Medium Rare Content Agency and PHAR Partnerships Launch New Commercial Sponsorship Brand 17Hands

(L-R) Chris Joy of Medium Rare, Simon Hawk and Marcus Wight, both of PHAR Partnerships, at the 2023 Asia Pacific Cities Summit in Brisbane, Australia

Medium Rare Content Agency today announced it has joined forces with commercial sponsorship specialists PHAR Partnerships to launch a new commercial sponsorship brand 17Hands.

17Hands combines Medium Rare Content Agency’s expertise in creating brand stories and commercialising content with PHAR’s global footprint and proven ability to maximise sponsorship opportunities.

Head of 17Hands at Medium Rare Content Agency Chris Joy said they are focused on verticals that are often underutilised commercially including the transport, leisure, retail, mobility and education sectors. 

“This is not just about sponsorship, it’s about transformation. We want to bring innovation and creativity to sectors that haven’t traditionally embraced sponsors. 17Hands is the bridge between untapped potential and brand opportunities,” he said.

PHAR Partnerships has been developing and implementing these new types of brand partnerships globally for the last 12 years with examples including the Santander London Bike Hire Scheme and the HSBC Rain Vortex at Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore.  

Head of 17Hands at PHAR Partnerships Simon Hawk said 17Hands offers rights holders new revenue streams, while brands who engage with rights holders stand to benefit from enhanced in-venue experiences, venue and product naming opportunities and themed packages.

“With 17Hands, we are encouraging businesses which are not in entertainment-focused sectors to think differently about their marketing. We are opening up a myriad of benefits and commercial opportunities in places where they never previously existed,” he said.

17Hands foundation client Beam has 2 million registered people using its 14,000 freely available e-scooters and e-bikes across Australia and New Zealand. Sponsorships provide brands with ways to use the Beam platform to communicate their sustainability, health and wellbeing and carbon offset credentials. 

Beam General Manager (ANZ) Tom Cooper said: “17Hands has enabled us to collaborate with like-minded brands, bringing a value-add to users of the Beam service, and enabling brands to connect with residents of the cities we operate in via exposure on Beam’s platform and vehicle network.”

17Hands has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Auckland. For more information click here. 

Transport sponsorship specialists PHAR connect Transport for Greater Manchester with Starling Bank as first sponsor of Greater Manchester bike hire scheme

Starling Bank has been revealed as the first sponsor of the Greater Manchester Bike Hire Scheme in a deal brokered by transport sponsorship specialist PHAR.

The cycle hire fleet will adopt a new name, Starling Bank Bikes, with bikes bearing the new branding set to hit the streets of Manchester, Trafford and Salford from February.

The new partnership is the biggest sponsorship deal in Transport for Greater Manchester’s (TfGM’s) history and a significant endorsement for the Bee Network - Greater Manchester’s ambition to deliver a fully-integrated, London-style transport system.

Starling Bank, which already employs 3,200 people in London, Cardiff and Southampton, recently chose Manchester as the home for its northern expansion owing to the city’s pool of fintech talent, and its status as the UK’s Top Digital Tech City. The digital bank’s new office in St Peter’s Square will house more than 1,000 new roles in the north.

The sponsorship deal is the latest sustainability initiative from the bank, which doesn’t have branches, doesn’t invest in fossil fuels, and offsets its carbon emissions.

Money generated from Starling’s sponsorship will be reinvested into the scheme, supporting ongoing operational costs, such as bike and stand maintenance and future expansion.

Mike Mellor, Head of Commercial Services at TfGM said: “We are delighted to partner with Starling Bank as the first sponsor of the Greater Manchester bike hire scheme.

“The sponsorship will see the scheme undergo an exciting re-brand to become Starling Bank Bikes, with the full bike fleet, stations and app to get a new look in the coming months.

“This is the biggest sponsorship agreement in TfGM history and the revenue will be reinvested back into the bike hire scheme for the benefit of our customers.”

“It has been great to work with PHAR on this project and we are really grateful for their hard work in helping us shape and find a partnership that we know will be hugely beneficial for both parties.”

Alastair Macdonald, PHAR Partnerships Managing Director, added: “From the start we were determined to help secure a sponsor with a true and strong connection to Manchester, and who would be committed to working with TfGM in a genuine partnership.

