NFL PR Guy (Brian McCarthy) Responds to Our Post

Where else can you get a reply from the NFL within 5 minutes of our below post on jersey sponsorships? Pretty cool stuff. Thanks, Brian.

More Trouble Brewing for Vancouver 2010?

Right on the heels of the news that bankrupt Vancouver Olympic Committee sponsor, General Motors, plans to honor its sponsorship agreement, more trouble could be on the horizon for yet another VANOC 2010 sponsor. You'll recall that Nortel, the official network equipment supplier of the games, has already listed VANOC as a creditor in its bankruptcy. The official airline, Air Canada, ma...

Craziest Sponsorship Category?

Desperate times call for desperate measures. New assets (jerseys) are being sponsored for the very first time and entirely new categories are being created. Yesterday, we mentioned VANOC 2010 announced that they had an "official carbon offsetter of VANOC 2010." Here in New York for example, the Mets have an official pudding and the Yanks have an official paint. So we ask you, dear ...

The Power of "Three"

In a meeting earlier today, the head of a sponsorship agency told me that he runs his firm by the motto "three good sentences." Why? Once when he was selling his sponsorship opportunity, the head of a buy-side agency told him that in a first sales call -- it's the first three sentences that matter. He went on to say that you can generally express the most important part of your sponsorship o...

Discount Retailer, Discount Ad Campaign?

Stolen identity is the theme of the week - Lifelock made a splash in the sponsorship world with their WNBA jersey deal this week and now CNBC's Darren Rovell points out that discount retailer T.J. Maxx might have taken their "value" mantra to a whole new level by using a Tiger Woods "lookalike" in a recent ad campaign. As we've looked at the past few days, properties are exploring all kin...

DOA Sponsorship Deals

What happens if the CFO slams on the breaks half way through a multi-year contract? There are always outs, but they're complicated so let's assume that is not an option. Does your activation get the axe? The standard line for activation spend is 2-3x investment... sometimes more. How has the current environment changed how marketers are activating and how much they are spending? That's a st...

TiVo: Sports Sponsorship Friend or Foe?

Sports media has long trumpeted itself as the one form of programming that was Tivo-proof under the theory that sports is a social event that fans want to watch live and won't time-shift. Afterall, if you're "ad killing" sports, you can't talk to your friend because they'll already know the score - and unless they're a good friend they'll spoil it for you! That's why it's interesting tha...

Quote of the Day

"Here's my number one fiduciary rule for big brand marketers: The executives involved in approving a sports or entertainment promotion should not be permitted to attend the event." -- Seth Godin

Best & Worst Promo Products.... Tell Us!

Ever feel like you're loaded down with crap when you leave an event? No, literally. Schwag according to Urban Dictionary is "trinkets that are often used as giveaways (ex. Come down to Taco Hell in Urbania for some free WKRP schwag)." There's quality promotional products and then there's schwag. Together, they account for the $19.4 Billion a year spent by marketers on promotional product...

Sponsorship Treading Water, IEG says 1.1% Increase in N.A.

In follow-up to last week's Mediaedge:cia study that announced a 15% increase in global sponsorship, IEG has released it's mid-year forecast calling for a 1.1% increase in North American sponsorship spending, while calling for a 3.9% growth in worldwide sponsorship spending. NA spending of 1.1% is half of what the firm forecasted back in February, but hardly a surprise given the state of the e...