We have teamed up with Ben Sturner and his extraordinary crew at Leverage Agency to bring you the top five movers and shakers each week in the world of sports sponsorships and marketing.

Visa Kicks Off Another Season With NFL Sponsorship

Visa is going into  its 15th year of sponsorship with the NFL and has new marketing plans including greater emphasis on local teams.

Visa has become the exclusive payment services sponsor of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans — adding to its roster that already includes the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers.

Visa is the preferred card for ticket sales, concessions and merchandise and will have point-of-sale branding online and at all team payment terminals within the stadiums, including concession areas and team shops of 13 NFL teams.

Guinness Challenges Fans to Go ‘Head to Head’ With Jerome Bettis

Guinness® launched the Guinness Pro Challenge, a national contest to find consumers bold enough to go head-to-head with professional football legend Jerome “The Bus” Bettis. Consumers can share their most memorable athletic moment of character and courage at www.Guinness.com for the chance to win a trip to Dallas the week of pro football’s post-season finale and take on Bettis in a head-to-head Guinness pint pouring competition.

Between now and October 31 U.S. residents, who are at least 21 years of age at the time of entry, can visit the website and detail in 100 words or less a moment where they boldly stepped up to face an athletic challenge and persevered. Entries will be judged on originality, creativity and adherence to the theme; and one grand prize winner will be chosen.

JPMorgan Chase’s MSG blockbuster

JPMorgan Chase has agreed to a massive sponsorship deal with Madison Square Garden worth at least $30 million a year, which stands as the most lucrative annual building/team sponsorship agreement to date.

Multiple sources confirmed the top-level deal valued at $300 million over 10 years or more in securing rights to almost every asset in the Garden, which is undergoing an $800 million phased renovation with final completion expected by 2013. The precise timing of when the deal starts and the nature of Chase’s broad financial services rights could not be learned, but they are expected to include naming rights to areas inside the Garden, as well as a significant media component.

EA Enlists Wayne Gretzky To Sell ‘NHL Slapshot’

To advertise its first hockey game for the Wii gaming system, NHL Slapshot, EA Sports envisions what it’s like for Wayne Gretzky to be out of the action but wanting to be in it at the same time. A television spot, breaking this week, shows Gretzky watching an NHL game, stick in hand. As plays are made, Gretzky swings, destroying multiple items in his living room.

A housekeeper, obviously disgusted by the repeated destruction, plugs in the Wii game and gives him the game’s hockey-stick game controller (which is much smaller than a real stick). Gretzky and a young opponent (also supplied by the housekeeper) play the game with little further household destruction. The tagline is: “Authentic Hockey Action. Wii Hockey Stick.”

Canadian Solar And San Francisco Giants Announce Partnership

Canadian Solar Inc. (the “Company”, “we” or “Canadian Solar”), one of the world’s largest solar companies, announced today that it has become a sponsor of Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants. As part of the partnership, Canadian Solar and the Giants will launch the “Score with Canadian Solar” sweepstakes. Baseball and solar fans can go online at http://www.sfgiants.com to enter to win Giants tickets, authentic Major League baseballs autographed by a current Giants player and free solar installation quotes.

The San Francisco Giants are leaders in green business practices, making AT&T Park the first Major League ballpark to receive U.S Green Building Council certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Existing Buildings, Operations and Maintenance (EBO&M). The Giants have also led endeavors in water and energy efficiency and recycling and compost practices, including use of solar electricity, a stringent waste recycling system and a smart water system.

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About Ben Sturner

Ben Sturner is the Founder and CEO of Leverage Agency, one of the most respected, innovative, resourceful and ambitious sports and entertainment branding sponsorship agencies on Madison Avenue. Sturner has taken his multi-million dollar business from a small start-up in his New York City apartment to a premiere agency that has secured deals for clients including: Jimmy Kimmel Live, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball, KFC, Gillette, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Reebok, Comcast, Anheuser Busch, Fremantle Media, Mark Burnett Productions and NBC’s Prime Time Celebrity Apprentice, Reveille, Radical Media, as well as other top-tier brands. Ben has been named NYC Entrepreneur of the month in TrueNYC.com and has been interviewed and featured on ESPN, NBC, CNBC, USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL as an expert in sports and entertainment sponsorship.

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We have teamed up with Ben Sturner and his extraordinary crew at Leverage Agency to bring you the top five movers and shakers each week in the world of sports sponsorships and marketing.

Top Chinese Athletic Brand Signs NBA’s Evan Turner

For years, we’ve been talking about the importance of American sports brands, including shoe companies like Nike, getting into China. We haven’t talked as much about Chinese shoe companies getting into this country.

That’s about to change. CNBC has exclusively learned that Li-Ning, China’s top athletic brand, has signed Evan Turner, the No. 2 pick in this year’s NBA Draft to a multi-year deal that will make him the face of the brand.

Wal-Mart to climb aboard Gordon’s car?

Wal-Mart’s potential move into NASCAR has led the retail giant deep into negotiations with Hendrick Motorsports over sponsorship of Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet next season.

There continue to be several moving parts to the Wal-Mart discussions with Hendrick and NASCAR, which began in the spring and have progressed through the summer. Wal-Mart’s play could have tentacles in both sponsorship and licensing at the team and league level, according to industry sources.

The retailer has been hesitant to spend money on sports sponsorships in the past, so Wal-Mart’s entrance to NASCAR would provide a huge boost to a sport that has been ravaged by the recession and attracted little new sponsorship money in the last two seasons.

