Meet the Star of Visa's New NFL Ad, Ned

Visa's new ad, launched yesterday, depicts the journey of Ned, a fictitious NFL fan, who swipes a Visa card to pay for an everyday purchase and ends up attending Super Bowl XLVI with nine of his friends. "At the center of our campaign is a unique prize that one Visa cardholder will actually be able to experience at Super Bowl XLVI with 10 of his or her friends and family," said Alex Craddock, ...

Check Out The Music Player That Makes You Run Faster

Among all the marathon mainstays, one sponsor that caught our eye this weekend was a newcomer: Moto's new smart watch designed for endurance exercisers called MOTOACTV. The MOTOACTV, which was only launched in mid October, is being billed as a smart music player that learns what songs motivate each runner by tracking performance against music, via built-in heart-rate monitor. By determining whi...

Report Says Royals Set To Announce Naming Rights Deal

Reports out of Kansas City say that the Royals could announce a naming rights deal for Kauffman Stadium as early as today. The team, however, said in a statement that no agreement had been signed. "Amid a variety of reports that the Royals were nearing an announcement today, we felt it necessary to address the situation," the team said. "Since the renovations were completed prior to the 2009 ...

At Fashion Events, Canon Puts The Focus On Photography

Canon has been sponsoring some of the world's leading fashion events since 2005. As one of the foremost sponsors in fashion (title sponsor of London and Milan Fashion Weeks and a key sponsor of Paris Fashion Week), it stands to reason that they've learned a few things along the way. At these events, the Canon Photography Centre provides fashion photographers with wireless internet access, print...

70% Of People Say They're More Willing To Buy Something Endorsed By Favorite Artist

A recent study by sports and entertainment marketing agency, GMR, revealed some interesting stats on the rapidly evolving relationship between brands and bands. GMR polled more than 500 people about sponsorship and music to see what the public thought, and here’s some of what they found.. - 68% of respondents said sponsors help artists, rather than exploit them - 70% of respondents say they ...

How Sponsorship Can Give Meaning To Your Marketing

According to Havas Media Labs, the majority of people wouldn't care if 80% of brands disappeared tomorrow. That's a pretty striking assertion that Umair Haque, Havas Media Labs Director, uses to implore marketers to move beyond aspirational advertising. The next step in the evolution of advertising, he says, is to create meaningful brands that matter in human terms, not aspirational ones. Meani...

New Study Claims School Sponsorship Threatens Critical Thinking

As more and more schools turn to corporate partnerships to fill in budget gaps, a new report released yesterday says schools should think twice before accepting sponsorships. The study, which was published by the National Education Policy Center, which resides within the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder, says that even with a strict set of standards when it comes to cho...

Harley-Davidson Crowdsources Ad Ideas From Facebook

Harley-Davidson Motor Company has launched a new Facebook application that aims to crowdsource advertising ideas directly from Harley-Davidson's nearly three million Facebook fans. Called Fan Machine, it allows Harley-Davidson's Facebook community to review an advertising brief, submit ideas and vote on ideas from other community members. After selecting and rewarding the winners, Harley-David...

Why The Cowboys Don't Have A Naming Rights Deal Yet..

In a recent LA Times interview, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones explains... "We're being very selective. I never had naming rights at Texas Stadium. Because in our case, when we put a name on that stadium, we will name the Cowboys. It's almost going to be like the Pepsi Cowboys. It will be that dominant. We have great relationships with other services and brands that the benchmark for what the nami...

Soccer Club Changes 119 Yr Old Stadium Name To Something More Sponsor Friendly

After 119 years playing in St. James Park, Newcastle United has decided it needs to rename its arena to become more sponsor friendly. Earlier today the club announced the name change following consultation with international branding experts. The original naming rights proposal, launched in November 2009, invited sponsors to link their brand to St. James' Park, but this did not prove commercia...