Advertising and sponsorship

On this page
About Reading
Advertising and outdoor opportunities
Event sponsorship
Contact the sponsorship team

About Reading

Reading is a well-connected town in the heart of the Thames Valley, with a population of more than 178,000. It has fast rail links to London, direct access to the Elizabeth line, and easy access to the M4 and Heathrow Airport.

Reach thousands of potential customers every day:

• 1.4 million people within a 45-minute drive
• more than 200,000 daily road users
• more than 80,000 households
• more than 46,000 students
• more than 40,000 high street pedestrians

Reading has a diverse economy, with established business parks and the UK headquarters of international companies across sectors including technology, pharmaceuticals and life sciences.

It is also a major destination for retail, leisure and culture, with events and festivals including Reading Festival, Water Fest and Children’s Festival, alongside theatres, museums, galleries and other attractions.

Advertising and sponsorship in Reading gives your organisation opportunities to reach local residents, workers and visitors.

Advertising and outdoor opportunities

Roundabout sponsorship

We offer sponsorship for 19 roundabouts across Reading.

With over 200,000 daily road users, roundabout sponsorship is a highly effective opportunity to raise your business profile and brand awareness.

Roundabout locations

Pricing

Prices start from £2,000 plus VAT per year. This includes printing and installing your finished sign. Minimum 12 month contract.

Contact the sponsorship team to check availability and secure your roundabout.

Lamp post banners

There are 26 lamp post banner locations along our pedestrian high street, Broad Street. Each lamp post displays two banners.

Pricing

Prices start from £750 plus VAT, for a 3 month minimum contract. This includes:

• double-sided banner
• printing
• installation

Contact the sponsorship team to check availability and secure your lamp post.

Gateway (welcome) signage

Park entrance banners

Reading’s parks and green spaces offer year-round enjoyment for our residents as places to relax and unwind. They also generate huge footfall through annual events such as Reading Festival, Water Fest and Children’s Festival.

A banner at the entrance to our parks and green spaces will give your organisation huge visibility.

Pricing

Prices start from £1,200 plus VAT per year. This includes printing and installing your finished sign. Minimum 12 month contract.

Contact the sponsorship team to check availability and secure your entrance banner.

Resident’s e-newsletter

Reading Borough Council’s weekly resident’s e-newsletter is delivered to 80,000 households and offers advertising opportunities.

Our analytics can tell you how many residents viewed your advert, and how many clicked through to your website.

Pricing

Prices start from £250 plus VAT for a clickable advert.

Contact the sponsorship team to check availability and secure your e-newsletter advert.

Events sponsorship

Children’s Festival

Reading Children’s Festival is a three week festival of events, activities, workshops and taster sessions. Many of these are free of charge, open to everyone across Reading and beyond.

You can support the festival and ensure it continues by sponsoring the 32-page festival brochure.

Prices start from £250 for the brochure sponsorship package.

Contact the sponsorship team to check availability and secure your brochure.

Forbury Fiesta

Forbury Fiesta launches Children’s Festival which attracts more than 7,000 visitors. We offer zone sponsorship and headline sponsorship package, which includes:

• company name/logo on event branding and marketing material
• opportunity for a stand located in the sponsored zone
• inclusion in press releases – distributed before and after the event
• half page advert in the event programme
• a link to your website from the event information page
• reference to your sponsorship throughout the event on the main stage

Sponsorship starts from £2,000.

Contact the sponsorship team to check availability and secure your sponsorship.

Black History Month

Black History Month is celebrated in reading with a number of events, talks and productions.

An A5 booklet supports the event across the whole month, with copies available to pick up throughout Reading. An e-version of the publication is also featured on our website and social media feeds.

Sponsorship of the booklet starts from £500.

Contact the sponsorship team to check availability and secure your sponsorship.

Water Fest

The annual Reading Water Fest celebrates our waterways and takes place in and around Forbury Gardens. More than 10,000 visitors enjoy the event.

We offer a zone sponsorship and headline sponsorship package, which includes:

• company name/logo on event branding and marketing material (including main stage)
• opportunity for 3 stands located across the event
• inclusion in press releases – distributed before and after the event
• half page advert in the event programme
• back cover advert on the Water Fest 8-page brochure (distribution approx. 5000), with an e-version featured on our website and social media feeds
• a link to your website from the event information page
• opportunity to introduce your company on the main stage during the welcome announcement
• reference to your sponsorship throughout the event on the main stage

Sponsorship starts from £2,000.

Contact the sponsorship team to check availability and secure your sponsorship.

Contact the sponsorship team

To enquire about advertising and sponsorship, email sponsorship@reading.gov.uk.

In your email, please include:

• your name and company details
• the type of sponsorship you’re interested in

Designing and supplying your artwork

If you have a designer, we can provide an artwork template to insert your advert and company logo.

If you don’t have a designer, we can design the artwork for you at an additional cost.