Deal Flow 10/02/09

The Los Angeles Kings are ending their sponsorship of the Downtown On Ice rink at Pershing Square after 10 years and instead, sponsor a new, temporary rink at L.A. Live. Kohler Rental Power will again provide electrical needs, air conditioning and mobile restroom needs for the PGA Tour Presidents Cup golf tournament. NASA is sponsoring a waste limitation management and recycling design challe...

D'Oh! - DoH to Sponsor The Simpsons

Britain's Department of Health is spending $1 million to sponsor episodes of The Simpsons, as part of its Change4Life campaign, under the tagline "Supporting the Simpsons: sometimes." The DoH will sponsor new episodes of the show through Christmas, in which Homer & Co. will start out with the traditional assortment of pizza, beer and doughnuts, which will be replaced throughout the show wi...

What If We Could Polygraph Properties?

Crispin Porter & Bogusky, in follow-up to hits like the subservient chicken and creepy king figure, has launched another viral cross-platform classic for Burger King with The Truth About Tony. The idea behind the campaign, is to see if Tony Stewart really loves the BK Whopper he endorses, by webcasting a lie detector test on October 20th. It's a clever idea with a strong social media com...

YouTube as Sponsorship Broker?

There have been a lot of rumors floating around that YouTube will officially sponsor USGPE, the U.S.' new entry in Formula One. YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley is the lead investor in the team, which is set to race in 2010. YouTube's participation hasn't been officially confirmed, but the anticipation grows ahead of the car's debut this Fall. Now it seems Best Buy may be interested in partne...

A Jump Start for Your Stalled Sponsorship Program

Festivals and events across the country are feeling the impact of the recession on their sponsorship programs. You may be, too. Worse, you may not know what to do next. One crucial but perhaps counterintuitive next step is to deepen your commitment to your existing sponsors. Now is the time to strengthen the ties and all the ways your two organizations are interconnected and enrich the spons...

AVP in Talks for New Title; Crocs Deal Expires

Crocs, who has title sponsored the AVP Tour since 1996, will not be back as title sponsor of the Tour next season. The company's three year sponsorship deal expired yesterday, the same day as the company's quarterly earnings call. CEO John Duerden indicated the company would be shifting their marketing strategy to a more direct to consumer model. "As part of our cost reduction initiatives,...

Deal Flow 8-7-2009

Continental Airlines will be the headline sponsor of the London Tower Festival 2009 as it seeks to engage with business travellers who are arts and music lovers. Frito-Lay has teamed up with the Carolina Panthers as an official sponsor in a deal that includes branded packaging on Lay's, among other assets. The Toronto Blue Jays andThe Stanley Works have reached a sponsorship agreement running ...

SMI's Bad Day Sheds Light on Sponsorships

On the same day that Speedway Motorsports Inc announced a Q2 $22 Million loss, one of its biggest clients, Lowe's, confirmed it would not be coming back as title sponsor of the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The street took notice as SMI's stock was off 5% on the day. While SMI does not break out sponsorship revenue specifically, some interesting tidbits from the 8-K. On long term contracts: Ma...

Activation Tactic of the Week: $0.99 Gas

Are you looking for new ways to leverage official auto, c-store, and oil partners? Are you looking for new ways to create a promotion that directly impacts residents in the local community? Over the past (4) years, CARFAX has supported its title sponsorship of the CARFAX 400 at Michigan International Speedway (Aug. 15-16) by offering discounted gas to Michigan residents. A few weeks prior to t...

How to Package a Win-Win Sponsorship Deal

One of the best sponsorship ideas I've ever created involved Kraft Foods in Kansas City, MO years ago. Their goal was to sell product. Mine was to sell tickets. My young daughter, bless her heart, one day, spilled a box of Macaroni & Cheese out of our kitchen cupboard and out of that we created a "Noisemaker Night" promotion! The innert elements to the sponsorship worked this way: We brou...