Shift would allow sponsor logos on swimwear

Soccer has corporate logos on jerseys, and NASCAR has them on cars. Soon swimmers could have them on swimsuits.

USA Swimming is considering amending its swimwear rules to allow professional and amateur swimmers to wear two corporate logos on their suits, caps, goggles and other clothing. If the rule is approved by USA Swimming’s board in September, swimmers will be able to wear the logos on their suits and caps for the first time at USA Swimming events.

To date, swimmers have been allowed to wear only the trademark logo of their suit, cap or goggle manufacturer. The new rule would allow them to wear the logo of any corporation provided it is not associated with tobacco, alcohol or pharmaceuticals that contain banned substances. Logos could even conflict with existing USA Swimming partners.

Suiting Up in Jerseys Suitable for Women

The campaign, called “N.F.L. Women’s Apparel, Fit For You,” takes an approach to marketing clothing that is meant to be both fashionable and sporty. While jerseys and T-shirts for women have been available on Web sites like nflshop.com and in catalogs, this is the first time the league has dedicated a campaign to apparel for women.

If the terms “fashionable” and “football jersey” seem contradictory, that may be because of the way jerseys have been made.

The league has carried women’s attire for the last 10 years, but followed the “shrink it and pink it” philosophy of taking a man’s jersey and making it smaller and, well, pink.

Discover To Serve As New Orange Bowl Game Title Sponsor

Discover Financial Services, the Orange Bowl Committee and ESPN announced today that an agreement has been reached for Discover to be the title sponsor for the 2011-2014 Orange Bowl Games and the 2013 BCS National Championship Game. The Orange Bowl Game will be known as the “Discover Orange Bowl” and the 2013 BCS National Championship game to be hosted by the Orange Bowl in South Florida will be named the “2013 Discover BCS National Championship Game.” Under the partnership, Discover will be the official card of the Orange Bowl and the Bowl Championship Series.

In conjunction with this new alliance, a new game mark has been developed that will be incorporated into all Discover Orange Bowl and BCS-related materials.

The four-year deal includes the multi-media integration of Discover as part of ESPN’s season-long college football coverage and marketing.

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About Ben Sturner

Ben Sturner is the Founder and CEO of Leverage Agency, one of the most respected, innovative, resourceful and ambitious sports and entertainment branding sponsorship agencies on Madison Avenue. Sturner has taken his multi-million dollar business from a small start-up in his New York City apartment to a premiere agency that has secured deals for clients including: Jimmy Kimmel Live, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball, KFC, Gillette, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Reebok, Comcast, Anheuser Busch, Fremantle Media, Mark Burnett Productions and NBC’s Prime Time Celebrity Apprentice, Reveille, Radical Media, as well as other top-tier brands. Ben has been named NYC Entrepreneur of the month in TrueNYC.com and has been interviewed and featured on ESPN, NBC, CNBC, USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL as an expert in sports and entertainment sponsorship.

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We have teamed up with Ben Sturner and his extraordinary crew at Leverage Agency to bring you the top five movers and shakers each week in the world of sports sponsorships and marketing.

American Eagle’s Sponsorship Program Takes Flight
Joining the growing number of apparel brands sponsoring to build visibility, gain differentiation and drive retail traffic, American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. is expanding its use of the medium. Looking to make a stronger connection with its 15-to-25-year-old target, AEO recently announced a three-year partnership with collegiate athletics’ Big East Conference, around which it will present the men’s and women’s basketball championships.

Munich 2018 bid announces Allianz as new partner
Global financial services provider Allianz was yesterday unveiled as the latest partner to support Munich’s bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018.

NBA’s Nash, Deutsch’s Duda Team to Launch Startup
The latest venture sprouting forth from Madison Avenue is a marketing consultancy armed with a $20 million investment fund to take stakes in start-up companies. But beyond its bankroll, the firm has serious drawing power at the helm: Phoenix Suns basketball star Steve Nash and a widely respected agency executive, Deutsch’s Michael Duda.

Boingo Bounces Into Venue Sponsorships
Already operating 132,000 hotspots around the world-at locations including airports, hotels and restaurants-Wi-Fi provider Boingo Wireless, Inc. is aiming to add sports venues to its network, with sponsorship playing a key role in its expansion plans. Case in point: Boingo has partnered with two AEG-managed multi-purpose venues: The Home Depot Center in Carson, California and Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.

After Toning Tushes, Reebok Tackles Thighs
On the heels of its hit with EasyTone, the sneakers that promise to tone women’s tushes, Reebok is set to introduce a line of EasyTone workout clothing. Come November, women will be able to buy pants, shorts and capris that promise a workout for thighs and rears just by slipping them on, as well as tanks and tees that it claims will improve posture, alignment and flexibility.

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About Ben Sturner

Ben Sturner is the Founder and CEO of Leverage Agency, one of the most respected, innovative, resourceful and ambitious sports and entertainment branding sponsorship agencies on Madison Avenue. Sturner has taken his multi-million dollar business from a small start-up in his New York City apartment to a premiere agency that has secured deals for clients including: Jimmy Kimmel Live, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball, KFC, Gillette, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Reebok, Comcast, Anheuser Busch, Fremantle Media, Mark Burnett Productions and NBC’s Prime Time Celebrity Apprentice, Reveille, Radical Media, as well as other top-tier brands. Ben has been named NYC Entrepreneur of the month in TrueNYC.com and has been interviewed and featured on ESPN, NBC, CNBC, USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL as an expert in sports and entertainment sponsorship.

