Posts Tagged ‘Sponsorships’
By Stefen Lovelace
Last summer, the sporting world was collectively doubting LeBron James. We wondered if he had “it.” We scoffed that he seemed to shy away on the court when the spotlight was the brightest. We asked aloud whether he would ever reach the pinnacle that everyone predicted he should easily reach.
A little over a year later, we have our answer. After leading Team USA to a gold medal victory yesterday, LeBron capped off a marvelous year, which saw him win the regular season MVP (for the third time), the Finals MVP, the NBA Championship and a gold medal. On that gold medal team, he was clearly the leader, and showcased his talent to an international audience.
Remember when he famously said he wanted to be a global icon? Mission accomplished. (more…)
Tags: Athlete Endorsements, NBA, Sponsorships, Sports Marketing
Posted in Brand ROI, Sports Marketing | No Comments »
By Stefen Lovelace
On Sunday evening, when Bubba Watson slipped on the iconic green Masters jacket, he had to know his whole life was about to change.
Always on the cusp of golf stardom, up unto that final 6-inch putt on Sunday, Bubba was a fan-favorite oozing with potential. After winning three tournaments in less than two years (The Travelers Championship, The Farmers Insurance Open and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans), Bubba had clearly shown the game was there. The question wasn’t “if” he’d win a major, but “when.”
Now that he’s broke through the ceiling of golf stardom, Bubba will be doing more than just appearing regularly in PGA TOUR tournament top-10s. Marketers are sure to see the 33-year-old American with the great nickname as a perfect spokesman.
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Tags: Bubba Watson, Golf, Masters, PGA TOUR, PING, Sponsorships, Sports Marketing
Posted in Brand ROI, Sports Marketing | No Comments »
By Kyle Rubeling
The countdown is on. Only 140 days until the start of the XXX Olympiad on July 27th. All eyes were on London last week as the giant Olympic Rings were towed on The River Thames as part of the city’s plans for the London 2012 Festival.
As organizers begin final preparations, two words are generating buzz – ambush marketing. According to a 2010 report in the Wall Street Journal, ambush marketing assumes many forms these days, but an increasing number of companies try to hitch their brands to the biggest publicity magnets in sports without paying for rights.
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Tags: ambush marketing, LOCOG, London, london 2012, London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games, Olympics, Sponsorships, Sports Marketing
Posted in Sports Marketing | No Comments »
By Stefen Lovelace
Brands can take lessons from BFGoodrich on how to effectively maximize a sports sponsorship. The tire company is the official sponsor of both the Summer and Winter X-Games, which includes having commercials, advertisements, activation tents, and fixed signage throughout the now-mainstream event.
At the Winter X-Games last January, Shaun White announced he signed a multiyear sponsorship deal with BFGoodrich. The timing was superb; what better way to showcase you’re a leader in winter sports than to have the sport’s top athlete make the announcement on the biggest stage?
BFGoodrich could’ve easily cut a check and had White mention the sponsorship in some interviews. That would’ve been a wasted opportunity. So they built a creative campaign to utilize one of the most marketable athletes in the country to engage with fans of extreme sports.
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Tags: BFGoodrich, Driving, Racing, Shaun White, Skateboarding, Snowboarding, Social Martketing, Sponsorships, Sports Marketing, Tires, Winter Sports, Winter X Games, X Games
Posted in Brand ROI, Fan Engagement, Sports Marketing | No Comments »
By Kyle Rubeling
The Barclays English Premier League is one of the most popular and successful sports leagues in the world. Many fans and pundits say it’s the most competitive and physically demanding of the European soccer leagues. At the top of the English football system is the country’s primary football competition. The Premier League consists of 20 clubs, with each team playing 38 league matches from August to May. As a competitive league supporting the world’s most popular sport, the EPL has millions of fans worldwide and generates millions of dollars in television revenue.
Just how many fans are tuning in on weekends to enjoy a “footie” match? A report published in October by the respected Germany-based research and consultancy SPORT+MARKT concluded the total global cumulative Premier League TV audience in the 2010-2011 season was 4.7 billion people. To put that in perspective…the world’s population just hit 7 billion.
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Tags: Barclays English Premier League, Brand Marketing, Brand ROI, EPL, European Soccer, Footie, Futbal, Soccer, Sponsorships
Posted in Brand ROI, Sports Marketing | No Comments »
By Andrea Cohen
Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images
The count is 3-2 in the bottom of the third and “Mr. November” is up at bat. The entire [new] house that Ruth built is on its feet chanting his name. The pitch is a breaking ball. He swings, and the ball starts rising to left field. It keeps rising until it is in the stands…”Mr. November” has just hit a home run.
The crowd goes wild as he rounds the bases. This is a day that will go down in the history books for him, his team and his lucky sponsors.
The above passage recounts the legendary home run that solidified Derek Jeter as one of the Yankee Greats on July 9th, 2011. Jeter’s blast was the 3,000 hit of his career, making him the 28th player, and first ever Yankee, to reach this milestone.
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Tags: Baseball, Brand Loyalty, Derek Jeter, MLB, New York Yankees, Social Media, Sponsorships, Sports Marketing
Posted in Brand ROI, Sports Marketing | No Comments »
By Stefen Lovelace
I remember vividly the moment I saw Landon Donovan officially put soccer into the American consciousness.
It was last summer during the 2010 World Cup, and America was tied in a must-win game with Algeria. I skipped out on work, and was at a bar nursing a warm beer and cursing the day I ever started following the sport.
You remember the rest. Donovan scored, America erupted and all of a sudden Americans cared about soccer.
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Tags: Facebook, MLS, Soccer, Social Media, Sponsorships, Sports Marketing, Twitter, World Cup
Posted in Fan Engagement, Sports Marketing | 1 Comment »
By Adam Streets
The World Series of Poker has been growing since 1970, when six players showed up in the famous poker room at Binion’s Casino in Las Vegas. Forty-one years later, over 70,000 players are competing in daily games from May 31st culminating in the Main Event starting July 7th. The players are competing for more than $180,000,000 in prize money, and a mere $9 million prize package for just the Main Event.
Now, a game that was once found in seedy backroom casinos is being televised by ESPN. Who would have thought that people would be interested in watching a card game on TV?
The WSOP has taken advantage of the simple fact that “People Want to Play Poker.” I know it sounds like a crazy concept but being an avid fan and player, it’s true.
The WSOP event on ESPN drew me in, but I wanted more. I wanted to engage, I wanted to play, and I looked for the chance to get my buy-in for the Main Event – and the organization delivered. (more…)
Tags: Brand Marketing, Event Marketing, Facebook, Mobile Applications, Social Media, Sponsorships, Twitter, World Series of Poker, WSOP
Posted in Fan Engagement, Sports Marketing | 1 Comment »
