Can the Wisdom of Crowds Help with Sponsorship?

By now most people are familiar with crowd sourcing and/or have heard of or read "The Wisdom of Crowds" by James Surowiecki. As an advocate for crowd-based decision-making, the book sang to me. It seemed to validate a lot of my suspicions, and frankly, my company Fantell is predicated on the notion that crowds are more accurate than individuals. I had never really thought about crowd wisdom...

Deal Flow 7-15-2009

Chelsea Football Club has agreed to a three-year sponsorship extension with Samsung for their jersey sponsorship, which was set to expire in 2010. No financial details were released but reports are that it was an improvement on the $18.03 million/year deal already in place. BP North America has signed a one-year agreement to become the “official fuel provider" of the Giants, according to S...

Persuasion: Convincing Thinkers, Feelers & Deferers

A cause is an important cornerstone in many sponsorship platforms. Today's "key learning" comes from Joe Waters, who is the Director of Cause Marketing for Boston Medical Center, an avid blogger at Selfishgiving.com and a rabid Boston Red Sox fan. In addition to being a one-time winner of the SponsorPitch Friday Caption Contest, he has agreed to lend us his insights on cause marketing, which i...

An End to Alcohol Sponsorships?

The social costs of alcohol in Australia are approximately $15.3 billion according to a recent report commissioned by prime minister Kevin Rudd. Now his National Preventative Health Taskforce is out to do something about it. Today the taskforce announced that it will recommend a complete ban on alcohol sponsorship of sporting events. If approved, the move could cost cricket, rugby and ot...

Strings Attached: When Sponsorship Wins Business Contracts

How much weight should sponsorship carry when awarding new services contracts? That's the question that critics were asking LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) and the ODA (Olympic Delivery Authority), the body responsible for developing new venues and infrastructure around the 2012 games, earlier today. This all came about when architects and politicians questioned C...

Deal Flow 7-16-2009

The Sears Tower, one of the world's iconic skyscrapers and the tallest building in the U.S., was renamed the Willis Tower on Thursday after the London-based insurance broker. Willis will be a major tenant, but will not pay a separate naming rights fee for the benefit. Hawaiian Airlines on Thursday was named title sponsor of the inaugural Diamond Head Classic basketball tournament. The spo...

Maybelline to become Official Cosmetic of NYC Fashion Week

Maybelline has signed a two year agreement to become the official cosmetic sponsor for IMG Fashion's Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week. The deal will start at this September's event at Bryant Park and run through the Fashion Week's anticipated move to Lincoln Center in September 2010. Maybelline New York will support a selection of well-established as well as up-and-coming designers including Cha...

Sponsorships vs. Partnerships

Jason Peck posted an information-packed piece about the subtle differences between the terms "partnership" and "sponsorship" earlier this week and a lot of people whose opinions we respect weighed in on the topic. We thought we'd make it an instant classic and provide it to our readers here as well. Enjoy and feel free to leave your own take on the topic below. Aside from having to change our ...

Deal Flow 7-17-2009

The New Orleans Saints and the Louisiana Lottery announced a marketing partnership, the fifth of its kind between NFL teams and state lotteries since the league approved lottery partners back in March. As part of the deal, the Saints will brand a scratch-off game that could award the winner tickets to a game and other prizes including autographed memorabilia and “VIP access to pregame field act...

Creepy or Clever New Shirt Sponsorship?

Just when we thought we'd successfully copied the european shirt sponsorship model in the U.S., Burger King and spanish soccer team Getafe have unveiled a whole new twist on the time-honored tradition. Yesterday spanish football team Getafe announced a one year, $1.8 million shirt sponsorship with BK. This, of course, isn't the first time "the King" has made an in-game appearance. Her...