Car dealers offered chance to team up with beach lifesavers

Car dealers are being offered the chance to sign a high-profile sponsorship with Brighton & Hove’s beach lifeguarding team.

The council’s lifesavers are looking for a firm to provide a free or subsidised 4x4 pickup truck to replace their ageing Ford. 

A major selling point for any would-be sponsor is the location where the vehicle is parked on standby – in a layby on the busy seafront road.  This would put the sponsor’s name in front of around 30,000 passing vehicles a day, plus a share of around 12 million visitors a year.

The vehicle is used year-round for a range of duties including patrolling the city’s eight miles of seafront.  It has even been pressed into service to get key workers to vulnerable residents in snowy weather.

Any sponsor would be able to include their name and branding on the vehicle, alongside the council’s own logo.

This is the first time the seafront team has sought a vehicle sponsor.  It reflects the council’s ethos of involving businesses to help finance running and maintenance of the seafront.

Any suitable make of vehicle would be considered.  A specification available from the council says the vehicle must have four-wheel drive and a low-emission diesel engine, plus other equipment related to its safety and rescue role.

Local car dealerships are being contacted by letter but the council says any other type of company would be welcome if it could meet the vehicle specification.

Any business interested should contact seafront officer Roger De Casanove on roger.decasenove@brighton-hove.gov.uk or telephone 01273 29 2715

Chair of the council’s economic development committee Cllr Alan Robins said:   “This is a good opportunity for a business to have their name alongside a very visible, well-regarded team doing a job associated with action and fitness. 

“The sponsor would be linked to providing a valuable public service.  Sometimes, they will literally be helping to save lives. Those are some very positive values to link to your company.”

Prominent seafront spot for lifeguards’ truck could tempt sponsors