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Euroleague Basketball signs first-ever title sponsor

Europe’s main club basketball competition is going to be renamed Turkish Airlines Euroleague Basketball after a ground-breaking sponsorship agreement signed by the airline and the league.

Tim Tebow Gets Chance To Take On Michael Jordan

• Jockey announced the signing of Tim Tebow to a multi-year endorsement deal to endorse its line of products, including what it calls its new “Staycool” collection, which will hit stores in the spring of next year.

• It’s the brand’s biggest sports endorser since the company signed Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer to start posing in briefs exactly 30 years ago.

TaylorMade-Adidas Pits Two to Twitter Way Into a Job

How far would you go for a job? Would you eat a bug or wash an elephant? Both those challenges were presented to two contenders for the title of social-media catalyst at golf juggernaut TaylorMade-Adidas. To test the social-media mettle of its two finalists, the company dispensed with round-robin interviews and luncheons and dispatched them on the ultimate job tryout: a 50-day, nine-country golfing trip chronicled on Facebook, Twitter and other sites. Along the way, the contenders must respond to interactive challenges that include everything from creating a viral commercial to participating in user-generated contests — such as eating a bug or washing an elephant on their most recent stop in Thailand.

Want to Score in Sports? Create a Connection

And few people are more qualified to make sense of this turbulent and fascinating year than Michael Levine, co-head of CAA Sports since 2007. Mr. Levine leads a unit that not only represents more than 500 of the world’s most famous athletes, but is also active in the areas of corporate marketing, broadcast rights and sports-property sponsorship sales. Ad Age recently caught up with Mr. Levine for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of the sports world.

Coke, P&G Find Consistency Wins Out for Global Sports Platforms

• Pricey sports sponsorships are often described as a casualty of the digital revolution. Why write a nine-figure check to be an official partner of the FIFA World Cup or the Olympics when a well-executed web video such as Nike’s “Write the Future” can score 20 million online views or associate a non-sponsor more strongly with an event than the companies that paid for the affiliation?

• Increasingly, mega-marketers are finding that the best way to make such sponsorships worth their considerable cost — and fend off well-executed ambush attempts — is to connect every activity related to the sponsorship to one big idea.

Pro Football Is One Game Major Marketers Want to Play (and Buy)

The chain is far from alone. Marketer interest in the NFL has been so strong that the league actually moved to reduce its number of sponsors to 21 for the upcoming season from 30 corporate partners in 2001 and 24 in 2008. The purpose was to avoid the sponsor-overload of, say, a Nascar, which has done a good job of delineating the categories for its partners so there are no conflicts but, nonetheless, still has 49 corporate sponsors.

Official Sponsors Score With World Cup

The six official FIFA partners successfully fended off some good ambush-marketing tactics, and while most of the evidence is anecdotal in nature only 15 days after Spain’s victory over Holland, there is a cautious optimism that the sponsors — Adidas, Coca-Cola, Visa, Sony, Hyundai/Kia and Emirates Airlines — got a big bang for their $125 million.

LG boosts F1 tie-ups with Red Bull deal

• The multi-season partnership extends LG’s current sponsorship of the F1, as a global partner and technology partner of the championship.

• Under the deal, LG will supply Red Bull Racing with its latest products at track and at the team’s headquarters.

Premier League signs EA Sports as technology partner

Under the deal EA Sports branding will feature on all live on-screen broadcasts of Premier League matches – both domestically and internationally – and the company will work with the League’s broadcasters to enhance fan interaction elements of coverage through graphics, animations and other technology. EA’s video game license with the League has also been extended as part of the new deal.

Jordan Gets Comfortable With Hanes (Again)

• Hanes can’t get enough of Michael Jordan. The basketball pro is yet again the star of new ads in an ongoing campaign for men’s underwear, dubbed “Hanes Flight 23.”

• The TV spots, breaking this week, mark phase two of a Hanes campaign—via The Martin Agency—that kicked off in May. The ads highlight new underwear with Comfort Flex waistbands, which are more stretchable waistbands now included in all Hanes men’s briefs, boxers and boxer briefs.

DirecTV Plays Offense With NFL Ads

• DirecTV Group Inc. is launching its biggest advertising campaign yet for its marquee property, NFL Sunday Ticket, as it faces mounting pressure from pay-television competitors increasingly offering rival NFL packages.

• The country’s largest satellite-TV operator will kick off next month an elaborate marketing campaign spanning television, magazines, radio and the Internet for its NFL package, which offers football fans every NFL game on Sunday afternoons for $300 a year.

IMG Moves Further Into School Sports

• IMG Worldwide, a talent- and entertainment-management company that represents stars including Tiger Woods and Roger Federer, is buying ISP, a collegiate-sports marketing firm.

• The deal, said to be valued at between $80 million and $100 million, will make New York-based IMG by far the leading company that represents colleges and universities in their efforts to maximize revenue through media and marketing-rights deals.

• Thus far, college-sports marketing has proven to be a low-margin business. Even the biggest schools have profits that are a fraction of the top professional teams. But IMG is betting that buying ISP will give it a critical mass of high-profile collegiate properties it can package together, allowing college sports to compete with the major professional sports leagues for national marketing and sponsorship deals.

Gatorade to sponsor NHL Hockey Operations camp

• Gatorade has signed a deal to be the title sponsor of the National Hockey League (NHL) Hockey Operations camp.

• The camp, which is scheduled to take place on the 18th and 19th August at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ practice facility, features over 30 prospects eligible for the 2011 Entry Draft, and will test a number of suggested rule changes and modifications to the NHL game or playing surface. Daily scrimmages will create live game-like situations with these variations.

