Swiss cheese maker Le Gruyere AOC Switzerland has become a partner of the European Curling Championships for the next two years, beginning later this year with an event in the Scottish city of Aberdeen.

The deal covers naming rights to the next two events as well as the television inventory on pan-European broadcaster Eurosport. The agreement was negotiated by the World Curling Federation’s marketing partners Infront Sports and Media.

The event in Aberdeen, which takes place between Friday 4th December and Saturday 12th December, will now be known as the Le Gruyere European Circling Championships, as will the 2010 event in Champery, Switzerland.

Under the terms of the deal innovative on-site advertising opportunities including what was described as a “new positioning to the under-ice advertising which gives better visibility.”

Le Gruyere director Philippe Bardet called the deal “an excellent fit between curling and Le Gruyere AOC Switzerland”, adding: “This is why we have supported this event for so many years. With our home base in Switzerland, this association gives us a great opportunity to support the event all over Europe and emphasise the unique Swiss appeal of the brand. Great Britain is also an important market for us and we will activate our broad range of rights on-site.”

Infront’s executive director of winter sports Bruno Marty said of the partnership with WCF: “In our first year of involvement [the partnership began in May 2008] all sponsorship inventories have been sold and television coverage is increasing.”

He added: “We are pleased at this convincing demonstration of the value of working with an experienced sports marketing company – the WCF is assured of financial stability to support future growth in the sport.”