IBM Continues Model Sports Sponsorship Plan

Sometimes they fly under the radar in sports sponsorship coverage because they don’t resort to flashy activations, gimmicky promotions, or execute groundbreaking deals. Still, dollar for dollar, IBM is arguably the leader in integrated sports sponsorships that create a dual value-add for both sports property and brand. In the current world of scrutinized spending and [...]

PGA Shows Online’s Ability to Attract International Fans

Omniture data showed South Korea accounted for .9% of Turner’s record setting web traffic for Thursday of last weekend’s PGA Championship, ranging up to 2.3% for Sunday’s final round. In absolute numbers the 30-50k unique users may not move the needle, and Y.E. Yang may not be the player that captivates a nation (at least [...]

More Golf Commentary: Turner Extends PGA Partnership, US Open Decisions

Turner announced a long-term extension to continue carrying the PGA Championship and operating PGA.com. The burning question – when will they start to leverage the asset for the value its worth? Turner should take a note from the USGA’s digital presentation of the US Open – then take it up a notch from there.
Golf is [...]

Athlete Actions Feed the Sponsorship Stereotype

One action served as a good example of why two stereotypes currently plague the world of sports sponsorship. As the public continues to criticize public companies for frivolous spending during a recession and the people cringe at the ever escalating salaries of athletes in walks Vijay Singh sporting his Stanford Financial sponsored apparel.
The same Stanford [...]

What’s In A Word: For Sports Sponsorships and Sales – Everything

Bill Sutton penned an interesting piece in this week’s Sports Business Journal that addresses a concept, which has likely hurt sponsorships more than the recession – perception is reality. Since TARP became a part of American lexicon, firms have tried to run from public affiliation with anything deemed luxury, premium, or naming rights. The result [...]

US Open Makes Strong Push Into Digital and Social Media, Supplemental TV

Heading into the final week before the US Open at Bethpage Black, the USGA has pieced together the most coherent, immersive digital media experience of any major sports even in the fledgling digital age. I’ve ranted about the unique position of golf and tennis to capitalize on digital media because of the international appeal, simultaneous [...]

Nadal Makes Smart Marketing Decision By Keeping Current Look

As the US Open began Monday, word leaked that Rafael Nadal, fresh off his gold medal and carrying the #1 ranking for the first time, was leaving his teen idol days behind for the more conservative traditional tennis look. When he took the court we saw Nadal and Nike scrapped the plan. Top-seeded Nadal decided [...]

Tennis At A Crossroads

Tennis has more problems than momentum right now, leaving the sport at risk of disappearing into oblivion on the US landscape along side such nice sports as Arena Football and Major League Soccer. Steeped in tradition, tennis has typically garnered strong interest in the US thanks to a lineage of notable stars on both the [...]

ESPN Takes Step in Right Direction With US Open Coverage

ESPN executives would only acknowledge “significant” growth in digital ad sales for its Thursday and Friday coverage of the US Open. Digital is still a fraction of TV – both in revenue and viewership, which can hand in hand – however, as ESPN improves and expands its digital coverage of major sporting events, the revenue [...]

Tennis Grand Slam Opens Digital Doors for ESPN

ESPN completed the coverage grand slam of tennis last week, inking a combined six-year, $140M deal in conjunction with The Tennis Channel for US Open cable coverage beginning next year. Included in the agreement, ESPN procured “massive amounts” of digital rights. Networks and leagues clearly realize digital is on the verge of becoming a prominent [...]