Couples Behind Golf Industry’s Surprise Best Seller

• Freddie Couples didn’t win this year’s Masters. But what happened to the shoes he wore in Augusta through, and the subsequent demand for them, will be part of sports marketing lore.

• The fascinating story has its roots at a sales conference in January, when Ecco unveiled its spikeless Golf Street shoes

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About Ben Sturner

Ben Sturner is the Founder and CEO of Leverage Agency, one of the most respected, innovative, resourceful and ambitious sports and entertainment branding sponsorship agencies on Madison Avenue. Sturner has taken his multi-million dollar business from a small start-up in his New York City apartment to a premiere agency that has secured deals for clients including: Jimmy Kimmel Live, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball, KFC, Gillette, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Reebok, Comcast, Anheuser Busch, Fremantle Media, Mark Burnett Productions and NBC’s Prime Time Celebrity Apprentice, Reveille, Radical Media, as well as other top-tier brands. Ben has been named NYC Entrepreneur of the month in TrueNYC.com and has been interviewed and featured on ESPN, NBC, CNBC, USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL as an expert in sports and entertainment sponsorship.

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The Elliptical For The Rich, Tai Chi For The Poor

*         Every year, the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association releases its state of sports participation in America study. The 64-page document is filled with interesting tidbits that will make you smarter at the office water cooler.

*         Of all the fitness machines, the elliptical motion trainer has the highest percentage of participants whose annual household income exceeds $100,000 a year. Forty percent of those who use the elliptical make over $100,000.

Internal Watchdog Criticizes ESPN for Ethical Missteps on LeBron James Coverage

*         ESPN’s internal journalism watchdog sharply criticized the cable-sports network for what he said were ethical missteps in its recent broadcast of a TV program devoted to basketball star LeBron James.

*         The Walt Disney Co. network two weeks ago aired a one-hour special about James, who used the program to announce that he signed with a new team, the Miami Heat. In an unusual arrangement, James’s sports-marketing company suggested the program to ESPN and brokered an arrangement whereby the show’s advertisers donated money to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, a charity James supports.

EA Sports Campaign Taps Football Stars, Fans

To launch the 11th iteration of its NCAA Football game, EA Sports is taking both a national and regional approach with its advertising campaign. A national television commercial features fans and football luminaries (such as Ronnie Lott, Tim Tebow, John Elway and Desmond Howard) talking about their college football fanaticism by completing the phrase “Where I come from …” with a team-specific comment.

Chris ‘Beanie’ Wells signs endorsement deal with Blimpie

Sandwich maker Blimpie has signed Arizona Cardinals player Chris “Beanie” Wells to an endorsement deal. The Arizona Cardinals running back will be a spokesperson for the company.  Its rival Subway has relied heavily on sports figures in the past for its advertisements, including Michael Phelps, Michael Strahan and CC Sabathia. Blimpie has very infrequently used athletes as spokespersons but did star Nascar driver Jeff Gordon in Blimpie marketing in 2005. Wells is its first ambassador from the National Football League (NFL).

Going to Bat for America’s Youth

Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association are joining First Lady Michelle Obama in her “Let’s Move!” effort to prevent childhood obesity. Obama today introduced a new public service campaign featuring players from 30 MLB teams to encourage families to make healthy nutritional and physical activity choices.

World Cup boosts supermarket promotions

Market growth reached 4.4% and more than a third (34.5%) of goods were sold on promotion as the major supermarkets offered aggressive promotions to take advantage of World Cup celebrations and warm weather.

Minnesota Vikings hit the jackpot with lotto deal

The Minnesota Vikings have become the latest NFL team to strike a deal with a local lottery provider after signing with the Minnesota State Lottery.

IMG takes golf to the skies

*         IMG has announced the launch of HSBC Golfing World, an exciting golf television programming concept, customised specifically for the Inflight market.

*         HSBC Golfing World will take the best and most compelling material from the existing Golfing World show (a comprehensive hour-long golf magazine show that mixes the latest news, interviews, lifestyle features and tournament updates, and is currently aired in over 30 countries, five days per week) and make it available in a monthly version to passengers on many of the world’s top airlines. The dedicated 30 minute per month version of HSBC Golfing World will air on British Airways, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines amongst others from August 2010.

Dogleg Right: The Strategy Behind KitchenAid’s New Golf Ties

In May, Whirlpool Corp. and the PGA of America agreed to a four-year deal that names the appliance giant’s premium KitchenAid brand as presenting sponsor of the Senior PGA Championship and official home appliance of the golf organization. In addition to aligning with new marketing goals for the KitchenAid unit, the sponsorship also furthers a corporate objective to support its headquarters community.

Coke’s World Cup Song Is a Marketing Winner

*         Music industry executives have been making an unusual pilgrimage to Coca-Cola’s (KO) Atlanta headquarters, a telling measure of the company’s successful World Cup soccer marketing blitz. They want to learn how Coke turned a song called Wavin’ Flag by a little-known Somali-Canadian hip-hop artist into a World Cup anthem and No. 1 iTunes hit in 17 countries in less than a year. “They are getting on planes from New York, from U.K., from Los Angeles,” says Joe Belliotti, Coke’s director of global entertainment. “Word of mouth is a great thing in the music industry.”

*         Initially, Coke had hoped only to create a World Cup song good enough to entice stadiums full of soccer fans to sing along. To get there, it forged an unusual partnership with singer-songwriter K’naan and his label, A&M/Octone Records, that has ended up changing the way Coke works with entertainment companies.

