Activation: KFC Wants to "Freshen Up" Your Street

As agencies have long understood, sponsorship proposals can work both ways - as a brand you don't always have to be on the receiving end. Heck, sometimes the property (or the sponsorship opportunity) may not even yet exist (or know there's interest). In the case of YUM! Brands, KFC recently saw America's road troubles as an opportunity to communicate their "Fresh Tastes Better" campaign, fir...

Commentary: Look Across the Board for Hidden $

Today, a must read for sponsorship sales professionals from IMG veteran Kevin Hanft: "Funding Sponsorship Deals - Look Across the Board for Hidden Dollars" Hanft's thesis is that "with the current economic times requiring senior buy-in, full utilization and accountability, it may require internal advocates to find broad based support and budget resources." Here's a few of the corporate s...

Sponsor Spotlight: Retaks Backpacks

One of our newest sponsor members, Retaks, was featured in the April edition of IEG Sponsorship Report! Founder David Meikle discusses how Retaks is using both sponsorship of existing events, as well as their own proprietary events, to grow the brand of this newcomer to the backpacking space. The lifestyle backpack-maker is using events like the Action Sports World Tour and the 3rd Retaks Ex...

Is Your City Selling?

Almost all major cities have CVB's that look to lure big ticket events to their locale. Now some cities are going a step further and actively helping match brands with local events. At NYC & Co, the official marketing and partnership arm of NYC, they do just that. Acting as a one stop shop for marketers looking to tap into the city, more and more cities may be looking to assist brands in...

Going the Distance: John Hancock & the Boston Marathon

For the 24th consecutive year, John Hancock was at the starting line of the Boston Maraton today. That may not come as a surprise given that John Hancock is about as Boston as Fenway with a Red Sox and Gilette stadium sponsorship rounding out all of the home town bases -John Hancock partnership overview. John Hancock's sports marketing director, Deb Maxfield discussed the partn...

1. Dennis Green - Alltel

Dennis Greene/Cardinals - Alltel After blowing a huge third quarter lead to the Bears on Oct 16, 2006, Dennis Green's crowning moment came in the post-game press conference. For fast growing mobile service provider, Alltel (now Vz), the additional exposure couldn't have hurt in raising the company's brand profile. << Back to main post

Activation: Hottest Promo Items

If you've been in the industry long enough, you've had a lot of comps land on your desk. Foam fingers, stress balls, adhesive bumper stickers... My desk used to be covered in this stuff. There's schwag - which we've all seen both good and very bad - and then there are premiums that really convey a brand's sense of relevance and passion for the shared experience. Brian Gainor's partnership a...

Does the Pinstripes New Stadium Have a Price?

It was once unthinkable to conceive that the Yankees would sell naming rights to "the house that Ruth built." Of course, the new stadium might make you rethink a lot of your traditional assumptions - for good and bad (esp if you're in one of the $2,600 premium seats). We know that many of the sports leagues are pushing the envelope to peek the interest of more partners, not least of which is ...

Slumping Sports Sponsorships (Euro Syle)

Former NBA Sponsorship Vet Tom Glick was on CNBC Euro this morning talking sponsorships at his current gig (Derby Football Club). What's the european sponsorship landscape, how does it differ from the U.S. and what can we learn from each other?

The Big 4 Talk Shifting Biz Models

Commissioners of the four major U.S. sports leagues, appearing at "The Future of Sports" symposium, said team owners will adjust their business models, approaches and ticket prices in response to the broader economic downturn. This isn't a big surprise as organizations, both big and small, are reassessing their reliance on and approach to sponsorship.