Cook Launches Waitrose Cricket Sponsorship
England captain Alastair Cook and newly appointed head coach Peter Moores officially launched Waitrose’ sponsorship of the England cricket teams, with the aim of building engagement with the brand at a local level.
The supermarket chain hopes to deepen ties with communities through links with local cricket clubs.
Ahead of another busy summer of cricket, Waitrose also unveiled further details about its planned cricket activity as it embarks on a three-year sponsorship after agreeing a deal with the ECB last year.
With the England team kicking off the international summer on 9th May with a Royal London One-Day International against Scotland in Aberdeen, the England duo were invited to the Waitrose Cookery School to test their culinary skills by preparing a Sri Lanka themed lunch for the assembled media.
Waitrose sponsorship of the England cricket teams includes its logo appearing on team shirts.
At the launch, Peter Moores spoke specifically of the challenges faced by his side when they come up against the sub-continent teams over the coming months.
He said: ‘It is a pleasure to welcome Waitrose as England’s new team sponsor – and I am delighted to see that they intend their sponsorship to have a positive impact on the entire sport. The start of the international summer is just around the corner, and while it is pleasing to see England players and hopefuls performing well in the LV= County Championship – the hard work for us is about to begin against Sri Lanka and India. There is lots to do in the coming weeks, starting against Scotland in Aberdeen, but it is a challenge we are all relishing.’
Rupert Ellwood, Waitrose head of marketing, added: ‘Cricket is an inherent part of our heritage and brings people from all ages and backgrounds together. Through our sponsorship we’re looking forward to helping celebrate a shared love of food and sport with cricket fans this summer.’
As part of its first year of association with the England and Wales Cricket Board, Waitrose also provided further details of the sponsorship activity planned for this summer.
This includes a commitment to developing the grassroots of the game and making a difference in local communities as well as extensive in-ground activation targeting existing and new customers of the retailer’s loyalty scheme, myWaitrose.
It’s commitment includes supporting 1,000 cricket clubs all over the country as they hold Open Days on international cricket weekends; Waitrose employees being encouraged to spend some of their volunteering hours helping out at local cricket clubs while being paid by the retailer; and Waitrose will donate £100 for every four or six scored across the entire international summer by any of the England teams, with the resultant funds paid into the Waitrose Small Grants Scheme.
Waitrose will also be continuing its drive to provide unique content by launching a new hub for its sponsorship, www.waitrose.com/cricket, which launched on Thursday.
At the heart of the content available on the site through the summer is a competition between 10 chefs from county cricket grounds around the UK, with further details due to be released later in May.
