Describing itself as ‘the smart way to stay ahead,’ the Sunday Times Scotland and the Times Scotland are the official media partners for the 72nd Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF).

The Times Scotland is using its ongoing business success to provide the EIFF with a 24-page pull-out, advertorial section and ads throughout its newspapers. In return, its logo will be featured on all film screens, festival collateral and of course, receive the cultural capital that comes with their partnership. With over 1 million people on its email list, the Sunday Times Scotland and Times Scotland will be actively promoting EIFF’s content to an enviable and targeted market.

The Sunday Times Scotland has been steadily growing, outselling quality newspaper rivals, the Sunday Telegraph Scotland and Scotland on Sunday. Its position in the marketplace has been made possible partially by the refining of its content and increased discoverability. Over the last two years, the Times newspapers across the country have been positioning themselves further as a go-to source for news analysis.

Leaving instant news headlines to other sources and partially taking down its paywall by allowing readers to access two articles a week for free in exchange for their email addresses, the newspapers have made their brand attainable and aspirational. Chris Duncan, managing director for the Times and the Sunday Times has said of this email-only strategy is ‘a communications bridge.’ New paid subscribers already on its mailing list are coming in at three to four times the rate of ‘cold’ subscribers.

This partnership will be a key communications opportunity for the wider Times brand. In a like-attracts-like strategy, Times readers are having their informed news source associated with trusted film curators. Furthermore, referring to the relationship as a partnership rather than a sponsorship, Scotland’s Times newspapers do not need to exist as silent benefactors but receive the full credit that comes with positioning themselves as a visually associated brand.

It’s not the first time that the company has been the media partner of a film related event. Its parent brand, the Times and the Sunday Times, will be a media sponsor at the Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF) this year, was a media sponsor of the Picturehouse Recommends at Picturehouse Cinemas in 2014 and for TCM’s ‘28 Days of Oscar’ between 2006 and 2007.

As with all media outlets presenting ‘enhanced editorial coverage,’ the price of being a partner and not a sponsor is that the Times newspapers will have to mind that its PR ambitions don’t conflict with its mandate to be a trusted source for news analysis.

The EIFF takes place between 20 June and 1 July 2018.

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