22nd March, 2010

SUBWAY® Restaurants sponsors Univision Radio’s Exclusive Concert Series

Univision Radio, the leading Spanish-language radio broadcaster in the U.S., has announced a year-long sponsorship by SUBWAY® Restaurants of its exclusive Concert Series. Each will feature an opening act performance by an up and coming artist, sponsored by SUBWAY® Restaurants.

The partnership also includes the creation and promotion of a branded micro-site entitled SUBWAY Artistas Frescos™ (SUBWAY Fresh Face Artists™), where listeners can enter to win prizes including a grand prize trip for two to a Univision Radio Concert Series event over the course of the year.

The micro-site, www.subwayartistasfrescos.com, will allow participants to submit a creative video that incorporates the SUBWAY® jingle. Each submission will be judged on uniqueness, creativity, originality and use of the jingle. The top-ten videos will be selected and posted on the site to allow visitors to vote for their favorite submission.

"Partnering with a leading consumer brand like SUBWAY® offers a terrific opportunity to promote our concert series in an artistic manner and we are excited to be able to incorporate the Internet to engage a younger audience", said Gary Stone, president and chief operating officer, Univision Radio. "We look forward to a successful year long program".

"Our partnership with Univision Radio offers SUBWAY® a unique opportunity to reach out to our Hispanic youth target market in a fun, creative and culturally relevant way", said Eddie Lindley, SUBWAY® senior marketing manager, Multicultural Markets. "Music is always a great vehicle for reaching younger audiences, and concerts all the more so. We look forward to a successful promotion that combines sponsorship of the popular Univision Radio Concert Series, a SUBWAY® jingle-singing contest, and the power of the Internet".

"SUBWAY® is the ideal partner for this promotion and we're fortunate to be working with them", said Jack Hobbs, executive vice president, Univision Radio. "Our listeners will get to showcase their creative and musical talents, interact with the Subway brand and have a chance to attend our exclusive concert series".
 

Source: Business Wire

 
16th March, 2010

24 Hour Fitness kicks off first-ever Paralympic Games sponsorship

24 Hour Fitness ®, the largest privately-owned U.S. fitness chain and the Official Fitness Center Sponsor of the 2010 U.S. Paralympic Team, is readying for its first Paralympic Winter Games and continued support of Team USA in its effort to bring home the gold.

The company has partnered with Paralympic alpine skier Chris Devlin-Young, who joins an elite group of athletes as a member of Team 24 Hour Fitness.

The four-time medalist (two Gold, two Silver), who will be making his fourth Paralympic appearance, is a part of the brand’s Olympic marketing campaign, which includes promotional appearances at local clubs and development of signature workouts for members that are available in-club and online at www.24hourfitness.com/goteamusa.

"It's an honor to be a part of a team of such amazing athletes", said Chris Devlin-Young. "I hope the passion I have for my sport along with recognizing the hard work and dedication that goes into being successful, motivates others to set and reach their fitness goals".

As part of its partnership, 24 Hour Fitness offers eligible U.S. Paralympic athletes and hopefuls free and reduced rate club memberships to support them as they train in their hometowns.

Additionally, the company provides state-of-the-art equipment to U.S. Olympic Training Centers in Colorado Springs, Colo.; Chula Vista, Calif.; and Lake Placid, N.Y. 24 Hour Fitness continues to work closely with the USOC Sport Performance team and is currently making enhancements to the U.S. Olympic Training Centers and other U.S. Paralympic training sites to help the team optimize its performance in Vancouver.

"We’re proud to continue our support of the United States Olympic Committee and are excited about our first Paralympic Games”, said Carl Liebert, Chief Executive Officer, 24 Hour Fitness. "These athletes embody the essence of 24 Hour Fitness and are amazing role models for our more than three million members. They prove that anything is possible".

"We’re excited to have 24 Hour Fitness as a partner", said Charlie Huebner, Chief of Paralympics, USOC. "This is a company that understands our athletes and their needs and truly lives up to their brand promise of making fitness accessible for everyone".

