Hugo Boss Goes Ambush on the British Open

Are you looking for ways to drive brand awareness at premier sporting events without paying large sums for partnership fees? Are you looking for creative ways to leverage sponsorships in the golf space? During live television coverage of the '09 British Open, Hugo Boss pulled off one of the greatest ambush marketing tactics seen to date at a premier sporting event. The high-end menswear appare...

Verizon Wireless Sponsors World's Largest Corn Maze

Benson Farms' quest for the Guinness Book of World Record's as the world's largest corn maze by a farmer, today announced sponsorship by Verizon Wireless, America's largest and most reliable wireless network. This year's image by the Denton, Nebraska-based farm depicts Verizon Wireless' test man along with the company logo and tagline "America's Most Reliable Wireless Network." While visitors...

Marketing Collaborations around Sponsorship: Think Big

I've noticed two examples of corporations and the properties they've sponsored partnering in big ways on custom web sites around the sponsorship opportunities. Is this the start of a trend? What I like about these examples is that the partners are thinking big, integrating their brands, and creating something of high value to customers – something that wouldn't exist separately and that trul...

BMW Exits Formula One

BMW's effort to win a Formula One championship came to a sudden end on Wednesday after the German automaker said they will be ending their Formula One sponsorship at the end of this year. The move comes after a Tuesday board meeting that apparently sealed the fate of the proposed new commercial agreement that would have committed BMW to Formula One through at least 2012. Despite having a dis...

Study: Sponsors Cutting Budgets, Not Events

A new poll by Event Minds, a UK company that specializes in sales training and coaching for event pros, suggests that the majority (80%) of sponsors are cutting budgets at a 40% clip, but only reducing the number of events that they attend by 10%. We'll wait for the full study to be completed to make conclusions, but here's a couple theories for what this could mean to sponsorship sales pros...

Breaking: Lowe's Will Not Renew @ Charlotte Motor Speedway

Sports Business Journal reports this morning that the 11-year naming rights deal between Lowe's and the Charlotte Motor Speedway will not be renewed. Though there is still 5 months left on the current one year contract extension, and after more than a year of negotiations, the home improvement company has informed Speedway Motorsports of their decision. According to the report, Lowe's current...

Deal Flow 7-30-2009

Winston-Salem-based Lowes Foods has signed on as the presenting sponsor of the 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, to be held in Greensboro. SpongeTech Delivery Systems, Inc. The Smarter Sponge™, (OTCBB: SPNG - News), announced today a strategic sponsorship with the Cincinnati Bengals. Under the agreement, SpongeTech will become an official sponsor of the team and receive an exclusive bra...

Virgin America Gets Feet Wet with AVP

The AVP Pro Beach Volleyball has signed Virgin America as presenting sponsor of the Bud Light Hermosa Beach Open scheduled for August 6th-9th and aired on Universal Sports/NBC. The deal is for this year's event only. An official announcement is planned for tomorrow. Other presenting sponsors of AVP events include Bud Light, Malibu Rum, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Riverside Conventions & Visit...

Who Are These People?

I am being bombarded with questions asking me different suggestions or ideas as to who these people might be that want to sponsor your businesses, so in today’s post I’d like to discuss, WHO these people are...and WHY do they want to hand you their money?? It's been my experience that most folks wanting to sell sponsorships to their properties-their meetings, associations, newsletters and e-zi...

Careers: Getting Your Foot in the Door

It's tough to get a job in any industry right now, let alone the sports and sponsorship industry. One of the many questions I’ve constantly received over the years is “what advice would you give me to get a job in the sports business?” Have you thought about how you can backdoor your way in? If you are one of those currently looking for a job, don’t discount the impact that you can have by w...