Can A Trading Platform Shake Up The Sport of Pro Cycling?

IG Markets, one of the UK’s biggest providers of gold CFD's (Contract for Difference), has agreed to sponsor the Tour of Britain and, as part of the deal, will change the leader jersey from yellow to gold. “We are delighted to be associated with The Tour of Britain and proud to say that as the UK’s No.1 CFD Provider we will be sponsoring the IG Markets Gold Jersey,” Tim Howkins, Chief Execu...

Mavs Get New Banking Partner

BBVA Compass, already the official bank of the NBA, has signed an agreement to become an official partner of the Dallas Mavericks. The bank says it has 110 banking centers in the Metroplex and is currently the fourth largest bank in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metropolitan area based on deposit market share. Terms of the deal were not released. BBVA Compass is the U.S. subsidiary of Madrid-based,...

VW Looks To Broaden Beetle Appeal With Event Tie-Ins

Volkswagen of North America is looking to make a splash around its new 2012 Beetle, and according to Ad Age, it will be using a lot of event marketing to do it. Ad Age writes: "This time around, the pitch will be toward making the car appeal more to men and younger buyers with a sportier design, more emphasis on performance, a larger body size and bells and whistles such as a state-of-t...

The Greatest Marketing Medium Ever Sold

When we hire someone to paint our house, we pay the painter for the materials, and for the labor to actually do the painting. When the painter is finished we have what we want, a painted house. If I hire someone to perform a marketing service however, I am not paying for what I really want. I don’t really want an ad. I don’t really want a website. I don’t really want a brochure. I don’t re...

ESPN Folds Poker Programming After Sponsors Indicted

In response to the U.S. indictment on many of the gambling websites that sponsor its largest televised tournaments, ESPN has announced it will not only drop their advertising, but it will go one step further and remove its lineup of poker programming. “We are aware of the indictment only through what has been announced publicly,” ESPN said yesterday in a statement obtained by Bloomberg. “Fo...

Swiss Luxury Watch Signs First Team Sponsorship In The U.S.

Geneva-based swiss luxury watchmaker, Hublot, has upped the ante with the Miami Heat, adding a team partnership with the Heat to their existing endorsement deal with Dwayne Wade. The multi-year partnership marks Hublot’s first team sponsorship in the United States. “The Hublot brand is synonymous with creativity and innovation, making it a great fit for the Miami Heat,” said Eric Wooworth, ...

Britain's Sponsorship Tax Scares Players, Wimbledon CEO Says

While taxes are fresh on the minds of everyone stateside, Wimbledon's CEO is lodging concerns about the per diem taxation rate that the U.K. places on sponsorship, even if the sponsor is located outside the country. Ian Ritchie, chief executive officer of Wimbledon, said in a press conference at the All England Club that "it seems unfair individual athletes such as professional golfers, t...

Farmers Insurance Gets Into NASCAR With Hendrick Deal

Farmers Insurance has joined Hendrick Motorsports as a five-race primary sponsor of Mark Martin's Chevrolets in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The agreement will give Farmers primary placement for five events and associate-level sponsorship on Martin's cars throughout the remainder of this season. The NASCAR team sponsorship is the first for Los Angeles-based Farmers since 2009. "This p...

Sponsorship Strategy At The Shack

Usually Wednesday's are reserved for Ahead of the Curve member profiles, but this week we're changing it up. Rather than an interview, we're going to share a critique on what one SponsorPitch member found wrong with a sponsor / sponsorship he's been researching. We are going to keep it anonymous at the member’s request, but feel free to provide your take in comments. I was sitting at home ...

Football Team To Sponsor MMA Fighter For UFC 129

Here's an interesting sponsorship deal between two properties. As MMAJunkie.com first reported earlier today, Canadian Football League team (the Hamilton Tiger-Cats) will sponsor Mark Hominick, who fights featherweight champ Jose Aldo next week in Toronto's UFC 129. As part of the deal, Hominick will wear a Ticats hat as he enters the octagon and will bear the team’s logo on his shorts durin...