Through its support of the United States Olympic Committee and National Governing Bodies, 24 Hour Fitness is one of the largest supporters of amateur athletics in the country. This will be the fourth Olympic Games and first Paralympic Games for which 24 Hour Fitness has supported America’s Olympic Team, having previously partnered with the USOC for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games and Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
 

Source: Business Wire

 
10th March, 2010

NHL and Hershey Canada sign three year partnership deal

Hershey Canada Inc. and the National Hockey League (NHL) have unwrapped the details of their new agreement - an exclusive three year partnership in Canada.

In celebration of the new partnership, the partner companies unveiled a one-of-a-kind Hershey's® Chocolate Stanley Cup®, a milk chocolate replica of the real Stanley Cup.

Handmade by Canadian Sitram Sharma, Master Chocolatier at Toronto's National Club, the Hershey's Chocolate Stanley Cup® is a masterpiece and was carved from more than 150 pounds of Hershey's smooth, creamy milk chocolate.

It took more than twelve hours to make and stands nearly three feet high, a life-sized replica of the original Lord Stanley's Cup.

 
8th March, 2010

Tiger Woods rejects $75m sponsorship offer from Paddy Power

Tiger Woods has turned down a $75m sponsorship deal with online betting company Paddy Power, writes Richard Fox.

A statement issued by Paddy Power plc on March 6th reads: Following recent international media coverage of Paddy Power's negotiations with IMG to sponsor Tiger Woods, the company confirms that its initial offer covering a five year period for a total potential sponsorship of $75 million has been rejected by IMG. Paddy Power remains keen to work with Tiger Woods, and will re-engage with IMG. An enhanced offer will be made, the details of which will remain confidential.

Woods' extra-marital affairs have resulted in the cancellation of sponsorship backing from Accenture and the Gatorade division of PepsiCo; and Gillette has said that he might not appear in their ads. again. However, Nike and Electronic Arts have stuck with the golfer.

At last year's PGA Championship, Paddy Power reportedly lost around $1.5m euros in payouts - after only thirty-six holes - to those who had gambled on Woods' winning. In the event, Woods lost to Yang Yong-eun.

So, bearing in mind their stated intention to "re-engage with IMG" and make "an enhanced offer", what are we to conclude from Paddy Power's actions?

Clearly Paddy Power perceives great value in Woods' newly-acquired notoriety. They obviously see being tarnished with the same brush as Woods as beneficial to their image, in the sense that it boosts core brand values and colorful associations which (unusually perhaps) must center around risk-taking, gambling and all things 'edgy'.

This strategy in itself is risky. But in a strictly marketing sense one can perhaps applaud this imaginative use of the power of sponsorship, to enhance what would normally be regarded as highly negative values.

 
2nd March, 2010

Olympic spending nets gold for top Olympic sponsors: new study by Vision Critical

Olympic sponsorship has been worth its weight in gold for brands like HBC/The Bay. The National Olympic Partner has seen the biggest increase in sponsorship awareness for its brand: a 43% increase in awareness, since October.

That’s according to the latest results of the Corporate Reputation and Sponsorship Index™ (CRSI), a report by Angus Reid Public Opinion, the public affairs division of interactive research and technology company, Vision Critical.

CRSI engages more than 60,000 Canadians a year to track the impact of sponsorship awareness and corporate image on a brand’s reputation. In this most recent evaluation, nine of the top ten brands chosen by consumers were correctly identified as Olympic sponsors.

Tim Hortons was also selected among the top ten, even though it’s not an official sponsor.

"In the run-up to the Olympic Games, and even during the events, Canadians have really noticed which brands are Olympic sponsors", says Jodi Shanoff, Senior Vice President of Angus Reid Public Opinion. "The exception is Tim Hortons – the iconic Canadian brand with strong ties to professional and amateur sports. It's only natural that consumers assume that they’re also a sponsor of the Olympic Games".

E&OE

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