Colt McCoy signs endorsement deal with Russell Athletic

Russell Athletic has signed a deal with former University of Texas and current National Football League (NFL) Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy to represent the company’s brands, including Spalding, BIKE and Russell Outdoors. McCoy will also work with Russell Athletic in continuous research and development of products across the family of brands.

Air Guard signs five-race contract with Nascar

The Air Guard, which received a one percent awareness rate across the US, is sponsoring the new number 26 car, owned by Bill Jenkins. In addition, the Air Guard will be at schools and different events in the area leading up to the race, in an effort to promote its name and image.

HR Derby loses some of its pop

*         Some of MLB’s largest corporate sponsorship deals are up after this season, which should make for an interesting winter for MLB sales and marketing officials.

*         Among those deals due to expire are MasterCard, a league sponsor since 1998 and a company that began its now iconic “Priceless” ad campaign with a general baseball ad; Anheuser-Busch, MLB’s oldest true corporate sponsor at 30 years; Chevrolet, a five-year sponsor; and Bank of America, in place since 2004.

Minor-League Baseball Creates One-Stop Digital-Ad-Buying Platform

If a marketer wanted to run an ad to cover all 160 teams that make up the various leagues, ad buyers once needed to have 160 different conversations — a daunting and unpleasant task to reach the 60 million visitors to Minor League Baseball during its six-month season last year. But a new digital-buying platform rolled out this season has centralized the process so marketers need only have one contact with a league rep to run an ad across nearly the entire network of sites, potentially opening it up to more business from national advertisers. Marketers such as Kraft and PepsicCo’s Frito Corn Chips have already signed on to the system created by Minor League Baseball, which partnered with Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Some 148 teams are currently taking part.

The Dow Chemical Company Becomes Worldwide Olympic Partner

The Dow Chemical Company chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris announced today that the company has become an official Worldwide Olympic Partner as part of The Olympic Partners Program (TOP). As the official “Chemistry Company” of the Olympic Movement, Dow will partner with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and National Olympic Committees around the world through 2020.

OUT! Pet Care Targets New Market By Sponsoring NASCAR Car

OUT! Pet Care is pleased to announce its strategic sponsorship of Trevor Bayne’s No. 99 Toyota Camry. OUT! Pet Care recognized the opportunity to reach out to NASCAR fans where previously only pet food companies have represented from the pet industry. This sponsorship marks the beginning of an aggressive national brand awareness campaign targeting new and unique markets, including the 48 million pet-owning NASCAR fans.

Tiger’s Sponsors Need Woods To Win Now

No matter how far Tiger fell, true marketing insiders continued to tell me that he’d be able to make some sort of marketing comeback as long as he started winning.

TVG sponsorship will keep Del Mar race purse at $1M

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club has signed a sponsorship deal with horse racing channel TVG that will allow the Southern California meet to keep the purse for its premier race, the Pacific Classic, at $1 million.

Blackhawks’ Cup provides nice boost for league’s licensees

The Chicago Blackhawks’ first Stanley Cup championship in 49 years boosted many licensees to new heights, and the extent of the demand allowed even hard-good licensees to share in the riches of a championship market, normally reserved for apparel licensees selling championship T-shirts and caps.

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About Ben Sturner

Ben Sturner is the Founder and CEO of Leverage Agency, one of the most respected, innovative, resourceful and ambitious sports and entertainment branding sponsorship agencies on Madison Avenue. Sturner has taken his multi-million dollar business from a small start-up in his New York City apartment to a premiere agency that has secured deals for clients including: Jimmy Kimmel Live, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball, KFC, Gillette, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Reebok, Comcast, Anheuser Busch, Fremantle Media, Mark Burnett Productions and NBC’s Prime Time Celebrity Apprentice, Reveille, Radical Media, as well as other top-tier brands. Ben has been named NYC Entrepreneur of the month in TrueNYC.com and has been interviewed and featured on ESPN, NBC, CNBC, USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL as an expert in sports and entertainment sponsorship.

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LeBron Can Make More With Heat Than Cavs

• But if you match up what James’ salary would be for the first five years in Cleveland and the five years in Miami, you find that the Cavaliers are only offering him $4 million more.

Tebow Leading League In Jersey Sales

• It has been three months, and Tim Tebow still hasn’t taken a single (real) snap under center for the Denver Broncos, yet he’s leading the league in jersey sales.

Gillette, Not the Best Ads a Man Can Get

• Cynicism runs amok among our hallowed list this week. And the biggest culprit of that kind of audience distrust is none other than Gillette. The razor maker owns the top spot with last week’s debut video, “Perfect Length,” as well as this week’s No. 5 slot, newcomer “Young Guns,” which drew over 3.7 million views combined.

Petal Advertising

• To create a sense of unique opulence, flower designers Blue and Blooms were bought in. This company was the first in the U.K. to use organic media in the form of flowers to promote brands. The innovative approach to printing on fresh flowers creates a creative marketing tool for companies looking to use branded flowers that turn heads and create attention.

TripAdvisor launches travel creative challenge

• In an effort to show the effectiveness of display advertising, TripAdvisor is challenging travel brands and advertising agencies to create an ad campaign which will run on the travel website.
• The campaigns will be judged by a panel of TripAdvisor sales and marketing experts, the winning campaign will receive around $314,500 in equivalent CPM advertising media value on TripAdvisor.

