Howden

Our work saw brand awareness triple, a 10.5% increase in spontaneous awareness among C-suite targets, and £42.1M total sponsorship value; proving B2B brands can win through culture.

The Momentum Challenge

Howden had secured principal sponsorship of the British & Irish Lions, one of rugby's most prestigious properties, but sponsorship assets alone don't create brand momentum. Without cultural activation, Howden risked being just another logo on a jersey, invisible despite massive investment in one of sport's rarest opportunities.

The Joined-up Solution

Rather than treating Lions sponsorship as a media buy, we built "Insuring Greatness"- an integrated brand platform combining creative strategy, content production, experiential activation, paid media, and client entertainment to transform sponsorship rights into sustained cultural relevance.

We created a platform that connected what Howden does to what makes Lions special. "Insuring Greatness" celebrated every moment of greatness on and off the pitch, naturally linking Howden's business (protecting what matters) to the Lions' purpose (achieving sporting excellence).

Instead of generic sponsorship activation, we mapped key moments across the entire Lions journey and delivered through integrated capabilities that maximized every touchpoint, from squad announcement through tour completion.

Integrated execution across every channel:

• Social-First Storytelling: "Four Became One" team challenges, "Becoming Lions" episodic series, "BillCam" behind-the-scenes access, live squad announcement mural activation, and Good, Bad & Rugby Lions Watch segments; creating wit, warmth, and cultural resonance across platforms
• Experiential Activation: "Kicking for Greatness" events across England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland generated 1,555 media articles with 780M+ potential reach, turning local activations into national conversation
• Premium Paid Media: Sky Sports idents and Telegraph takeovers delivered 27.3M impressions with £1.8M campaign value, ensuring corporate audiences saw Howden in premium environments
• Rights Maximization: Jersey branding, LED perimeter boards, and stadium presence reached 533K live tour attendance, 24.4M global TV viewership, and contributed to 218K Lions jerseys sold (most in history), maximizing every sponsorship asset
• Client Activation: 3,039 clients and prospects entertained across 55 events in 9 markets, representing £202M existing revenue and £12M prospect revenue, converting brand visibility into business relationships

The Momentum Delivered

Brand transformation in a corporate market:

• Brand awareness tripled in two years, proving B2B brands can achieve consumer-scale recognition through cultural relevance
• 10.5% increase in spontaneous awareness among corporate decision-makers, the ultimate validation for B2B brand building
• 9% increase in logo recognition and 4.5% increase in insurance attribution, confirming audiences understood both who Howden is and what they do

Cultural and social impact:

• 30% rise in perception as positive force for British rugby, demonstrating brand purpose beyond commercial objectives
• 2.7M organic social views with 2.7% engagement rate – exceptional performance for B2B content competing in the consumer sports environment
  Total sponsorship value delivered:
• £42.1M total sponsorship value proving integrated activation multiplied investment value far beyond media equivalency

The results prove that B2B brands can compete in cultural conversations when sponsorship rights are transformed through creative platforms, integrated content ecosystems, experiential activations, and premium media – delivering business momentum by making insurance brokers culturally visible to the executives who matter most.