Infiniti Strikes Deal For March Madness

Infiniti will be an "Official Corporate Partner of the 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship and CBS Sports." The agreement with CBS Sports, which will include significant on-air and online assets during March Madness, will supplement the automaker's current college basketball activities which include partnerships with ESPN, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the SEC and the Big Ten Conference.

CBS Sports and Infiniti will work together to produce original-content for on air vignettes that showcase inspirational college basketball and coaching stories during CBS Sports' broadcasts.

"This is our second year of involvement as a major sponsor of college sports through individual conference partnerships and now, what we believe is one of the most exciting sporting events of the year, the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship on CBS Sports," said Ben Poore, vice president, Infiniti Business Unit. "The tournament on CBS Sports is also the ideal showcase for the broadcast debut of our all-new 2011 Infiniti M performance luxury sedan and our message, 'Inspiration changes the game.'"

Infiniti is the exclusive sponsor of CBSSports.com's marquee "Infiniti Bracket Challenge," which attracted 1.1 million players in 2009. The winner of "CBSSports.com Bracket Challenge presented by Infiniti" will be awarded a new 2011 Infiniti M sedan.

Infiniti also sponsors NCAA.com's "March Madness on Demand" throughout the NCAA Championship Tournament (7.5 million unique visitors in 2009).

"We're bringing together the strong consumer interest in the all-new 2011 Infiniti M, which goes on sale at Infiniti retailers nationwide on March 18th, with the large national audience for the tournament," said Poore. "The timing and synergy of the two events couldn't be better for the launch of the latest and most advanced addition to the Infiniti lineup."