Wireless broadband Internet service, iBurst, has won the Survivor South Africa headline sponsorship in the unique closed bid process launched by Oracle Airtime Sales.
More than 40 interested parties from a cross-section of advertisers and categories requested bid forms following the announcement. All bids were submitted to, and audited by, Webber Wentzel Bowens as part of the confidential process.
Says Oracle Airtime Sales’ Peter McKenzie, “We are delighted at the response to Survivor South Africa, which is set to be the biggest television event of 2006. With this level of interest it is always difficult to approach only a few potential sponsors. The bid process made Survivor South Africa more accessible and gave all potential sponsors an equal opportunity to pitch for the headline sponsorship. It also gave us a chance to talk to advertisers we might otherwise not have been able to talk to.”
M-Net Original Productions’ Carl Fischer adds that it is exciting to welcome iBurst, which is relatively new to the arena of television sponsorship. “Without divulging too much, iBurst will be able to provide Survivor South Africa and M-Net with a host of ancillary properties and brand extensions to the exciting Survivor brand. The possibility now exists to extend the brands of Survivor South Africa and M-Net into other areas, thanks to iBurst and their technological capabilities.”
Alan Knott-Craig of iBurst says the company is delighted at being able to be part of the biggest opportunity of the decade. “iBurst has had a bit of a a€˜facelift’ and gained a new brand identity, so we felt that the fit with Survivor South Africa would be perfect. Our sponsorship of the show is setting the tone for the new iBurst, where we regard sponsorship of this kind to be invaluable to our marketing mix. We look forward to a long relationship with M-Net.”
