John Lewis embarks on first music festival sponsorship

By Matthew Chapman, marketingmagazine.co.uk, Wednesday, 29 February 2012 10:15AM

John Lewis has signed up to be the headline sponsor for the Kew the Music summer concerts, marking the first time the retailer has sponsored a music event.

Kew the Music: secures sponsorship from John Lewis

John Lewis is bolstering its ties to music, which culminated in the release of a charity album last Christmas that featured music from its campaigns by artists including Ellie Goulding, Slow Moving Mille and The Feeling.

Kew The Music will take place between Tuesday 3 and Sunday 8 July at Kew Gardens, West London. Last year the festival was headlined by Jamie Cullum, Blondie, Jools Holland, The Feeling and Bryan Ferry.

The series of summer picnic concerts was previously named Summer Swing but was re-launched last year to embrace a wider variety of music styles.

John Lewis marketing director Craig Inglis said: "The brand has a perfect fit with our target market and the summer concerts partnership builds on our very successful range of Kew Gardens home and garden products."

Click here to read Marketing's exclusive interview with Inglis.

Follow Matthew Chapman at @mattchapmanUK

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk