Barclaycard secures sponsorship of NEC venues

Rather than assuming the entire name, like The O2 in London, the West Midlands venue will now become known as NIA, A Barclaycard Unwind Experience.

It is part of a wider five-year sponsorship deal with NEC Group, which will involve Barclaycard becoming payment partner for The Ticket Factory, the LG Arena, the NIA, and the National Exhibition Centre (NEC).

Barclaycard's contactless payment points will be set up across the venues, while cardholders will be offered "fast-track entry" and exclusive pre-sale opportunities for music, comedy and theatre events.

It will be promoted alongside Barclaycard's existing music and entertainment sponsorship properties, including Wireless Festival in London, Wembley Arena, and the Barclaycard Mercury Prize. A communications campaign is understood to be development.

Dan Mathieson, head of experiential marketing and partnerships at Barclaycard, said: "It's about provide better, more engaging experiences for customers, as well as bringing our new payment technology such as contactless to life at the venues."

On the decision to retain the NIA name, Mathieson said: "There is a huge heritage to the NIA name in and around Birmingham, so we wanted to maintain that heritage while also bringing our [Unwind] strapline to the fore."

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk