Dubai Group Looks To Rename Spanish Soccer Club

As sponsors look to exert more control over team operations, it shouldn't be surprising that a Dubai investment firm is now planning to change the team name of La Liga's Getafe. After shelling out about €90m (£80m) to buy the club, an investment firm headed up by Sheikh Butti Bin Suhail al-Maktoum said it would change the team name to "Team Dubai." The move has other leagues questioning wher...

Six Sponsorship Takeaways From Morgan Spurlock's Greatest Move Ever Sold

Morgan Spurlock's new film, POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, is out today, and I urge you to check it out. It's hilarious and lots of fun to watch (see my full review). And there are so many lessons to be learned about sponsorship, if you're new to the medium, as either a buyer or seller, or need a refresher. Here are a handful of observations I had, culled from the 30 ...

Brown-Forman Signs Biggest Tequila Sponsorship To Date

Sponsorship in the tequila category shows no signs of slowing down, as today Brown-Forman tequila brand, el Jimador, announced a new multi-million dollar, four-year deal with Major League Soccer, making the company the official tequila sponsor of Major League Soccer (MLS), U.S. Soccer and the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams, and the Mexican National Team’s annual tour of the United State...

Rolex Named Official Timekeeper of Asian Tour

Rolex has been named the Official Timekeeper of the Asian Tour, the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia. The official relationship build on the watchmaker's sponsorship of golf, which includes several co-sanctioned Asian Tour events (CIMB Asia Pacific Classic, Barclays Singapore Open, Avantha Masters), the World Golf Championships, PGA Tour and The European Tour. Rolex h...

Kings' Ransom

According to Sacramento's ABC News10, the NBA fact finding committee will meet directly with local Sacramento companies that have pledged more than $10 million in sponsorship in a campaign to keep the Kings from relocating to Anaheim. The sponsors, reportedly, will be asked to make deposits within 30 days of the meeting. The major sponsors that have made commitments are major sponsors are E...

Royal Bank of Canada Close To Taking Heritage Title?

Despite a great weekend of golf at The Heritage, PGA Tour and tournament officials have made no secret of the fact that without a title sponsor to replace Verizon, the Hilton Head fixture is in serious jeopardy for 2012. Throughout the weekend, the rumored front runners were said to be AFLAC and The Royal Bank of Canada. Now comes word that a deal with RBC is imminent. Golf Digest ran a re...

Fierce Competition In Forex Leads To New Sponsorship Deals

FxPro has signed an agreement to be the main sponsor of AS Monaco FC, in a deal that will include prominent branding on the team shirt and around the club’s historic stadium. The Forex trading platform may have freed up some budget to do the deal when it recently declined to exercise an option in their sponsorship contract with football team, Aston Villa, said to have been worth £3.5 million-a-...

Amica Insurance Renews Commitment to Running

Amica Insurance has extended its title sponsorships of the Amica Marathon in Newport, Rhode Island, and the Amica Insurance Seattle Marathon in Seattle, Washington. With the renewals, both sponsorships will run through 2016. "Amica is thrilled to announce its new five-year partnerships with these two races, especially given the success of the past events," said Julie Montalbano, sponsorship...

Fan Blames Modell's Signage For Robbing Mets Of HR's

Among the interesting new applications of the Twitter phenomenon, is the ability for sports fans to talk directly to sponsorship decision makers. Why heckle the players, like everyone else, when you can go straight to the sponsors. This past weekend, MLB.com columnist Marty Nobile suggested that the Mets remodel the Mo Zone that hovers over Citi Field's right field wall to make it easier fo...

Software for Sponsorship

My greatest takeaway from the epic book “The One to One Future” by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers was this: since software is only as good as its ability to meet the customer’s need, at the end of the day, the customer is ultimately the software. Makes a lot of sense. I mean when we build software we don’t just build things. We put some thought into it in an effort to provide what a customer...