Cold Stone Looks to Drive Store Traffic With Facebook E-Gifts

• Cold Stone Creamery is the latest brand to embrace social media applications on Facebook. Starting this week, the ice cream chain will allow consumers to send tangible gifts to friends via the social network.
• Using the e-gift app, developed by e-commerce firm First Data Corp., consumers can select one or more friends to send gifts to, either by adding them from Facebook or entering their e-mail address. Unlike virtual gifts on Facebook, however, the Cold Stone app sends a code for a physical product that can be redeemed at any of the chain’s 1,300 locations.

Jack Johnson And FilterForGood Join Forces To Promote Bottled Water-free Initiatives

• When Jack Johnson heads out on a 35-date North American tour this month in support of his new album, To the Sea, the singer, songwriter, surfer and environmental advocate will leave an even lighter footprint with help from Brita.
• Johnson is inviting Brita to join his tour to help expand his already unparalleled greening efforts. Brita’s FilterForGood movement, which has been working since 2007 to reduce bottled water waste, will be embedded on the tour to provide Brita-filtered water to the band, crew and fans and encourage concert-goers to make other simple environmentally friendly choices that are better for the Earth and our oceans.

Children’s Food Marketing Guidelines Delayed

• A working group made up of officials from several federal agencies proposed the voluntary restrictions in December limiting the marketing to children of foods and beverages that contain significant amounts of sugar, sodium and saturated fat. The standards were then expected to be made available for public comment before being delivered to Congress this month. Instead, they have yet to be publicized.

European Plane Maker Submits Bid for U.S. Tankers

• The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company submitted an 8,800-page bid on Thursday for a $35 billion Air Force tanker contract amid tensions over whether European subsidies would give it a cost advantage over Boeing.

Opening a Big Store in China, Apple Remains a Market Underdog

• The company, which has been slow to cultivate the Chinese market, has relatively few sales outlets in the country and only one Apple Store — a modest branch in Beijing.
• But with Apple set to open a flagship showroom on Saturday in Shanghai — one of its largest stores in Asia — the company is making a new push to tap into the world’s biggest mobile phone market and grab a bigger share of China’s fast-growing consumer electronics business.

A Sharp Focus on Design When the Package Is Part of the Product

• SALES of facial tissue during the cold and flu season are, appropriately enough, feverish, but not so during the summer. In the four weeks that ended July 12, 2009, for example, revenue for the products totaled $57.8 million, compared with $92.4 million in the four weeks ending Jan. 24, 2010, a difference of nearly 60 percent, according to SymphonyIRI Group, a market research company whose data does not include Wal-Mart sales.
• Now Kleenex, the brand that invented facial tissues 86 years ago, is hoping to bolster summer sales with packages that resemble wedges of fruit and look more at home on a picnic table than a bedside table. The A-frame packages, featuring fruits like watermelon, orange and lime, were available only at Target last summer, and are being sold at all major retailers this summer.

G.E. Has a ‘Capital’ Idea

• G.E. will start to find that out as it rolls out ads for its GE Capital unit, which was battered by the financial crisis because of its exposure in areas like commercial real estate and consumer credit card debt.
• The campaign features actual companies with which GE Capital works. The first is Taylor Guitars, founded in 1974, and others will include Kalitta Air, JetBlue Airways and Triumph Motorcycles.

RIM Needs a Lift with BlackBerry 6

• Research In Motion (RIMM) presented Queen Elizabeth II with a white BlackBerry during a royal visit to the Canadian company’s headquarters on July 5. Her Royal Highness is an apt representative of RIM’s customer base: established, traditional, and likelier to use a phone to e-mail instructions to staff than download Lady Gaga videos. In short, not the audience co-Chief Executive Officer Jim Balsillie has to woo as RIM loses ground to Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone and handsets running Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system.

Cisco Wants Flip In On NBC’s Olympic 2012 Plans

• Cisco provided NBC with Flip video cameras to allow U.S. athletes, bloggers, reporters and analysts to record the behind-the-scenes stories in Vancouver and share the videos on NBCOlympics.com. It’s not clear whether NBC will enter into a similar agreement with the company for the upcoming Olympic games that begin July 27, 2012, although Cisco will support the advanced infrastructure for the London 2012 games.

Boro offers monthly shirt sponsorship packages

• Middlesbrough has launched “front of shirt” sponsorship packages on a monthly basis after season-long offers failed to meet the English Championship club expectations.

Multi-million pound boost for Tottenham Hotspur

• The deal, with Autonomy Corporation PLC, a global leader in infrastructure software, will run for two years and only covers Premier League matches. Financial details were not released, but the deal is known to be worth more than the £8.5 million (US$12.9 million) annual sum Spurs were receiving from Mansion. The Autonomy partnership is believed to be closer to £10 million (US$15 million) per season, while Spurs will sign another shirt sponsor for cup games, including the Uefa Champions League.

Toyota plans to use customer accolades in campaign

• Toyota is to highlight user experiences and industry accolades in its latest marketing push in an attempt to reassure consumers following a spate of recalls and faults.
• The company wants to extend the theme of its “Your Toyota is My Toyota” pan-European advertising campaign, and says it is focused on “overcoming prejudices”.

Skip the Scotch, Just Have a Swig of Mellowberry

• “Relaxation shots” like Snoozeberry and iChill and soporific beverages with names like Unwind, Dream Water, Koma Unwind Chillaxation and Drank are aiming to take away the very buzz their caffeinated predecessors were designed to deliver. There are already more than 350 kinds of relaxation drinks on the market, according to Agata Kaczanowska, an analyst with the research company IBISWorld. Instead of slogans like Jolt’s “All the sugar and twice the caffeine,” these new drinks proffer serenity with maxims like Unwind’s “Tired of being wired?” and Drank’s “Slow your roll.”

