The Long Tail of Sponsorship is Coming

If I demanded the Earth was round today, you would say “duh!” There was a time however, that this notion would have made people question my intelligence. It was also once accepted to think sneezing was the act of ridding your body of an evil spirit. The fact we will still today say, “bless you” after one sneezes is just a vestige of a long since unproven myth. It is now pretty widely accepte...

WPP, IMG Announce Global Licensing Collaboration

The world's largest advertising company, WPP Group, and IMG have teamed up for a worldwide collaboration that the parties hope will create more licensing and merchandising opportunities for WPP's roster of consumer brand clients. WPP and IMG will establish a joint team and share resources to offer and provide licensing services to clients across all of WPP’s portfolio of agencies. "More t...

Ahead of the Curve: Marty Teller

Marty Teller Partnerships Manager, Trenton Thunder SponsorPitch Profile: MartyTeller Years in the biz: 6 Why/how did you get started in it? After graduating from the University of Tampa, I started as an intern in the Premium Services department with the Baltimore Ravens where I focused on the service and operational side of the team’s suite business. Starting on the service end o...

Pirate's Booty Makes Derby Play

Snack manufacturer, Pirate's Booty, will have a rooting interest in this weekend's Kentucky Derby. The brand will sponsor contenders Uncle Mo and Stay Thirsty during the running of the 137th Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Pirate's Booty's largest shareholder, Mike Repole, owns both horses. Among other benefits, the Pirate's Booty logo will be displayed on jockeys John Velazquez (Uncle Mo) and...

FIFA Scores Official Insurance Provider For 2014 World Cup

FIFA has secured another national sponsor for the 2014 World Cup in Rio de Janiero. Brazilian insurance company Liberty Seguros will serve as the Official Insurance Provider of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Liberty Seguros is a Brazilian subsidiary of U.S.-based property and casualty insurer, Liberty Mutual Group. “We are looking forward to playing our part in welcoming the FIFA World Cup back...

IMG's Forstmann Being Treated For Brain Cancer

Sad news for the Chairman and CEO of global sponsorship agency, IMG. Ted Forstmann recently underwent surgery and is being treated for what the WSJ reports is a life-threatening form of brain cancer. Mike Dolan, who was previously IMG's CFO, has been promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer. "Ted continues in his position as chairman and chief executive officer and will be wo...

Report: Sports Sponsorship By Autos To Top $1.1 Billion This Year

German sponsorship research and consultancy firm, Sport+Markt, predicts that sports sponsorship spending by the top 20 automotive brands will top 800 million euros per year (or $1.17 Billion). According to a recent study, automotive brands allocate the highest proportion of their sponsorship budgets to the sport of soccer (31.7%). American football (19.1%), baseball (8.2%) and golf (7.7%). In ...

Quarterly Sponsorship Revenue Rises 17% at Live Nation

Live Nation Entertainment reported a 17.4 percent increase in revenue for the first quarter, buoyed by increased ticket sales and sponsorship income. Speaking specifically on the sponsorship segment, the company was encouraged by first quarter results, writing.. "Our Sponsorship segment continued to generate growth during the quarter due to new strategic sponsors along with the renewa...

HopStop Expands Transportation Options With Help From Partners

HopStop.com started out as a way for users to find their way around town by providing mass transportation directions online, but as it expands to new modes of transporation, it's picking up partners along the way. Back in November, HopStop added car sharing and hourly car rental information into into its widely used navigation app that gives people fast and easy public transportation and wa...

The Dallas Mavericks Distribute Playoff Tickets with Augmented Reality

The Dallas Mavericks partnered with Qualcomm and Big Playar to distribute 2011 NBA Playoff tickets with augmented reality functionality, an extremely novel fan engagement tool. Fans who had an Android phone were able to scan an image of a Mavericks player on their game tickets to receive immediate access to an interactive game on their phone. Fan participation was guided by a set of instruct...