“As one of the most exciting new employers to set up in Manchester in recent years, Starling Bank is a perfect sponsor for the scheme and we are delighted to have been able to help create this partnership to help the scheme to continue to succeed and grow.”

Susanna Yallop, Chief People Officer at Starling Bank said: “There was no question that Manchester would be home to our next phase of growth; we’ve hired some incredible talent here and have ambitious plans for further job creation.

“We look forward to seeing how our investment in Starling Bank Bikes will boost the breadth of the cycle scheme, and Starling’s presence in the north.”

PHAR brokers exciting new sponsorship deal between Beryl BTN Bikes and Vita Coco

PHAR Partnerships has secured an exciting new sponsorship deal for Brighton & Hove’s Beryl BTN Bikes.

The city’s cycle hire scheme has agreed a deal with coconut water company Vita Coco to be its lead partner.

It means that residents will soon see Vita Coco branding on the rear wheels of Beryl BTN bikes and e-bikes and a programme of events & giveaways across the city this year.

It will also appear on the Beryl website, app and social media channels.

100% of what the council receives from its share of the sponsorship will be reinvested back into the scheme.

Councillor Trevor Muten, Chair of the Transport and Sustainability committee said: “This is very exciting news for Brighton & Hove and Beryl BTN Bikes and I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Vita Coco as the scheme’s lead partner.

“The city currently has more bikes and hubs than ever before, and this sponsorship deal will support our work to make it bigger and better for our residents and visitors.

“Beryl BTN Bikes are a very popular way for people to move around the city and play a huge role in supporting active and sustainable travel.”

Beryl CEO and co founder, Phil Ellis, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for us to partner with a globally recognised organisation that shares our outlook and values around carbon reduction and healthy lifestyles.

“Our Brighton & Hove scheme has already had a significant impact on traffic congestion, air quality and physical activity, generating over 120,000 journeys across more than 403,000 kilometres and saving more than 12 tonnes of carbon emissions.

“Partnerships like this allow us to build on the great work already undertaken and contribute towards a cleaner, greener future.”

Vita Coco Managing Director, Tim Rees, said: ‘At Vita Coco we are passionate about helping communities get active – and swapping your car for a bike is a great way to do this.

“As a fellow B-Corp we are passionate about sustainability and building thriving communities – and our partnership with Beryl supports both these missions.’

Masdar City appoints PHAR to create long term partnership strategy and secure partners

Marcus Wight, CEO Phar Partnerships, with Stephen Severance, Masdar City Director of Growth, and Bashar Nsheiwat, Head of Middle East PHAR Partnerships at Masdar City in December 2023

PHAR has been appointed by Masdar City, the sustainable urban community in Abu Dhabi, to create a long-term partnership strategy and to develop innovative solutions for brands to activate around Masdar City as the UAE’s ultimate hub for eco-friendly technologies.

Masdar City has embarked upon a journey to help cities become a solution to climate change and PHAR is now inviting companies around the world who share the same commitment to a greener way of living to become official partners of Masdar City and showcase how they are enabling the transformation towards a sustainable future.

As part of their ongoing commitment to telling this story, Masdar City recently staged the Festival during COP28 with TAQA as the Title Sponsor.

Running over two weekends, the Festival spotlighted innovative solutions to climate change as well as showcasing how the UAE is embracing sustainability across its infrastructure and operations. The Festival welcomed both the local Abu Dhabi population as well as drawing interest from COP28 attendees, who could conveniently reach Masdar City from Dubai via complimentary electric buses.

Furthermore, Masdar City is set to soon unveil a range of permanent installations which feature multiple interactive learning zones, informing Masdar City's visitors on certain themes around sustainability, such as the technologies involved in harnessing renewable energies and the future of water treatment.

PHAR is inviting brands to align themselves with these forward-thinking initiatives by becoming an official partner of Masdar City. A partnership would allow a brand to co-curate themed content and draw attention to how they are enabling sustainable living in the cities of tomorrow.

Marcus Wight, CEO, PHAR Partnerships:

“PHAR has become the industry’s leading consultancy for creating brand partnership programmes for visitor destination and cities around the world. We believe passionately that brands have a key role to play in making cities better places to live, work or visit. There could be no better client than Masdar City as they embark on such an exciting stage of their development.”

