Serving the Teesside Business Community | 39
PIC TU RES BY
DOUG MOODY
They’re already synonymous with football on
Teesside but commercial IT experts Cornerstone
have now cornered the market…
Unmissable - Cornerstone's name adorns
Darlington Football Club's dugout.
RAISING OUR IT BRAND
ACROSS TEESSIDE IS OUR
L
eading Teesside IT firm Cornerstone
Business Solutions has increased its
football sponsorship profile and brand
awareness by sponsoring Darlington
Football Club’s dugouts and Redcar
Athletic’s new stand.
Stockton company Cornerstone was
already heavily involved in football, having
been Championship club Middlesbrough’s
official technology partner since 2015, as
well as a significant ongoing Boro sponsor
and Riverside Stadium advertiser.
And its name and logo now adorns both
the home and away dugouts at Darlington’s
Blackwell Meadows ground, where it will
remain for the rest of the campaign and the
following two seasons.
In addition, multi-award winning
Cornerstone sponsor two advertising
hoardings behind the goals at the ground of
the Vanarama National League North club
after becoming one of the Quakers’ latest
commercial partners.
The company is also committed to
sponsoring Redcar Athletic’s new stand at
Green Lane for the rest of the campaign
and beyond as the club continues to
develop and comply with Northern League
ground rules following promotion from the
Wearside League.
The sponsorship deals came about
through a combination of existing links to
both clubs and Cornerstone’s passion for
football.
“I’m a massive Boro fan, just like all
GOAL
The way forward - Darlington FC’s Craig
Morley (left) with Cornerstone’s Chris Petty.
of our staff at Cornerstone, but I’m also
a massive fan of football in general at all
levels,” explained the firm’s managing
director Chris Petty.
“Darlington’s operations manager Craig
Morley asked me if we would be willing to
get involved as a sponsor, and from a brand
awareness point of view it makes sense for
us.
“The corporate area at Darlington is on
a balcony looking down on the dugouts, so
our name and logo are in prime positions
being on them and behind both goals.
“Redcar Athletic’s secretary Kevin Fryett
is a lovely bloke, and with both clubs being
well-supported I was happy to give Athletic
some backing as well.”
Promoting Cornerstone in wider areas
of the region was also a motivating factor
behind both sponsorship deals, said Petty.
“We pride ourselves on being Teesside’s
leading information technology company
By Adam Steel
and a lot of people already know about us
in the Middlesbrough and Stockton areas,
especially through the Boro,” he added.
“But we’re a Tees Valley company as well.
Sponsoring the football clubs in Darlington
and Redcar stretches our name right out
into those parts of the region.”
Alongside its new football sponsorships
and corporate box at the Riverside
Stadium, which it uses to entertain clients,
Cornerstone is currently sponsoring
Middlesbrough’s home and away shorts for
the second successive season.
The business also sponsors corners at
the Riverside Stadium - which appear as
‘Cornerstone Corners’ on the big screen - as
well as advertising on revolving electronic
pitchside boards, sponsoring wine coolers
in the hospitality suites and the club’s
mobile app.
Such advertising has netted Cornerstone
work with key companies including
Virgin Media, and the firm is currently in
discussions to open a new branch in Leeds
this year, having already secured business
in West Yorkshire.
There are also plans to open new offices
in Manchester and Birmingham, and a
target of achieving a £10m turnover in the
next five years.
Cornerstone partner with global
technology brands such as IBM, Lenovo,
Microsoft, Cisco, Mitel and BT to provide
their clients with cutting edge business and
mobile communications solutions.