THE LOWRY & UMBRO WIN HOLLIS ARTS SPONSORSHIP AWARD
THE LOWRY & UMBRO WIN HOLLIS ARTS SPONSORSHIP AWARD
Hollis Sponsorship Awards 2007
Last night The Lowry, the spectacular waterside visual and performing arts venue on Salford Quays and UMBRO were awarded the Hollis Arts Sponsorship Award of the Year award 2007 for One Love: The Football Art Prize.
At a glittering awards ceremony, held at Londons Savoy Hotel on 21st March, host BBCs Mark Pougatch presented Julia Fawcett, The Lowrys Chief Executive and UMBROs Head of UK Brand Marketing, Adrian Cory with this prestigious award. One Love: The Football Art Prize was a national, open submission competition for artists on the theme of football, followed by an exhibition of selected entries in The Lowry Galleries Dec 2006 - Mar 2007.
The idea for the football art prize came from the popularity of Lowrys painting, Going to the Match, which he created for a 1953 competition on the theme of football. The Lowry decided replicating the competition in World Cup year had the potential to increase and widen its audiences.
The entire project was sponsored by UMBRO, a globally recognised football brand and named after their marketing campaign.
Julia Fawcett, The Lowrys Chief Executive, commented:
Were delighted that our collaboration with UMBRO has been acknowledged in this prestigious way. This ambitious project culminated in a popular exhibition at The Lowry which stimulated a growth in gallery visitors, particularly dads and sons!
This project also played an important role in raising The Lowrys national profile. We were delighted with the quantity and quality of national press coverage generated, which has an editorial value of 676,000. This is in addition to the broadcast media with a value estimated at 3 million.
Adrian Cory, Head of UK Brand Marketing at UMBRO commented
We believe what truly draws people to football isnt fame or money; it is the emotion, the passion and the sheer joy of playing and watching the game. UMBROs One Love campaign aims to demonstrate this feeling for football and how it touches peoples lives. The Lowrys Football Art Prize perfectly encapsulated UMBROs One Love ethos and this passion was exactly what we saw in artists submissions. We believe that UMBRO provided the perfect fit as sponsor, as we are building a reputation for promoting the brand in imaginative, creative ways as embodied in our marketing campaign One Love.
The Lowry and UMBRO are planning to repeat this exhibition in 2010, next World Cup Year.
Posted on Thursday, 22 March 2007 under Press Galleries Press