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...

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-the-a...

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, BB...

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 Executi...

Kellogg Makes Olympic Comeback With USOC Deal

Kellogg Company and the United States Olympic Committee today announced that Kellogg will return as a sponsor of the 2012, 2014 and 2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams in London, England; Sochi, Russia; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Kellogg is no stranger to the Olympic movement, having supported the Olympic Games from 1976-1992 and the USOC from 2000-2008. "Kellogg Company has a long histor...

What Happens When Corporate Sponsors & Academia Collide?

Some may say it is crossing the line between sponsorship and academia. Some may say it is innovative and delivers value to the sponsor, property, stakeholders, clients and constituents. Some claim it adds fodder to educational institutions defending brand infiltration of curriculum. And for others, it is the way of the modern world. I am talking about the most recent corporate sponsorship acti...

Nike Uses a "Social" Billboard Campaign to Promote Customization in Copenhagen

Nike recently launched an innovative billboard campaign in Copenhagen, Denmark that featured a team of Nike graffiti designers customizing a Nike iD billboard in "real-time" based on Facebook community engagement. Over a two week period, Nike graffiti artists spray painted a giant white shoe billboard to mirror the most "liked" designs in the Nike Free Run 2 iD Facebook page. On the dedicated ...

Pro Cycling Event Donates Presenting Sponsorship To Charity

The USA Pro Cycling Challenge today announced the donation of the competition's presenting sponsorship to Millennium Promise, a leading international non-profit organization solely committed to helping end extreme poverty. By changing its name to "USA Pro Cycling Challenge for Millennium Promise," both parties hope to introduce Millennium Promise to millions of fans following the event through...

Georgia City Approves Police Car Sponsorships

If you ever get picked up in Holly Springs, Georgia you'll be seeing more than just flashing lights. The Atlanta suburb is looking to fund the city's coffers with a controversial new tactic, police car sponsorship. The city of Holly Springs in Cherokee County has approved sponsorships on its fleet of police cruisers, according to Atlanta's WSBTV. The city hopes to raise between $35,000 and $1...

Mercury Insurance Renews WTA Event Title Through 2012

Auto and property insurance company, Mercury Insurance, has renewed its title sponsorship of the Mercury Insurance Open through 2012. The 2011 Mercury Insurance Open, a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) event is a tune-up for the U.S. Open, held in August at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. “We are very pleased to continue our sponsorship of this world-class event, and we’re loo...