Etihad Takes Manchester City Partnership To Another Level

Manchester City Football Club and Etihad Airways today formally announced a groundbreaking 10-year naming rights agreement, which significantly expands their existing relationship. The deal, which Bloomberg reports could be worth as much as $480 million, will rename Manchester City's stadium to Etihad Stadium, . As part of the deal, Etihad has elected to extend its pre-existing shirt sponsorshi...

Visa Study Shows Spending Pop That 'Mega-Events' Generate

Olympics and FIFA sponsor, Visa, has released a new report that aims to show the effects of mega-sporting events and the impact they have on tourism spending in host countries. For each of the three events analyzed, Visa revealed payment card expenditure growth percentages during the event compared to the year prior: 82 percent for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa 93 percent for the...

Marvel Super Heroes Suit Up For Cowboys

Marvel Entertainment's attempt to blend super heroes with sports has made its way to Big D. Last week, Marvel Entertainment launched a new co-branding collaboration with the Dallas Cowboys, following up on similar deals it has recently made with the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics. Fans will now be able to purchase co-branded merchandise featuring Captain America, Spider-...

Global Ad Agency Takes Stake In JMI

Global ad holding company, WPP, has made a strategic investment in motorsport marketing agency, Just Marketing International. Spire Capital, which took a majority stake in JMI in 2008, remains the principal shareholder, with Zak Brown the second largest shareholder. JMI was founded by CEO Zak Brown, a former professional driver who thought there was untapped commercial potential in motorspo...

Gillette Streams Giant Jeter Congrats Card At Grand Central

After watching Jeter shave on the side of a SoHo skyscraper, the least New York fans could do is send him a thank you card. Commuters passing through Grand Central today will see a giant congratulations card with Derek Jeter's name on it, a promotion designed to help Gillette celebrate Jeter's 3,000th hit this past weekend. Commuters can scribble their notes on iPads being carried by brand amba...

MasterCard Tees Up British Open Sponsorship

MasterCard has signed a four-year deal to sponsor the British Open. According to BBC, the deal will start in 2012. The announcement comes as the 2011 Open gets set to tee off on Thursday. Read more about the deal here. photo credit

BMW Launches Line of Olympic Branded Beamers

Want your own Olympics-branded beamer? The German auto company has launched a 'Performance Edition' to celebrate BMW’s sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The branded models come in BMW's classic 1 Series and 3 Series. BMW is the Official Automotive Partner of London 2012, and as part of the partnership, BMW will supply a range of Efficient Dynamic diesel cars, hybrids ...

NHL, Molson Coors Win Sponsorship Appeal

An Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled in favor of the NHL and Molson Coors, upholding the original $375-million sponsorship deal that Labatt contested. The NHL's beer category, which Labatt claimed it held pre-existing rights to, was sold to Molson Coors in February for what has been widely reported to be the largest sponsorship deal in NHL history. In June, an Ontario court complied with Labatt...

Chevrolet Renews As Official Vehicle of MLB

Coinciding with the MLB All Star Game tonight in Phoenix, Major League Baseball Properties and Chevrolet have announced a five year extension of their sponsorship agreement, maintaining Chevrolet as the "Official Vehicle of Major League Baseball." Chevrolet's exclusive deal began in 2005. Today's extension means Chevrolet will continue to be the presenting sponsor three of the game's top awards...

Planters Sponsors Peanut-Shaped Parks Throughout U.S.

Planters is sponsoring three urban park renewals throughout the U.S. this year, and as part of the deal, the parks are being reshaped in the form of a peanut. This week, DC is getting its turn. In response to our tweet, Darren Rovell from CNBC followed up with the question: "Idiotic or Genius?" and a flood of responses followed (see below). What's your take? Idiotic or genius sponsorship for Mr...