Standard Life has been chosen as the new headline partner for Cancer Research UK’s flagship fundraising series, Race for Life.
The sponsorship will start in 2023 and initially span three years. As headline sponsor, Standard Life will feature across Race for Life’s major marketing campaign, which includes television and radio. Alongside this, Standard Life will be visible at all Race for Life events, engaging with communities across the UK.
More than 10m people have taken part in Race for Life since the events began in 1994, collectively raising over £920m. The sponsorship will cover both the 30th year of Race for Life as well as Standard Life’s 200th anniversary and the activity will go towards helping Race for Life continue to raise money for cutting-edge research into more than 200 types of cancer.
Combined with the new TV ad, the activity represents the most significant investment in Standard Life since the brand was acquired by Phoenix Group in 2021 when it set out its intention to increase its presence in a number of key markets including workplace pensions, bulk purchase annuities, lifetime mortgages and retail savings.
The final element of the renewed brand activity involves a six month sponsorship of The Sunday Times’ Fame and Fortune column. This long-standing feature of the Money section involves an interview with a well-known figure covering their relationship with money and attitudes to saving. Standard Life will be the first ever brand to have a logo accreditation on the page which will be accompanied by regularly updated advertising creative.
Sangita Chawla, chief marketing officer at Standard Life, said: “Standard Life is incredibly proud to have been selected as the lead sponsor of Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life which is one of the country’s best known and much-loved charity event series. With cancer affecting one in two people, the sponsorship provides us with a chance to encourage participation in Race for Life events up and down the country to raise money for vital research.
“The sponsorship comes as we are stepping up our investment in the iconic Standard Life brand and our new advert represents a major milestone in our plans. It also underpins our commitment to ensuring we are relevant for our customers in this difficult economic environment and recognises the important role pensions can play in helping people to prepare for the future.
“This is also why our advert talks to our brand values of representing typical savers, our heritage in workplace pensions and our focus on providing digital customer experiences.”
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, added: “We’re delighted to welcome Standard Life as the new headline partner for Race for Life. Almost three decades since it began, Race for Life is still one of the most popular fundraising event series in the UK, giving people the opportunity to celebrate and remember loved ones affected by cancer and raise money for pioneering research.
“Working together on this new partnership with Standard Life, we can continue the incredible success of Race for Life and raise more money to help fund life-saving research. Sadly one in two of us will get cancer in our lifetime but thanks to brilliant partnerships like these, we can continue our vital work to bring about a world where everybody can lead longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.”