About Masdar City

Masdar City is a pioneering sustainable urban community, a world-class business and technology hub, and a ‘green-print’ for cities that want to be part of the solution to climate change. With one of the largest clusters of LEED Platinum buildings in the world, we are dedicated to creating a new kind of city, a new way of working and living, and a more sustainable future for everyone.

The Masdar City Free Zone is a diverse, innovative, and ambitious group of over 1,000 organizations that benefit from comprehensive business support as well as the city’s rich ecosystem. Tenants include the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the UAE Space Agency, Siemens Energy, G42 Healthcare, the Advanced Technology Research Council, several Fortune 500 companies, and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.

The Masdar City Free Zone also includes The Catalyst, a clean-tech start-up accelerator program powered by both Masdar City and BP.

Masdar City hosts a growing residential community and two generations of autonomous vehicles. Masdar Capital Management Limited established the Masdar Green REIT, a real estate investment trust dedicated to investing in sustainable real estate assets, with a primary focus in Masdar City. Currently the Masdar Green REIT’s portfolio is valued at USD 767 million.

PHAR CEO Marcus Wight at COP28

Marcus Wight, CEO of PHAR Partnerships, spent an enjoyable few days in Dubai at COP28 seeing some of the work that companies are doing to promote sustainability. A particular favourite was Beeah Group supporting a Ghanian artist, El Anatsui.

PHAR’s sponsorship evaluation report for Transport for London’s Cycle Hire Scheme

As a key part of Transport for London’s preparations for tendering the sponsorship of London’s iconic Cycle Hire Scheme, PHAR’s Insight team has delivered a comprehensive report into the value that partnership with the scheme delivers for a sponsor.

PHAR’s report covers a wide range of valuation metrics, including quantifying the social value delivered by the scheme, assessment of the scheme’s strategic associations, valuation of the branding exposure and comprehensive research into sponsorship benchmarks from around the world.

Informed by the evidence and insights generated from this research and analysis, PHAR’s report also includes an assessment of a range of commercial options for the next sponsorship term and recommendations for how the value delivered to a sponsor may be maximised.

The scheme has been sponsored by Santander since 2015. A statutory tender process is to be undertaken by TfL in 2024 for the next sponsorship term, to run from March 2025.

This is the third time that PHAR has been appointed by TfL to analyse the Cycle Hire Scheme sponsorship opportunity, following evaluations delivered in 2012 and 2020 to support renewal discussions with Barclays and Santander respectively.

Harriet McDonald, Lead for Commercial Partnerships and Experiential Marketing at Transport for London, commented: “PHAR has delivered for us a fantastic piece of work - thorough and insightful. The Cycle Hire Scheme represents one of our largest and most important sponsorship assets and it’s crucial that we not only understand its true value as a marketing investment for brands, but also ensure that our strategy for the opportunity is based on robust evidence and informed, intelligent insights. PHAR’s report delivers this to an extremely high level and is playing an important role in shaping our commercial strategy as we prepare the opportunity for the market early in 2024.”

Alastair Macdonald, PHAR Partnerships Managing Director, added: “It’s a source of great pride to us that Transport for London entrusts PHAR with such an important piece of work for such a prestigious sponsorship asset – arguably the biggest Sustainability sponsorship in the UK. Our work shows the sponsorship doesn’t only deliver massive year-round exposure for a sponsor’s brand (which it does to a very strong degree), but provides powerful associations with increasingly important values, and can have a significant impact on a sponsor’s brand image and purchase consideration. It’s a true blue-chip sponsorship, and we are grateful to TfL for the opportunity to work together on such an important asset.”

Leeds City Bikes rides into town

A new public e-bike hire service, Leeds City Bikes, has hit the streets of Leeds.

Operated by PHAR client, Beryl, Leeds City Bikes is a fully electric public bike hire service of over 650 bikes, enabling more people to cycle short journeys. The £2.86 million scheme sees e-bikes for hire at docking stations in the centre, and along key routes to the south and north-west of the city, before expanding to other areas. 

A special event was held on 23rd September to mark the launch of the service, with free bike trials and fun activities with prizes such as free bike minutes up for grabs.

PHAR will be exclusively responsible for delivering a sponsor partner for the scheme.
  
