Five Lessons from the Ultimate Pitchman

"Hi, Billy Mays Here!" was his famous tagline and for years he made late night television his home, moving millions upon millions of cleaning products like the Awesome Auger, Oxiclean and Orange Glo - two minutes at a time. Mays died late last week at his home in Florida, but not before leaving us with many an infomercial gem like this. While he had his critics and his style certainly was no...

Akon/Chivas' Sponsorship Sidelines "Freedom" Tour

Just four days before Akon's July 2nd concert date in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian government cracked down on the Freedom Tour stop over concerns about the stop's primary sponsor, Chivas. "We expect every show promoter in this country to abide by our rules and regulations,” said Mohammad Daud. “We have not relaxed our restrictions on cigarette and liquor sponsorship for public events like conce...

Hello Asia, As far as you know we're the best football team in America!

A simple "global branding play" according to the release and now we've got a much better glimpse at the plane itself. However you feel about the deal, the "unique" design is definitely going to get some impressions for both the team and airline. The "Commitment to Excellence" is our caption contest for the week. Give it a shot in the comments! Last week's winner=Joe Waters Bonus Quot...

Commercialism in the Classroom

This sounds like an idea that may have sprung out of the college of commerce, but may not fly with the philosophy department. "This class brought to you by..." could be the scenario for students at City College of San Francisco, if some administrators get their way. Good idea? Tough times call for tough decisions. While the recession is nobody's friend, it has opened up a lot of new opport...

Air Asia Lands in Raider Nation

Last week, we looked at JetBlue's new branded Real Salt Lake airplane, in what seemed like a good activation tactic around a pretty smart deal. No doubt, airplane branding can be an effective tool for both sponsor and property. However, the Oakland Examiner recently came across one from Raider Nation that may make you scratch your head. This is Air Asia's new plane, which is branded by the Ra...

New Business Pitch - Tough Times Require Fundamentals

I recently participated in a new business pitch for a major branded sports property. The agency team pulled together and did a great job, developing a thorough presentation and exciting creative. It’d be a great account to have on agency roster, in any economic environment. It struck me that we should approach more of our professional lives like a new biz pitch. For those in agency or consult...

UFC Zigs as Leagues Zag on Sponsorship Policy

While many sports organizations are relaxing restrictions on in-game sponsor assets and warming up to previously banned categories like casinos, state lotteries and alcohol, the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) is headed the other direction it appears. According to MMA site, fiveouncesofpain.com, the UFC has started imposing a $100k minimum fee (to UFC) for the right of brands to sponsor ...

Sponsorship Marketing's Top 10 II

OK, my 10-6 ideas of the Top 10 issues in sponsorship marketing didn’t illicit many comments on the blog. Fear not. I can report that I did talk to and get direct comments from several people about my list that pretty much validated it. My biggest takeaway: there is great passion for this business. No doubt about it. The good news is I did get some new ideas I wasn’t thinking of necessari...

How I First Learned to Sell!

Key Learnings is an ongoing collection of insights and stories from thought-leaders within the sponsorship industry. Today's key learning comes from Jim Loria who has over 30 years of sports management experience and for the past 10 years as served as President of the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede. My breakthrough in first learning the sales business came at about the lowest point in my life. It...

Next Stop... Barclays. MTA Sells Naming Rights to Sub Stop

Don't blame NYC straphangers if they start missing their stop - blame the British bank, Barclays. On Wednesday the New York City MTA is expected to approve a $4 million naming rights agreement to add "Barclays" to the Atlantic Avenue-Pacific Street and Flatbush Avenue subway station nearly five years after announcing their intention to do so. The first deal of its kind, if approved today, is ...