ENO could sell naming rights to the London Coliseum
20 November 2012, London, UK
The London Coliseum, home of English National Opera since 1968
Report by Alex Stevens
English National Opera has contracted brand and sponsorship agency Capitalize to develop its corporate partnerships and sponsorship opportunities – with naming rights to the London Coliseum, ENO’s home since 1968, potentially available to the right bidder.
The restructure of ENO's corporate fundraising efforts 'will give corporate brands the opportunity to build a unique relationship with the world-renowned opera company,' said a statement. 'ENO believes a major corporate partner will help it achieve its ambition to open up opera to a wider public.'
Capitalize chief executive Richard Moore said: ‘Naming rights deals here [in the UK] are a growing trend and there’s huge value in associating your brand so clearly with a venue where people go to enjoy themselves and indulge their passions. ENO has an ambitious vision to develop the brand and we are delighted to be working with them.’
Loretta Tomasi, ENO’s chief executive, said: ’We know how important it is to build on our current success as a creative leader in the performing arts. Exciting corporate partnerships will enable us to do this and we are delighted to be working with Capitalize who have a proven record in developing the kind of partnerships we are looking for.’
Entertainment venues which have been renamed in recent years include a number of deals with the O2 mobile network, which bought naming rights to the then Millennium Dome (O2 Arena) and to 14 venues across the UK owned by Academy Music Group.
The practice is also common in the world of sport, with Arsenal football club moving from Highbury to the new Emirates Arena. Newcastle United’s St James’ Park was temporarily rebranded in 2011 in order to ‘showcase’ the branding opportunities available, a move which was met with anger from the club’s fans before the original name was reinstated last month.
Current sponsorship deals in place at the Coliseum – with Maison Veueve Clicquot and the Shaftesbury property investment group – would not be affected by the development of ENO’s partnership programme, said PR Week.
Originally posted by Classical Music
