Deloitte's sponsorship of the Royal Opera House

Who: Accounting and consulting firm Deloitte

Objective: To demonstrate that innovation, creativity and people are at the heart of its business and to engage people, clients and the community.

Strategy: In 2007, Deloitte embarked on a five-year relationship with the Royal Opera House in a £1.75 million deal. It includes an annual contemporary arts festival, Deloitte Ignite, when the Opera House opens its doors to the public for free.

Rationale: “Typically, Deloitte is stereotyped as a staid accounting business,” says Heather Hancock, managing partner for innovation ad brand. “We want to be known as innovative, modern and entrepreneurial, and to appeal to a younger, wider, more diverse audience, in particular 16 to 30-year-olds. Supporting arts-related activity marks us out as innovators, as an organisation unafraid to challenge perceptions, to encourage diversity in our thinking and to go beyond the traditional and the expected.” Employees are engaged through volunteering opportunities during Deloitte Ignite and other productions, and through priority access to tickets, talks, backstage tours and network emails.

Evaluation: “The benefits in terms of positive public relations and brandbuilding messages should not be underestimated,” says Hancock. “Deloitte Ignite has won several awards and has been branded ‘pioneering’, ‘imaginative’ and ‘revolutionary’. Twitter Opera for example, sparked public interest and press coverage far beyond what we anticipated.”