LONDON, October 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
McDonald's and The Red Consultancy's excellence in corporate sponsorship was recognised at last night's Corporate Engagement Awards, winning a GOLD and SILVER award in the Best community involvement in a corporate engagement programme and the Best partnership in sports and leisure categories respectively.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131002/643180 )
This is the third year of the Corporate Engagement Awards, the UK's only dedicated celebration of partnerships, sponsorships and corporate social responsibility.
In a ceremony at the Hotel Russell in central London, hosted by television presenter and Paralympic medallist, Ade Adepitan, McDonald's and Red were extolled for their partnership with the four UK national football associations celebrating the longest running grassroots football programme in the UK: Ten Years of Teamwork.
2013 saw McDonald's celebrate the tenth anniversary of this community-based grassroots football programme with the publication of a report by Loughborough University assessing the impact of the brand's sponsorship investment.
'Ten Years of Teamwork' outlined how McDonald's sponsorship investment is aimed at the development of the grassroots game through supporting the raising of standards, the training and development of coaches and celebrating the contribution of tens of thousands of football volunteers.
Alongside the partnership activity, hundreds of McDonald's restaurants support local teams through provision of kit and equipment and facilities
The Corporate Engagement Awards programme was established by Communicate magazine, the UK's leading magazine for corporate communications and stakeholder relations, to celebrate and benchmark excellence in corporate partnerships and sponsorship. The entries were judged by a panel of sponsorship, CSR and partnership experts and communications practitioners. The awards point to the future of corporate engagement and mutually beneficial partnerships.
Dionne Parker, McDonald's Head of UK Communications, said: "The McDonald's Community Football programme aims to give more youngsters access to qualified coaches in their local areas as well as creating closer links between our UK restaurants and clubs. Ten Years of Teamwork not only celebrates our partnership with the FAs but also the commitment of tens of thousands of coaches, volunteers and players across the UK."
Red's CEO Mike Morgan said: "Over the past decade grassroots football has taken a huge leap forward and McDonald's has created thousands of opportunities to nurture footballing talent through its partnership. Red has a longstanding relationship with McDonald's and its grassroots football commitment and we're proud to be part of a programme that puts so much back into the community."
Andrew Thomas, publishing editor of Communicate magazine, said: "This was the third year for the Corporate Engagement Awards. We hosted it at a larger venue, we had more judges, with a higher profile host. But the biggest growth came in the calibre of entry. We were bowled over by the creativity, strategic insight and implementation skills of the campaigns and partnerships demonstrated by the shortlisted companies. There's good in business, and the Corporate Engagement Awards celebrate it."
For further comment, please contact:
Tim Ward +44(0)20-7025-6565, tim.ward@redconsultancy.com
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