buzz

Top Brands Dive into Sports Sponsorships

by Ben Sturner|August 13th, 2010

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.
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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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Sports Business Weekly Buzz

by Ben Sturner|July 30th, 2010

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.

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About Ben Sturner

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Sports Business Weekly Buzz

by Ben Sturner|July 9th, 2010

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.

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The World Cup (publicity) Winner is…The Vuvuzela

by Gail Sideman|June 15th, 2010

Last Friday, World Cup soccer began with the biggest buzz I’ve every heard when soccer was the lead topic. Game chat didn’t last long, however. It was drowned out by another kind of buzz.

If you never heard of a vuvuzela before, you’ve likely heard and/or read a lot about it since the first ball was kicked in this little soccer tournament. Tweets are all abuzz about the noise and even of tourney contingents are speaking out about the incessant bee-sounding noise made by fans with the horn-shaped instruments.

Haven’t heard the din of a vuvuzela? There are reportedly close to a dozen vuvuzelaapps, the most popular being “Vuvuzela 2010” and “iVuvuzela” which has been downloaded more than 750,000 times already.
Some have called the horns’ sound bothersome, others want them banned (which they will not be) and South Africa calls it a symbol of its brand of football.

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About Gail Sideman

Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.

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Sports Business Weekly Buzz

by Ben Sturner|March 6th, 2010

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.