With the 2012 Six Nations tournament about to start, Synergy has combined with Jam for RBS to bring dual screening to rugby.

To read the article on Brand Republic, click here

Tim Crow tells Marketing magazine that whilst the RFU’s new marketing initiatives are to be applauded, they “will have little effect if the England team continue to under-perform on the field and misbehave off it.”

Click here to read the article in full.

Footballers can talk directly to their fans through social media, but does this 140-character phenomenon help or hurt football?

Jessica Enoch tells the Official Champions League Magazine that “Twitter allows players to build their own brand.”  However, she warns that if clubs try to influence the online profile of players they may endanger what makes them popular in the first place.

Click here to read the article in full.

Tim Crow kicked off the ESA Diploma for 2012, with the opening lecture on the history and the future of sponsorship on Thursday 19th January. 

Synergy and ESA Chairman Karen Earl is heartened by the industry’s support: “We have always sought to position the ESA Diploma as ‘the industry training the industry’ and the breadth of experience from the high calibre pool of contributors pays testament to this.” 

Click here to read the story on the ESA website.

Marketing Magazine examine the twelve issues that will affect marketers most in 2012. Tim Crow believes that one of the trends will be “Redefining Britain.”

“One of the key themes this year will be the redefining of what it means to be British and how the country will define itself around the Jubilee and the Olympics.”

Click here to read his comments in full.

Olympic organisers have created ”The Team 2012 programme” which is intended to raise private sector funding for some 1,200 British athletes, part of which is aimed at SMEs.

Tim Crow tells the Financial Times that he has his doubts on the programme and describes its link to the games as “tangential at best.”

Click here for the story in full.

Synergy won a Commendation from Marketing magazine in its 2011 Sponsorship Agency of the Year award. Marketing paid particular tribute to Synergy’s work with Guinness throughout the RBS 6 Nations, with BMW on London 2012 and with Betfair on its partnerships with Manchester United and FC Barcelona.

Synergy won the award in 2005 and 2009 and has been commended in every other edition of Marketing’s Sponsorship Agency of the Year since its inception.

Click here to read the article in full.

Synergy got into the spirit of Movember as the “Mo bros” and “Mo sistas” got down to the serious business of raising some cash for a good cause. The bros committed to cultivating their mo for the month and not to be left out, each Synergy sista was paired with a bro and led the fundraising charge with the likes of cake bakes and a mobile phone recycling campaign. Over £2,000 has been raised to date.

Click here to see the bros in all their glory in PR Week.

Dominic Curran tells The Times that companies must keep their “eye on the ball” when deciding whether to enter into a sponsorship and the decision must be based solely on business objectives and not emotion. He also warns that companies should not buy sponsorship opportunities off the peg, “tailor the deal to what you want the sponsorship to do for you.”  

Click here to read the article in full.

Newcastle United have announced hopes of raising £8m-10m a year in new income from their stadium naming rights.

Tim Crow warns The Guardian that interested brands should stay away , “I’d be very surprised if any brand came forward and if any of my clients asked me for my opinion I’d advise them in the strongest possible terms not to.” Click here to read the article in full.

Dominic Curran reiterates this in City A.M., “You’ve got to be careful because when you are buying into something like Newcastle you’re buying into the history and local passion – you don’t want to damage that.” Click here for the full article.