Panasonic in biggest ever Lumix campaign

• The campaign, created by The Campaign Palace, features three 30-second TV spots, which will run across free-to-air and pay TV.
• The creative focuses on the theme “You don’t have to be a great photographer to take great photos”, and is backed by targeted magazine and online advertising, as well as outdoor and point-of-sale activity.
• The print and online advertising will be highly targeted. For instance, ads relating to the DMC-TZ10 Lumix model will focus on travel media, whereas ads relating to the DMC FT2 model will target niche surfing, skating and snowboarding media.

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About Ben Sturner

Ben Sturner is the Founder and CEO of Leverage Agency, one of the most respected, innovative, resourceful and ambitious sports and entertainment branding sponsorship agencies on Madison Avenue. Sturner has taken his multi-million dollar business from a small start-up in his New York City apartment to a premiere agency that has secured deals for clients including: Jimmy Kimmel Live, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball, KFC, Gillette, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Reebok, Comcast, Anheuser Busch, Fremantle Media, Mark Burnett Productions and NBC’s Prime Time Celebrity Apprentice, Reveille, Radical Media, as well as other top-tier brands. Ben has been named NYC Entrepreneur of the month in TrueNYC.com and has been interviewed and featured on ESPN, NBC, CNBC, USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL as an expert in sports and entertainment sponsorship.

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Bob Arum Says Deal Reached For Yankee Stadium To Host June Bout

• Top Rank Chair Bob Arum Thursday night said that Yankee Stadium will host a June 5 bout between Yuri Foreman and Miguel Cotto, according to Dave Skretta of the AP.
• Yankee Stadium could hold 30,000-35,000 fans for Foreman-Cotto bout.

(www.sportsbusinessdaily.com)

LPGA renews Blue Diamond, signs Florida’s Natural

By John Lombardo

• The LPGA has renewed its sponsorship deal with Blue Diamond Almonds and signed Florida’s Natural Brand citrus growers as an official partner.

(www.sportsbusinessjournal.com)

Pacquiao, Mayweather Fights Spawn Promotions

By Karl Greenberg

• For the Mayweather fight, there is a “Who RU Picking?” campaign — a nod to the social-media effort HBO is putting behind the fight — has Tecate doing a $3 million campaign that includes a $30 rebate for the PPV fight. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, speaking at the Tuesday press launch of the fight in New York, said DeWalt Power Tools is also activating.
• For the Pacquiao fight, Tecate is doing a campaign that it had to put together on short notice, since the fight was developed shortly after the Pacquiao/Mayweather mega-fight fell through, per Carlos Boughton, brand director for Tecate. “It started as ‘well, let’s see what we can do,’ as we got notice a bit later.” Tecate and Top Rank are offering a $20 mail-in rebate coupon for the HBO PPV event with the purchase of a 12-pack or larger of Tecate or Tecate Light.

(www.mediapost.com)

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Image by wallyg

About Ben Sturner

Ben Sturner is the Founder and CEO of Leverage Agency, one of the most respected, innovative, resourceful and ambitious sports and entertainment branding sponsorship agencies on Madison Avenue. Sturner has taken his multi-million dollar business from a small start-up in his New York City apartment to a premiere agency that has secured deals for clients including: Jimmy Kimmel Live, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball, KFC, Gillette, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Reebok, Comcast, Anheuser Busch, Fremantle Media, Mark Burnett Productions and NBC’s Prime Time Celebrity Apprentice, Reveille, Radical Media, as well as other top-tier brands. Ben has been named NYC Entrepreneur of the month in TrueNYC.com and has been interviewed and featured on ESPN, NBC, CNBC, USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL as an expert in sports and entertainment sponsorship.

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Rebranding: ESPN360 Becomes ESPN3 In April

By David Goetzl

• The online live sports hub, ESPN360.com, will be rebranded ESPN3.com in April. ESPN3 will be available in 50 million homes, free to subscribers of broadband providers that have agreed to pay ESPN a TV-style fee to offer it.
• ESPN has not used Web lexicon recently in referring to ESPN360 — classifying it instead as a network. In a statement, ESPN executive Sean Bratches, who oversees marketing, said the ESPN3 switch “closely aligns with the existing name convention” for ESPN channels. Expansion from the 1979 flagship began with ESPN2 in 1993.

(www.mediapost.com)

Denny’s: Another 2 Million Free Grand Slams Served

By Karlene Lukovitz

• The dishes had barely been cleared when Denny’s issued a press release announcing that it had served approximately 2 million free Grand Slams during its second breakfast giveaway yesterday — roughly the same number served in the chain’s first post-Super Bowl giveaway last year.
• Denny’s estimated that tables turned every 15 minutes and that some restaurants served more than 200 breakfasts per hour — a rate apparently greater than last year’s average, although that increase “was offset by bad weather across the country.” The promotion ran between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m.
• Denny’s CEO Nelson Marchioli proclaimed the event “a great day for Americans” as well as for the chain. “We received an outpouring of the most genuine and heartwarming comments from our guests, servers and managers,” he added. “We hope to continue to connect with our guests with real affordable offers all year long so they can fall in love with Denny’s again.”

