Channel 4 has signed a sponsorship deal with Hiscox, for the international specialist insurer to be the exclusive sponsor of a bespoke series of programmes collectively known as “Intelligent Thinking on 4”, starting with The Genius of Britain, in a deal which will start at the end of May 2010. The deal represents Hiscox’s first ever TV sponsorship.
The six figure sponsorship deal which was negotiated by Hiscox’s content agency Drum PHD and planned by media planning agency Acquity, covers transmissions on Channel 4, More4, TV and PC VOD as well as activation online on C4.com and through events. The creative for the bumpers will be produced by VCCP.
The programmes covered in the sponsorship include big set piece series such as The Genius of Britain, which airs on Channel 4 and More 4, in late May. In a major new science series, Richard Dawkins, James Dyson, Stephen Hawking, David Attenborough and Robert Winston celebrate the great thinkers and moments in British science, from Newton to the present day. The five, who co-present each programme, are joined by Kathy Sykes and Olivia Judson, among others. Britain’s great inventors and scientists have led the world and been at the forefront of some of history’s greatest advances.
The Genius of Britain tells the stories of the people behind these pivotal moments, of the men and women who overcame all obstacles in search of scientific advancement. Their tales range from accounts of pure genius, when the apple fell and the secrets of the universe were unlocked, to dark tales of obsession, deception and even bodysnatching.
Hiscox association with The Genius of Britain series is launching in late May 2010 with a special talk at The Science Museum Lates evening, on Wednesday 26 May, featuring speakers from the series such as Stephen Hawking and James Dyson.
The sponsorship deal also covers a six-part major arts documentary series, The Miracle of British Art, and Building The Titanic, a five part series which will provide a new perspective on the Titanic, by exploring the British working classes whose collective effort and extraordinary feats of manual labour created what was then the biggest, most luxurious and technologically, the most advanced man-made moving object in the world.
Annabel Venner, Head of Marketing at Hiscox UK, said:
“Intelligent Thinking on 4 puts our specialist small business and home insurance in front of our core audience demographic, and the set of idents produced really bring our brand promise to life.
We’re excited to be back on TV for the first time in two years with our first ever broadcast sponsorship and look forward to the response from our customer base.”
ENDS
For more information contact Fergus Hynd at VCCP on 020 7592 9331 or visit www.vccp.com
