Memphis May Help Deliver FedEx To Big East Partner Roster

Memphis will join the Big East for all athletics in the 2013-2014 year - a big move for both the university and the conference, each of which have been affected by the recent rush to realignment in college athletics. According to the Memphis Commercial-Appeal, which obtained a copy of the contract, the deal could also help deliver a new major sponsor for the Big East. In clause 13 of the eigh...

Emirates On The Look Out For Local Sponsorship Deals, Too

While Emirates big deal to take over title sponsorship of the U.S. Open Series recently made sports business headlines, the high-end luxury travel brand is also on the look out for local deals that support the expanding North American footprint of cities it serves. Recently, Emirates Airline President Tim Clark revealed to the Seattle Times that after a wave of initial publicity in the Seattl...

Just In Time For March Madness, UPS Debuts "Game Changers" Campaign

Silent partners when they do their job well are often easily forgotten. That's a problem for marketing folks. So UPS is making logistics interesting with this new spot, which breaks down one of the greatest moments in college basketball history. To give the integrated campaign some extra relevancy, the logistics giant has also teamed up with several big name brand ambassadors including broa...

Can Twitter Help Prevent Olympic Ambush?

With loose regulation, no barriers to entry and an ever-widening conversation around live events, social platforms like Twitter, Facebook and newcomer, Pinterest, could become an ambushers best friend. With these platforms reaching mainstream and the Olympics less than six months away, it is no surprise that major sponsors would be concerned about keeping the conversation in their court. Market...

Confessions (and Learnings) of a First-Time Sponsorship Seeker

This is the fifth installment of a weekly Monday series called Confessions (and Learnings) of a First Time Sponsorship Seeker. Before reading other articles in the series, we'd suggest going back and reading Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV in the series. Ah, the allure of sponsorship. To have a corporate partner spend a few of their marketing dollars on your passion; to take it to the n...

Six Flags Looks To Untangle Unprofitable Sponsorship Deals

Sponsorship and licensing revenue was down 14% or $6.8M in 2011 at Six Flags Theme Parks, but CFO John Duffey says there's a good reason for that. As he told folks at the UBS Media and Communications Conference last week, the company had to analyze every deal and overhaul its approach to sponsorship as it emerged from bankruptcy. "When this management team came on board, we looked at every si...

Bud Light Retail Sales Up 3.9% in January Thanks To Super Bowl Activation

Bud Light's "Here We Go" campaign seems to be working. Having just completed the first full year of its $1.2 billion/six-year deal, A-B CEO Carlos Brito says the early returns look good. Here's Brito taking an inventory of the beer maker's activation: "...the focus was on building consumer awareness of the partnership with the support of great in-store displays and increased media investments...

Sponsorship Sales: Making A Lasting Impression

So, your consumers and audience have been audited, your assets valuated and your sales materials designed. Now the time comes to really nail down specific brands that you will be approaching with your proposal. This is often not thought through. Far too often, rights holders are not taking into consideration the actual likelihood of the brand wanting to partner with the property or the brand’s...

Lexus Promotes Curves With "Model" Racetrack

Check out the "Tori 500," the model-inspired racetrack that Lexus used to promote the curves on its new 2013 GS sport sedan. The activation promoted the luxury automaker's standing as the Official Automotive Marketing Partner for SI Swimsuit Launch Week. Launching in February around the release of the SI Swimsuit Issue, the campaign featuring Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Tori Praver i...

Ram Truck, The Weather Channel Team Up With First Responders

The Weather Channel and Ram Truck are teaming up with the First Response Team of America. The Weather Channel Companies have launched an exclusive cross-platform series of in-the-field "Responding by Storm" reports chronicling the works of the First Response Team of America, which arrives soon after a storm's devastation to assist local first responders with rescues and cleanup. The new content...