Councillor Helen Hayden, Executive Member for Infrastructure and Climate, said:  

“It’s fantastic to see this scheme launching. A public bike hire scheme has been a long ambition of Leeds and it’s a crucial part of offering quick and sustainable journeys across the city centre. We want Leeds to be a city where you don’t need to own a car and a key part of that is expanding and supporting our cycling network. This bike hire scheme is a great way use that network for short journeys, as well as long hopefully in the future.   

“We know that compared to conventional push bikes, e-bikes are an easier access point for new users including older people, people with limited physical strength, people who have limited cycling confidence or experience and people who are looking to take up cycling. I hope that Leeds City Bikes will encourage more people to try cycling without the investment of buying their own bike.”   

This work is part of the Connecting Leeds Transport Strategy to make Leeds a city where you don’t need a car. 
Leeds City Council and the Combined Authority have been working closely with accessibility groups, communities, and other key stakeholders to ensure as many people as possible can access the service.     

The service is being funded by the Combined Authority through its Transforming Cities Fund programme, which is aimed at making it easier for people to walk, cycle and use public transport. 
Subject to further funding, it is hoped the Leeds e-bike hire service will be the first of many to be rolled out across West Yorkshire in the future. 

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said:

“It’s great to see these e-bikes on the streets of Leeds. 

“We want to create a stronger and better-connected region so everyone has the same opportunity to get on in life.   

“And a reliable and inclusive transport network, which puts walking and cycling at the heart of our everyday journeys, is key to this.”

Phil Ellis, CEO of Beryl, said:

“We’re delighted to be working with another of the UK’s major transport authorities to make sustainable transport even more accessible to people across Leeds while helping to further decarbonise the city’s integrated transport system.

“We are the UK’s only home-grown shared transport provider, designing and assembling our own products and industry-leading technology, while maintaining control over safety, durability and quality.

“Our bikes are not only fun, reliable, and simple to use, they’re also cost-effective compared to private vehicle ownership, removing the costs associated with fuel, parking, storage, tax, maintenance, MOT and insurance.

“By swapping four wheels for two, you can not only contribute towards improving air quality and reducing traffic congestion, you can also boost your own physical and mental health, so why not give it a go.”

PHAR appointed to deliver new brand partner across London Gatwick’s Jet-Bridges

PHAR has been appointed by London Gatwick Airport as its exclusive agency to take to market its Jet-Bridge sponsorship, which covers a substantial package of branding rights across the Airport.

The Jet-Bridges at LGW are coming to market for the first time in 15+ years with HSBC consolidating its global Jet-Bridge programme.

PHAR will work closely with the team at LGW to value, package and market this unique and highly-impactful opportunity.

PHAR helps deliver successful EPCR Finals Weekend in Dublin

PHAR’s media buying arm has worked with European Professional Club Rugby for the fifth consecutive season to help deliver media strategy and executions around the Dublin Finals, which saw a sold-out Heineken Champions Cup Final this weekend.

The season-long campaign involved OOH, Paid Social, Print Media and Integrated Partnerships with Dublin Airport & Dundrum Town Centre.

PHAR brokers deal for ASDA to become an Official Partner of Crufts

Crufts, organised by The Kennel Club, has announced a new and unique partnership with Asda, which will celebrate pets and support pet owners.

Brokered by PHAR, the collaboration will help celebrate pets and support all pet owners through an educational hub on the Crufts website, which provides useful resources for owners on looking after their pets. This will be twinned with value pet products available in Asda stores, as well as through a brand new online Asda Crufts Pet Show, with prizes to help celebrate and enhance life with our pets.

Information for pet owners, such as healthcare tips that could help minimise veterinary bills, as well as tips for saving pennies and home-made treats, are just a couple of examples of the resources which will be available to all pet owners on the Crufts online Pet Paw-tal. This material – which will be supported by a fun quiz to help owners see how much they really know about their pets - will also be easily accessed via QR codes in Asda stores around the country.

In the spirit of celebrating what our pets do for us the partnership will also give all pets – from cats to rabbits and guinea pigs – the chance to enter the Asda Crufts Online Pet Show, taking place on the Crufts website and social channels, with prizes ranging from framed photographs to a pet friendly holiday.