CorpComms Magazine

Financial services firm GE Capital is set to sponsor British Olympic hopeful Helen Jenkins and her coach and husband Marc in what is hoped to be a mutually fruitful partnership between business and sport.

After winning the World Triathlon Championships in Vancouver in 2008, Helen holds poll position in British hopes to secure the country a much-coveted medal.

The company has developed a sponsorship and marketing programme in conjunction with the sports media agency, International Management Group, to get customers and staff excited about the upcoming sporting event. The programme will include using the couple as brand ambassadors at sporting events, organising sporting events, and creating health and fitness forums and blogs to encourage the well-being of staff and customers and even incorporating the theme of the Triathlon into the company's employee incentive programme.

General Electric is already one of the partners of the 2012 Olympic Games and has also recently announced its investment in the British Triathlon Federation - a team of 50 world-class athletes. As well as monetary support, the company will offer UK triathletes the use of its high-tech medical imaging equipment in a bid to give our sportsmen and women the competitive edge at the games.

Markus Clavin, marketing director at GE Capital, said: 'As a fast-growing and innovative provider of finance to UK businesses, GE Capital shares many of the same values and challenges as the exciting sport of triathlon and we believe that this opportunity will contribute significantly to our brand building activities the UK. By extending the overall GE investment in the sport through our partnership with Helen and Marc we aim not only to help them build on their significant achievements, hopefully culminating in success in 2012, but to enable our staff and customers to benefit from the insights, tools and techniques that top triathletes, like Helen and Marc, need to perform consistently at the highest level.'

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