Comeback Categories?

Not to be a debbie downer, but it's going to be a long time before we see the spending levels we once saw from categories like auto, finance, and airlines. Nevertheless, the August TURNKEY Sports Poll, which surveys senior-level sports executives, asked the question on everyone's mind: "Which of the following categories will bounce back, in terms of sponsorship spending, the fastest?" A rec...

PS Takes on the Measurement Agencies, Rd. 1

Ding ding ding... In a scathing post of measurement agencies entitled sponsorship measurement agencies fading into irrelevance, Power Sponsorship's Kim Skildum-Reid poses the question whether measurement agencies have lost their relevance in today's environment. Here's the crux of the argument she makes: Sponsors need to know what results they get. Exposure is a low-value mechanism that say...

TRESemmé Wants To Take You Inside The Tents

How do you add consumer legs to official sponsorship of an exclusive, couture event like Fashion Week? How about some clever messaging, CBS outdoor signage and a slick micro-site? As the Official Hair Care Sponsor of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, TRESemmé's microsite takes fashion fans behind the scenes with Rachel Bilson revealing style secrets. At the TRESemmé microsite, fashion fans can wa...

Deal Flow 9-14-2009

Standard Chartered bank will replace the Danish beer Carlsberg as Liverpool's primary sponsor next season in a deal worth 80 million pounds ($134 million) over four years. BB&T Corp. has signed a sponsorship deal with the University of Alabama football program. Dell has renewed its sponsorship of the MTV Europe Music Awards. The Denver Broncos have teamed up with the Colorado State Lotte...

MEC Access Launches New Measurement Tool

MEC Access, the partnership division of WPP's Mediaedge:cia, will soon launch a new measurement tool under the acronym, ROSE, according to a report today from MediaWeek. ROSE, which stands for return on sponsorship and events, will be available to MEC Access' clients and will seek to identify the correlation strength between sponsorship activities and purchase intent. According to the report...

How to waste your precious time finding sponsors

For some mysterious reason, my company regularly receives solicitations from corporate sponsorship seekers from all over the country. The other day, for example, I received an unsolicited email from producers of a Thanksgiving parade letting me know that they've put their sponsorship packages "on sale," as if they were Walmart or Target. Thinking through the implications, it boggles the mind to...

M.A.C.: Official in London, Milk in Manhattan

While M.A.C. goes solo this week in New York, they've re-upped as the official make-up sponsor of London Fashion Week. "Fashion is part of the DNA of M.A.C - it inspires our artists and products worldwide. M.A.C is proud to take the lead in beauty as the official make-up sponsor of London Fashion Week in a city that continues to play such a vital role in M.A.C's global fashion outreach," said ...

Sailing for Green

Not that green! The Sunday Times reported that America's Cup contender Teamorigin, run by entrepreneur Sir Keith Mills, will give prime sponsor inventory to Carbon Trust, a non-profit aimed at reducing carbon emissions. "Together they are launching a new environmental campaign named The Race for Change — a platform to attract other corporate sponsors," the story states. “The America’s Cup ...

IMVU and Alloy Team Up for Virtual World Sponsorships

Who says virtual world communities flopped for marketers? In the words of Lee Corso, not so fast my friend. IMVU.com, which is an avatar-based social network and virtual world that boasts 35 million registered users, 100,000 registered developers and more than $1.5 million in revenue each month has partnered with Alloy Media + Marketing to sell sponsorships and advertising in the fast growing ...

Deal Flow 9-15-2009

The Winter Dew Tour announced that Totino’s has signed on as event title sponsor for the first stop of the 2009-10 season. Totino's recently decided not to renew their X Games sponsorship. The $354 million Downtown Dallas arts compex will be known as the AT&T Performing Arts Center in a deal with the telecom giant announced today. Valencia has agreed to carry a sponsor on their shorts, r...