Announcements

The NFL Is Getting Trounced By The English Premier League In Global Sponsorship Deal
Business Insider UK, January 07, 2014
The English Premier League (EPL) may lag behind the top North American sports leagues in terms of total revenue, but during the 2012-13 season, the EPL outpaced its American counterpart, the National Football League, in commercial revenue, according to data provided by the Sports Business Group Deloitte and the sponsorship consultancy firm IEG... More

Sochi 2014: Lindsey Vonn Continues To Triumph As Brand With Olympic Future In Question
Washington Post, January 01, 2014
When Lindsey Vonn’s right knee gave out Dec. 21 in a race in Val d’Isere, France, she was left on the side of the course crying before she skied to the bottom of the hill, her Olympic future very much in doubt. Yet on Sunday, as the NFL regular season came to a thrilling conclusion, there was Vonn on the television, skiing confidently in an ad for apparel company Under Armour... More

Belk Stores Woo Female College Football Fans
CNBC , December 28, 2013
Though technically started in 1902 when Michigan steamrolled Stanford 49–0 at the Tournament East-West Football Game in Pasadena, college football bowl games have been consistently played since 1916, with appellations that paid sole homage to such necessities as cotton, oranges, sugar, the sun and, of course, roses... More

SFX Entertainment Enters Sponsorship Deal With Anheuser-Busch InBev
The New York Times, December 23, 2013
As electronic dance music festivals grow in popularity, they are attracting affluent new participants: corporate sponsors... More

What It Takes To Put Your Company Name On A Sports Arena
Crain's Chicago Business, December 16, 2013
Chicago's sports teams will be playing a name game in 2014... More

United Airlines Locks In United Center Naming Rights For 20 Years
Crain's Chicago Business, December 11, 2013
United Airlines has announced a new sponsorship agreement that buys it the naming rights of the United Center for the next 20 years... More

World Cup Ads Runneth Over — Six Months Early
Ad Age, December 10, 2013
For many marketers, the World Cup has already kicked off in Brazil, six months ahead of the first soccer match — whether they're sanctioned sponsors or not... More

Association Sponsorships Increase 4 Percent
MeetingsNet.com, December 06, 2013
Companies spent $572 million on sponsorship with associations/member organizations in 2013, up 4 percent from the previous years, according to IEG, a sponsorship consultant and research company based in Chicago... More

Brand Match
FT Wealth, December 06, 2013
“I don’t have it, I don’t have it. Have you got my watch? I don’t have my watch.”.. More

The Big Business of Thanksgiving Day Parades
TIME, November 27, 2013
Thanksgiving weekend is a banner one for American retailers, but there’s another American business that thrives at this time of year: parades... More

Mercedes, The NBA, And The Advent Of The Branding Of Branding
Bloomberg Business Week, November 18, 2013
Thanks to the decade-long reshuffling of three NBA franchises in four cities, the Charlotte Bobcats are set to take the name Hornets next season. Charlotte was home to the original Hornets from 1988 to 2002, before that franchise moved to New Orleans. Two years after the Hornets left, the NBA replaced them with an expansion club dubbed, in a superb display of dullness, the Bobcats. This season the Hornets became the Pelicans, allowing Charlotte to reclaim their old name... More

Corporate Sponsorship: Growth Streak Continues For Associations
Associations Now, October 30, 2013
Insurance companies, banks, and pharmaceutical firms are the largest sponsors of the association industry at large, according to the “IEG Sponsorship Report”—and spending is expected to top $572 million this year... More

Samsung Bought Almost Every Screen Anywhere Near An NBA Game
Businessweek , October 28, 2013
The NBA is making Samsung its official supplier for handsets, tablets, and pretty much any screen of any size... More

Cubs Pitch 'Presentation Room' In Push For New Sponsors
Chicago Tribune, October 11, 2013
The sales pitch started the moment I opened the glass door and stepped off the sidewalk... More

Accounts and People of Note in the Advertising Industry
The New York Times, September 30, 2013
Sponsorship spending for cause marketing is expected to total $1.78 billion this year, according to IEG, Chicago, up 4.8 percent from $1.7 billion last year... More

Serena Williams Proves as Big for Black Athletes as Being No. 1
Bloomberg, September 26, 2013
Sachia Vickery was 5 1/2 when she declared she would be the next Serena Williams. Now 18, she credits the 17-time Grand Slam singles champion with much more than just tennis inspiration... More

Cause Marketing Getting Back On Track
Media Post, September 19, 2013
After a sharp drop-off in sponsoring cause-related events and programs last year, marketers are getting back on board with supporting charitable activities... More

5 Ways To Improve Your Brand's Game With Sports
CMO.com, September 03, 2013
As global brands grow more competitive, innovation in a brand’s marketing will play a more central role in the financial health of many categories. Partnering with sports organizations–whether leagues, teams, events, or venues—offers a substantial and sustainable opportunity to out-innovate competitors by connecting audiences to the things they love in ways they never knew were possible... More

NFL Prods Partners Into Kicking Off Season With Fresh Creative
Ad Age, September 03, 2013
So much for back to school. The National Football League and a bevy of heavyweight sponsors are trying to brand "back to football," positioning Kickoff Weekend as an advertising event second only to the Super Bowl... More

In The Sponsorship Game, AT&T Promotes And Protects Its Brand
Dallas News, August 31, 2013
It’s one of the most valuable brands in the world, and to bolster it, AT&T Inc. reportedly spends nearly $200 million a year on sponsorships here and around the country... More

Tennis Marketing Spend Continues To Score
Mediapost, August 27, 2013
When asked to name the Big Five sports in the U.S., many fans list the NFL, MLB and NBA, with the NHL and NASCAR vying for the fourth and fifth spots (and MLS soccer coming up fast)... More

Baseball's Expanded Instant Replay Is An Advertising Opportunity
Businessweek, August 20, 2013
Last week, Commissioner Bud Selig announced that Major League Baseball plans to expand the use of instant replay to review umpires’ calls beginning as soon as next season. The proposal still needs to pass muster with the players’ and umpires’ unions and then go before team owners for a vote in November. If it’s approved, the system would create a new kind of interruption in the game... More

Anheuser-Busch Tops In Sponsorships
Media Post, July 29, 2013
Sponsorship spending on fairs, festivals and annual events is expected to total $849 million in 2013 — up 2.9% from 2012, according to IEG Research... More

Even Stadium-Naming Deals Are Bigger In Texas
Bloomberg Business Week, July 24, 2013
In 2009, after the financial crisis had given way to the Great Recession, the Dallas Cowboys settled on a straightforward and not particularly lucrative name for the team’s lavish new home: Cowboys Stadium. The complex was unofficially dubbed JerryWorld after team owner Jerry Jones, who had chosen to hold off on a long-term naming rights deal for obvious reasons... More

Marketers Brace For Big Shows In Crisis-Torn Brazil
Ad Age, July 22, 2013
On the soccer field, the Confederations Cup had to be considered a success, as host Brazil trounced defending World Cup champion Spain, 3-0, in the final late last month... More