Friday, 11 April 2008

smart sponsorship is the bear's necessity

‘If you go down to the Cribbs today, you’re sure of a big surprise...’

Brizzley Bear, Bristol Rugby Club’s mascot, left his natural habitat of the Memorial Ground for the vast open space of smart of Bristol’s luxurious showroom to get his paws on a fantastic sponsorship deal.

The cuddly character was like the proverbial bear who had found the honey after being presented with a new shirt featuring the Cribbs Causeway retailer’s logo, which he will wear for his matchday antics.

Mike Fellows, Managing Director of smart and Mercedes-Benz of Bristol, the sponsors of Brizzley’s club-mate Shaun Perry, was delighted to have established the first ‘Bear in the Community’ programme. “Brizzley may not like his porridge hot or cold but this deal is just right for him and smart of Bristol as both are extremely fun brands,” said Mike.

“With its recyclable body panels and low emissions, smart is also one of the greenest cars on the road and is part of the Mercedes Car Group family which invests 1.4 billion Euros annually in innovations and technology to reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” he continued. “With such focus, it seemed logical for us to want to take care of a local bear in its natural environment!”

Jonny Ellis, Bristol Rugby Club’s Commercial Manager and Brizzley’s caring handler, added: “Being smarter than the average bear, Brizzley was extremely keen to team up with smart of Bristol. What’s more, the link could not have better timed as we will be using the sponsorship as part of a campaign to raise the bear’s image, which will include giving him his own profile on the club website.”