Award-winning distillery is top of the leader board following golf partnership Loch Lomond Whiskies has won the ‘Best First Time Sponsorship’ Award at the prestigious UK Sponsorship Awards for their partnership with The Open, golf’s original championship.
Held in London on the 26th March, the 2019 UK Sponsorship Awards celebrates the very best sponsorships, partnerships and brand activations across all sectors.
Loch Lomond Whiskies deal with The R&A, which got underway last year, marked the award-winning independent distillery’s first major venture into sports sponsorship. A variety of activations took place in July 2018 at Carnoustie, the site of The 147th Open, where more than 7,000 visitors attended the Loch Lomond Whiskies bar, and more than 12,000 on-course samples were distributed. Away from the course, ambassador deals were agreed with golfing icons Colin Montgomerie and Paul Lawrie and promotions took place with golf databases, media partners and Global Travel Retail at Heathrow Airport.
Loch Lomond Whiskies also accompanied the world-famous Claret Jug on a tour of the US, enabling the brand to deliver sampling across key American cities and generate significant media coverage. A number of highly covetable limited-edition single malts showcasing the worlds of whisky and golf were created in conjunction with the brand’s ambassadors, with further special releases due to be launched imminently. Judges described the sponsorship as being “well thought-out” and said that Loch Lomond Whiskies “quickly established brand awareness and credibility amongst the target audience.”
Colin Matthews, Chief Executive Officer of Loch Lomond Group, said: “To be recognised by the sponsorship industry for our work at such an early stage is hugely pleasing. “We were delighted with the first year of our sponsorship of The Open and have even more exciting plans for golfers and whisky fans later this summer when the Championship returns to Royal Portrush.”
The 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie was the first event of a five-year agreement, which also includes support of the Women’s British Open and aims to showcase Loch Lomond Whiskies’ innovative range of single malts globally. Known as “The One”, The Open is the most international of the major championships with qualifying events across five continents. The Championship is also broadcast to 600 million households in almost 200 countries around the world.
