2011 ESA European Sponsorship Awards Shortlist Announced

The 2011 ESA European Sponsorship Awards shortlist has been released with entries emanating from across 10 countries.  The shortlist includes a range of national and global brands including AEGON, Barclays, McDonald’s, RBS, Sony Ericsson and UniCredit with campaigns ranging from sport and entertainment through to culture, education and environment.

British Gas and Guinness campaigns were among those shortlisted for the Business to Consumer award while Aviva and Heineken were two of the four who reached the Multi-national category. A new category for 2011 - Business to Consumer-Media, saw Nintendo and Specsavers go through to the next round.

A new Rights Holder category to promote successful partnerships was introduced this year and the ParalympicsGB and Volvo Snowbombing were among those reaching the shortlist for this award. 

Elsewhere, BT-X Prize Foundation and NYSE Euronext were both listed in the Business to Business category. In the low budget sponsorship categories, Eucerin BCR and Arla Food were named in Business to Community and Business to Consumer respectively.

Entries into the categories have been judged by a panel of nine independent expert judges from across the continent. The second round of judging is underway and winners will be announced on the 22nd November at the ESA Awards Ceremony in Amsterdam. Full details about the shortlist can be found at <a href="http://www.sponsorship.org/content/awardsIntro.asp" target="_blank">http://www.sponsorship.org/content/awardsIntro.asp</a>

Helen Day, ESA Head of Policy and Chairman of the Panel of Judges said: “Judging the entries is never an easy task. The standard is very high and there are numerous inspiring and innovative campaigns making it very difficult for the judges to select the shortlist”. 

The evening Awards Ceremony event forms part of the European sponsorship conference, Future Sponsorship, which is held in association with ESA. The two-day event takes place at the Marriott Hotel in Amsterdam on the 22nd and 23rd November. To find out more about the conference, visit <a href="http://www.future-sponsorship.com">www.future-sponsorship.com</a>

Tickets to the Awards Ceremony are on sale now and can be obtained via the Future Sponsorship Conference website - www.future-sponsorship.com. Contact the ESA office at awards@sponsorship.org  or on +44 (0) 208 390 3311 for more information.