All-new Range Rover Sport inspires innovative media collaboration with Sky Media

• Third Generation Range Rover Sport stars in ‘Spillway’, a new powerful brand film hosted by Sky Media
• The 7-minute cliff-hanger will simulcast across Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League today, the first of its kind premier for a brand film with a UK broadcaster
• The large-scale campaign marks unique collaboration partner Sky Media, made possible through the mutual pursuit of innovation, and delivers three media-firsts moments
• New interactive voice-activation and QR shoppable capabilities compliment Land Rover’s digital transformation and its elevated online customer solutions

‘Spillway’ is a dramatic film that charts the new Range Rover Sport’s high-intensity ascent of a 193m dam spillway in Iceland against a torrent of water flowing at 750 tonnes per minute. The creative direction of the film was developed to echo the Luxury SUV’s emotive design, dynamic aesthetic and powerful, muscular proportions.

This powerful content demanded an innovative campaign partner to bring it to the world innovatively and with impact. Sky Media accepted the challenge and created a bespoke ecosystem for the media partnership, starting with a multichannel simulcast, the first of its kind for a brand film premiere with a UK broadcaster.

The film will simulcast across Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League channels tomorrow ahead of the hugely anticipated Spurs v Arsenal game. In addition, a high-impact 30” TVC using Sky Media’s “shoppable” QR capability will promote Spillway during the half-time break, followed by another opportunity to see it immediately after Sky’s football show.

Anthony Bradbury, Marketing Director, Jaguar Land Rover UK said: “The launch of a new model, like the iconic Range Rover Sport is a pivotal moment for Land Rover, so we took this opportunity to take stock and look at its launch campaign with a fresh perspective. We wanted to create a moment that was as powerful and inventive as the new car, one that talks directly to our discerning customers. The brief we set our potential partners was intentionally wide as to not stifle creativity, so it was clear and exciting when Sky Media’s pitch came in and their ambition to set a new benchmark was in perfect synchroneity with ours.’’

The North London derby is expected to attract significant viewing figures on Sky Sports, offering a captive audience and natural synergy to seamlessly showcase the awe-inspiring driving challenge in the third generation Range Rover Sport with Official James Bond stunt driver, Jess Hawkins.

Steve Smith, Executive Director Content, Sky Sports commented: “It’s been fantastic to collaborate with Jaguar Land Rover to bring this epic stunt to Sky Sports customers. W Series driver Jess Hawkins stars in the challenge which will be showcased alongside our coverage of the north London derby on Thursday night.”

‘Spillway’ will be amplified by a tailored media strategy using a wide range of Sky Media’s market-leading capabilities and platforms. 30” and 10” TVCs will be used across linear TV, VoD, social and digital; while a 6” TVC for Sky Go and Short-form VoD will continue to promote the film across Sky platforms throughout May. A voice-activated traffic driver will be used for Sky Glass and Sky Q customers, and interactive QR code TVCs will be used for all other Sky customers; both will harness Sky Media’s AdSmart targeting capabilities to reach the core Range Rover Sport audience through the Experian Autos group.