Cowes based PR and Marketing Agency Into the Blue (ITB) has been recognised for its sponsorship activation of Volvo Cars at the prestigious UK Sponsorship Awards.
ITB took home the award for ‘Grass Roots Sports Sponsorship’ for their Volvo Sailing Academies Initiative, despite strong competition from many leading brands in the sponsorship sphere including O2, SSE and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Volvo Cars has been a driving force behind sailing in the UK since 1999, supporting the sport from the grassroots to glory. Following the London 2012 Olympic Games, ITB created the concept of the Volvo Sailing Academy programme in a pledge to help grassroots sailing.
The programme was delivered nationwide to over 5,000 people, which included an Academy in Cowes Week last year. The complimentary days gave novice sailors a taster in watersports and a chance to learn from some of the best in the world through the Team Volvo sailors who were always on hand to share their expertise.
Company Director Gail Willows explained;
“With Volvo Cars as one of our retained clients for over 10 years it is amazing for Into the Blue to scoop another award. We were up against some of the top agencies in the world, with exceptionally high profile campaigns including those for the Rugby World Cup. We are proud to be based on the Isle of Wight to deliver our work around the globe. Being based here provides an amazing quality of life for our staff.”
ITB is the retained sports sponsorship agency for Volvo Car UK, and manage all aspects of their sailing sponsorship working across everything from youth development through to Britain’s top sailors at the pinnacle of the sport, the Volvo Ocean Race.
Held at the London Mariott hotel, The Sponsorship Awards have been a highlight in the sponsorship calendar for the last 22 years, recognising work across all sponsorship platforms from fashion to sport.
