Hanes Launches Passionately Pink for the Cure®

For all of those marketers thinking about building a cause sponsorship campaign these days (and there are a lot!), Hanes recently launched Passionately Pink for the Cure (R), which might prove to be a good case study of integrated activation. The partnership includes a celebrity and apparel tie-in with TV star Sarah Chalkey, a slick new website, a print campaign, text to donate capabilities, P...

A Tale of Two Bankruptcies

On the same day that properties like the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee and the NHL's Vancouver Canucks announced that they believe newly bankrupt General Motors will honor its multi-million dollar sponsorship commitments, Bearing Point and the PGA Tour reached a deal to scratch the bankrupt company's name off the benefactor’s pavilion and the dining chalet at upcoming golf tournaments....

UPDATE: IEG says Mediaedge:cia/AdWeek Report "Erroneous"

There is no doubt that the U.S. sponsorship market has been hurt disproportionately to the worldwide sponsorship market. Some of the factors are mentioned in yesterday's release that announced global sponsorship will grow by 15% this year (compared to 2% for the U.S.). 15%? We don't blame you if you're a little confused by this latest report from AdWeek: "Mediaedge:cia, the WPP media agen...

Starbucks & MSNBC: How Much is Official Worth?

Yesterday, MSNBC and Starbucks announced that Starbucks would continue to star in their "Morning Joe" morning segments - only this time MSNBC will be getting paid as part of a $10 million sponsorship deal between the two companies. For many months, folks have speculated about how much Starbucks was paying for the placement, but the show's host, Joe Scarborough, insisted that up until now the s...

Have Pro Sports Teams Found Their Cash Cow?

Chalk one up for the media people. Jersey sponsorship broke new ground this week and will be bringing millions of new impressions to a TV, NFL practice field and WNBA arena near you. First, Manchester United signed a new deal with yet another three-letter insurer that starts with an A - AON - in what is rumored to be a four year deal worth around $100 million. Some have questioned the meri...

NFL PR Guy (Brian McCarthy) Responds to Our Post

Where else can you get a reply from the NFL within 5 minutes of our below post on jersey sponsorships? Pretty cool stuff. Thanks, Brian.

More Trouble Brewing for Vancouver 2010?

Right on the heels of the news that bankrupt Vancouver Olympic Committee sponsor, General Motors, plans to honor its sponsorship agreement, more trouble could be on the horizon for yet another VANOC 2010 sponsor. You'll recall that Nortel, the official network equipment supplier of the games, has already listed VANOC as a creditor in its bankruptcy. The official airline, Air Canada, may be...

Craziest Sponsorship Category?

Desperate times call for desperate measures. New assets (jerseys) are being sponsored for the very first time and entirely new categories are being created. Yesterday, we mentioned VANOC 2010 announced that they had an "official carbon offsetter of VANOC 2010." Here in New York for example, the Mets have an official pudding and the Yanks have an official paint. So we ask you, dear reade...

The Power of "Three"

In a meeting earlier today, the head of a sponsorship agency told me that he runs his firm by the motto "three good sentences." Why? Once when he was selling his sponsorship opportunity, the head of a buy-side agency told him that in a first sales call -- it's the first three sentences that matter. He went on to say that you can generally express the most important part of your sponsorship o...

Discount Retailer, Discount Ad Campaign?

Stolen identity is the theme of the week - Lifelock made a splash in the sponsorship world with their WNBA jersey deal this week and now CNBC's Darren Rovell points out that discount retailer T.J. Maxx might have taken their "value" mantra to a whole new level by using a Tiger Woods "lookalike" in a recent ad campaign. As we've looked at the past few days, properties are exploring all kinds...