BEST SPONSORSHIP by SPONSORIUM GOLD – Belfius – Belfius EuroHockey Championships

From its unique position as a public bank, in 2019 Belfius opted for a new sponsorship strategy. For this they received the “Coup de Coeur” trophy at the Belgian Sponsorship Awards in 2019. Whereas in the past the main focus was on local small sponsorships, a number of large-scale, long-term and in-depth projects were chosen. Central to this was the 7-year partnership with the Royal Belgian Hockey Association that was set up based on the following objectives and themes:

• Highlight their support as a public company to the Belgian economy and society.
• An inclusive project involving all groups (youth, women & G-hockey).
• Build an emotional relationship with the Belgian public based on a proud national feeling.

What The Judges Said: The title sponsorship of the Belfius EuroHockey Championships expressed these three pillars and showed the brand in action through activations: The “Play With Heart” international communication campaign focused on the love of hockey and involved all stakeholders in the sport.

SILVER – Loterie Nationale – Lotto Art

LOTTO branded its 11 entertainment partner venues by offering Belgian street artists the opportunity to challenge themselves through the “Lotto Art” competition and having the chance to decorate an entire wall of these high footfall locations.

The work had to respect at least two criteria: to guarantee a link with the music and to integrate an element representing the city where the venue is located as well as the Lotto Art logo.

What The Judges Said: This initiative made it possible to communicate with an 18-35 target group and position Lotto as the partner brand for venues, street art and music. It also reinforced the idea that the National Lottery is committed to supporting future Belgian talents and then accompanying them in their creative process.

BRONZE – ENGIE Electrabel & S.M.A.K. Museum – S.M.A.K. Moves

As a leading player in energy transition and as a responsible and locally anchored company, ENGIE Electrabel supports environmental and social partnerships in Belgium.

One of the most important elements of this cooperation is the integration of disadvantaged young people through sport, education and culture.

The collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art, S.M.A.K. in Ghent, had a strong social dimension right from the start.

What The Judges Said: Together with S.M.A.K., ENGIE Electrabel developed a tailor-made and original program to bring hard-to-reach groups into contact with the world and the work of artists and reinforcing ENGIE’s commitments to societal action.

COUP DE COEUR OF THE JURY – Stop Darmkanker & AG Insurance – Juwelen Met Een Grote Boodschaps

The activist group “Stop Colon Cancer” was founded in 2010 by Dr Luc Colemont. Since then, the organisation has laboured tirelessly to raise awareness of colon cancer and make it better known to the general public.  “Sharing knowledge can save lives” is the leitmotif. Early detection – by taking a simple screening test of the stool – significantly reduces the number of fatalities. To spread this message, all kinds of traditional and less traditional communication channels have been used to stop this silent killer. Stop Colon Cancer is always looking for new, alternative means of communication and event/activation opportunities to get the word out to as many people as possible about this not-so-obvious subject. A clever example of this out-of-the-box approach is the open air exhibition “Golden Droppings”. A project that came about through a partnership between four parties: Stop Colon Cancer, jewellery designer Danielle Goffa, AG Insurance and the Antwerp Zoo. The fascination with animal droppings – the variety of shapes and colours – was a huge source of inspiration for Danielle Goffa, so much that she wanted to express the same ideas in jewellery form. This is how the connection with Stop Colon Cancer began to take shape. Faeces samples from 19 different animals and one colon cancer patient inspired the design of this exceptional collection.

What The Judges Said: Stop Darmkanker & AG Insurance are to be admired for their creativity in taking a taboo subject and turning it into something beautiful and original. Increased awareness of bowel cancer and more testing is a positive ROI showing the power of sponsorship to do good.