Marketing Birmingham has announced a deal with bmibaby which sees the low cost airline becoming sole sponsor of the organisation's sports marketing campaign.
Entitled 1Birmingham: We Love Our Sport the £200,000 campaign aims to promote Birmingham as a great sporting city, celebrate its sporting heritage, attract sporting events and encourage more people to visit.
Bmibaby will sponsor the campaign in a deal that initially runs until summer 2008.
The airline's logo will be built into the 1Birmingham branding, with the iconic figure Tiny featuring in different sporting scenarios as the campaign evolves.
Dave Hodgson, marketing director at Marketing Birmingham, said: "Birmingham is truly a great sporting city, having hosted more world and European championships than any other city in the UK, and it is a key market for the airline industry with bmibaby's passenger profile identifying the average customer as a sports fan whether spectating or taking part.
"Bmibaby is a powerful brand and one that is instantly recognisable, which will add real commercial weight to the 1Birmingham branding."
Since launching, 1Birmingham: We Love Our Sport has been aligned with the European Gymnastics Championships coming to Birmingham in 2010, the English Grand Prix Squash Championships and British Open Showjumping Championships.
It has also already linked in with its new sponsor by hosting an event to promote Warwickshire County Cricket Club's Greatest Ever Match on the bmibaby beach in Chamberlain Square.
Bmibaby marketing director David Hodge said: "We are extremely pleased to continue our support of Marketing Birmingham's key campaigns that promote Birmingham. As headline sponsor of 1Birmingham: We love Our Sport, we believe this is the perfect vehicle for promoting sporting events in the region."
