Addleshaws upgrades fee deal to become official sponsor of Commonwealth Games

Sponsorship: Move puts law firm on a par with Microsoft, Cadbury and Asda supermarkets

Addleshaw Booth & Co has upgraded its sponsorship deal with the Commonwealth Games to put it in the top tier of backers.

The firm has been named an official sponsor - previously it was an official partner - putting it alongside names such as Microsoft, Cadbury, Asda, Guardian Media Group and Imperial Leather.

In July 2000, the firm entered its ground-breaking sponsorship deal to have its brand associated with the games in lieu of 1 million-worth of fees.

Carolyn Roberson, Addleshaw's national client services and business development director, said the decision was 'a mutual idea' and arose because the games required more legal support than was originally envisaged.

A spokeswoman for the games' organisers said: 'The value in kind is so great that it made sense to upgrade them to sponsor status.'

The status gives the firm some 'very interesting sponsorship rights', Ms Roberson said, and the marketing campaign is being implemented by five 'countdown teams' made up of partners and staff.

These are handling the client programme, such as hospitality; the business development programme in an effort to build the firm's sports practice further; the brand programme to make the most of the branding opportunities; the staff programme, which includes weekly competitions to win tickets and a volunteer scheme to help with the games themselves; and the media relations programme.

Ms Roberson said: 'What we set out to do when we won the tender was to build up our international sports and media practice, which we feel we have done.

And we also wanted to put something back into the community.'

Addleshaws is also doing its best to help Ann Danson, a lawyer in its tax and trusts team in Manchester, actually compete in the games.

Ms Danson, the UK outdoor and indoor long-jump champion, will shortly head out to a special training camp in the US ahead of the official trials for the England team, which will be held in June.

Neil Rose