CSR Feature
WORDS Angela Gregory Royal London 360° Communications Executive
Sponsorship the perfect partnership You can’t put a price on the sense of pride that comes with seeing someone from the Isle of Man do well. And yet, when it comes to corporate community involvement, that’s exactly what companies are asked to do.
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bviously, a business’s motivation for sponsorship can’t be all altruistic, there must be some worthwhile leverage involved. A logo on a kit or a trackside banner is all well and good, but there must be more to it. So, why get involved? Over the years, Royal London 360° has supported the Island community in a variety of ways, from involvement in wildlife and heritage projects to support for community and sporting events. In 1997, when the company was Scottish Provident International, parent company Scottish Provident sponsored the Lions Rugby Union Tour of South Africa. Having the Scottish Provident logo plastered on the front of the kit was priceless when it came to media coverage, but for Scottish Provident International in particular it was a timely association, coinciding with the opening of a new South African office.
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RL360° is the longest running TT sponsor, having been the title sponsor of the Superstock TT Race for the last 10 years, and has also been the lead sponsor of the massively successful Youth Cycling League for two decades. The TT sponsorship allows RL360° an association with an event internationally synonymous with the Isle of Man. There is also the added bonus of being able to use the event for corporate hospitality. Independent Financial Advisers fly in from all over the world to get a taste of the TT, with unprecedented trackside access to riders and visiting celebrities. But it is, perhaps, the Youth Cycling League and its elite team of competitors (Team Royal London 360°) that RL360° is best known for supporting. It is the perfect example of a successful sponsorship arrangement. In short, RL360° provides support to help the league achieve its goals and, in return, the company’s profile is raised on an almost daily basis and is associated with a positive activity with international reach.
The Royal London 360° Youth Cycling League To get your fix of pride in Manx success, these days you only have to take a glance at any televised cycling event. Manxman Mark Cavendish is the fastest man in the world on two wheels and has won an astonishing 25 stages of the Tour de France. Onchan’s Peter Kennaugh won gold in the Team Pursuit at last year’s Olympics and was a member of the triumphant Team Sky which helped this year’s Tour de France winner Chris Froome to victory. In both cases, the Royal London 360° Youth Cycling League has played a part role in putting a phenomenally successful sportsman on the path to glory. “We started out 21 years ago with 14 children at the newly refurbished NSC,” explained the league’s Dot Tilbury. “It grew and soon our kids were getting placed in races in the UK. “Mark Cavendish came down at the age of 9 from BMX and Peter Kennaugh for a time. Mark used to lap the field, he was very special.” This year there are 600 plus youngsters signed up and, on average, 300 turn up for the famous Tuesday night cycle at the NSC. “People are amazed that out of a population of 80,000 we produce so many cyclists,” said Dot.
Mark Cavendish
The secret to any success is always tricky to quantify but there’s no doubting there’s some kind of magic at work here. “I think there’s lot of things that make up why it is successful. We have a wonderful history of cycling on