(www.mediapost.com)

Doritos Spot Sets Record, Most-Watched Ever

By Wayne Friedman

• This past Super Bowl was the most-watched TV show of all time — with 106.5 million average viewers. This has resulted in viewership records for Super Bowl commercials, as well.
• The Nielsen Company now says the Doritos commercial featuring two men attacked in a gym for stealing someone else’s Doritos was seen by an estimated 116.2 million viewers, which makes it the most-watched TV commercial of all time.
• Audi’s Green Police came in second with 115.6 million and Electronic Arts’ Dante’s Inferno spot came in third place at 115.0 million.
• Focus on the Family’s controversial ad featuring Tim Tebow tied for the least-viewed ad of Super Bowl XLIV, according to Nielsen. The commercial got heavy pre-game buzz going into the game. This coincides with what many social-networking analyses have revealed — most of the attention for the campaign happened before the Super Bowl.

(www.mediapost.com)

Super Bowl S*M*A*S*H*E*S* Record

By Wayne Friedman

• For the third year in a row, the Super Bowl has hit a record in average total viewership, now up 8% to 106.5 million viewers.
• The close game won by the New Orleans Saints over the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17, also hit a record in total households — 51.7 million. The previous record was held by the “M.A.S.H.” finale, which had 50.2 million homes.

(www.mediapost.com)

Sun Life Financial Scores Big During Super Bowl

By Tanya Irwin

• Sun Life Financial received over $26 million in media value during the Super Bowl through 68 sequences that included verbal mentions, on-screen text, and stadium signage due to their recently completed naming rights agreement for the Miami stadium, according to FrontRow-Marketing.com.
• “The amount of broadcast exposure that Sun Life Financial has received in the past has proved to be a great asset for the company and with the new naming rights deal they will continue to increase their competitive edge within their market,” said VP of Project Management for Front Row Marketing Services Eric Smallwood.

(www.mediapost.com)

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Image by poopoorama

About Ben Sturner

Ben Sturner is the Founder and CEO of Leverage Agency, one of the most respected, innovative, resourceful and ambitious sports and entertainment branding sponsorship agencies on Madison Avenue. Sturner has taken his multi-million dollar business from a small start-up in his New York City apartment to a premiere agency that has secured deals for clients including: Jimmy Kimmel Live, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball, KFC, Gillette, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Reebok, Comcast, Anheuser Busch, Fremantle Media, Mark Burnett Productions and NBC’s Prime Time Celebrity Apprentice, Reveille, Radical Media, as well as other top-tier brands. Ben has been named NYC Entrepreneur of the month in TrueNYC.com and has been interviewed and featured on ESPN, NBC, CNBC, USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL as an expert in sports and entertainment sponsorship.

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EA Teams Up With Doritos For Bowl Promo

By Aaron Baar

• Super Bowl Sunday means two things for most Americans: Snacks and Football. EA Sports is hoping to capitalize on the conversation by partnering with Doritos to give fans the chance to choose the cover athlete for the upcoming version of its popular gaming franchise, “Madden NFL 11.”
• “To associate our brand with Doritos is an honor, and it’s a great opportunity to talk about our brand on the product,” Chris Erb, senior director of marketing partnerships for EA Sports, tells Marketing Daily. “They’re going to sell a lot of chips, and we’re going to be a part of that. The timing is perfect.”

(www.mediapost.com)

Study: Spending on Email, Social And Search Rising

By David Goetzl

• Email service provider ExactTarget released a study this week showing marketers plan to boost spending in email, social media and other non-traditional outreach channels this year. Advisory firm Econsultancy conducted the research along with the Indianapolis-based ESP.
• The study of 1,000-plus marketers shows 54% of marketers said they will boost budgets for email marketing, and about 66% in social media (even though about 80% of those acknowledged the difficulty in tracking ROI in the medium).
• Delving deeper in social media, the research showed the medium is the “fastest growing digital marketing channel.” That includes venues from Facebook pages to blogs.

(www.mediapost.com)

CBS Reaches Goal: Super Bowl Ads Sold

By Wayne Friedman

• With a week to go before the big game, CBS has sold out its entire commercial inventory in the Super Bowl.
• Advertisers paid around $2.5 million to $2.8 million per commercial for one of its sixty 30-second in-game spots. According to media-buying executives, that seems to be about the same pricing average as what NBC pulled in a year ago.
• Last year, TNS Media Intelligence says NBC took home $213 million from overall game and pre-game advertising activities.

(www.mediapost.com)

Energy firm buys naming rights to Philly MLS venue

By Terry Lefton and Tripp Mickle

• Energy company PPL Corp. is finalizing a 10-year, $20 million naming-rights deal with MLS expansion team Philadelphia Union, some five months before the first match at what will be PPL Park, a new $120 million soccer stadium just outside of Philadelphia in Chester, Pa.

(www.sportsbusinessjournal.com)

Snow Patrol: Winter X Games Draws Record Crowd Of 84,100 Fans

• Winter X Games 14, which concluded yesterday in Aspen, drew approximately 84,100 people for the four-day event, “easily topping the previous Aspen record” of 76,150 set in ‘07.

(www.sportsbusinessdaily.com)

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Image by romerican

About Ben Sturner

Ben Sturner is the Founder and CEO of Leverage Agency, one of the most respected, innovative, resourceful and ambitious sports and entertainment branding sponsorship agencies on Madison Avenue. Sturner has taken his multi-million dollar business from a small start-up in his New York City apartment to a premiere agency that has secured deals for clients including: Jimmy Kimmel Live, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball, KFC, Gillette, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Reebok, Comcast, Anheuser Busch, Fremantle Media, Mark Burnett Productions and NBC’s Prime Time Celebrity Apprentice, Reveille, Radical Media, as well as other top-tier brands. Ben has been named NYC Entrepreneur of the month in TrueNYC.com and has been interviewed and featured on ESPN, NBC, CNBC, USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL as an expert in sports and entertainment sponsorship.

Web | More Posts (18)