Deals

Audi confirmed as Louis Vuitton sponsorGameStop renews its sponsorship with JGRDanica Patrick, JR Motorsports add Hot Wheels Sponsorship for Nationwide Series

Trends

It's Been A Good Sponsor Signing Week for The Campign World Truck Series
Your Client As An NBA All-Star
Microbrews Get The Boot Thanks to Olympic SponsorshipIOC spurns Deloitte's sponsorship offerSports Illustrated advertisers activate around swimsuit issueVancouver Sponsorship Learnings From Fleischman-HillardAmerica’s Cup Sinks as Sponsors Flee Billionaire FeudThe Death of Sponsorship?

Tactics

Sun Life Scores $26 Million in Media WIth Super BowlDespite successful 2009, Ask.com leaves NASCAR

Billionaires Larry Ellison and Ernesto Bertarelli have turned an America’s Cup boom into bust, according to Business Week:

A 30-month wrangle over rules canceled a 19-team qualifying event, scared off sponsors like Banco Santander SA, UBS AG and Nestle SA and shrank the organizing budget to 8 million euros ($11.1 million) from a record 230 million euros in 2007, organizers said.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/portofsandiego/ / CC BY 2.0

Front Row Marketing Services, a Philadelphia-based firm specializing in developing and evaluating sponsorship investments, is offering a free sponsorship analysis as part of the company's website relaunch. Here's what you need to know:

The free sponsorship analysis contest runs through Sunday, February 28, and the winner will be announced on Monday, March 1st. To be entered for a chance to win, send an email to analysis@frontrow-marketing.com and you will be automatically entered. For individual teams, the FREE analysis will be of one (1) game (analyzing in-game broadcast exposure) for up to five (5) advertising locations and for companies or events the FREE analysis will be a team or event sponsorship. Be sure to include your name, title, team/company name and contact information...

With about a month to go, Vanity Fair is getting an early start on the Oscar predictions with a new iPhone app, sponsored by one of their major advertisers, L'Oreal Paris. This is the latest in a fast growing trend of publishers launching sponsored iPhone apps. Take for instance, USA Today's partnership with Hampton Hotels and Motor Trend's recently launched iPhone app with Mercedes-Benz.

The new iPhone app by Vanity Fair allows users to create or join prediction groups, choose favorites and chat about their selections. L'Oreal Paris is integrated into the application by way of a virtual 'gift bag' which will contain special offers and giveaways from L'Oreal Paris.

Also in the Oscar prediction category, the L.A. Times recently launched its own prediction app called The Envelope...

Since 2007, as part of its sponsorship with Richmond International Raceway, Crown Royal has signed over the naming rights to the winner of an essay contest on crownroyal.com. This year, Crown Royal will honor one military service member with title sponsorship of the Your Name Here 400.

As part of the Crown Royal “Your Name Here” 400 contest, five finalists from various branches of the armed services have been selected to receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Daytona to participate in a ceremony to unveil the winner, as well as attend the historic Daytona 500. The finalists are:

Heath Calhoun, Army (retired), Clarksville, Tenn.
Chris Dempsey, Army National Guard, Yuma, Ariz.
Rick Hudson, Navy, Gulfport, Miss.
Georgia Powell, Air National Guard, Harrisburg, Pa.
Brian Speach, Arm...

Tai Shan may not be a household name, but WaPo reports that the National Zoo panda has scored what some athletes and stars strive for their entire lives: a corporate sponsorship.

Sichuan Auto Industry Group agreed to pay a million yuan, or about $150,000, to "adopt" the panda bear for life.

According to company spokespeople, the company's interest is somehow tied to the automaker's efforts to develop an electric car for sale in the United States. The company will foot the bill for Tai Shan's food, medical care and other daily expenses which company officials estimate will amount to an annual tab of $90k.

Consistently one of the most-asked questions from consulting and coaching clients is about the nature and content of corporate sponsorship letters and solicitations. The tendency or urge that you may have is to send copious detail to a stranger to substantiate why your sponsorship opportunity is worthy and to be efficient by providing so much detail so as to be thorough.

These seem like great reasons; however, if you consider that the person at the other end of the spectrum may only have a nanosecond to skim your information, maybe your approach needs reconsidering.

Yesterday, I received a sponsorship solicitation that I'm sharing with you (with the sender's permission) to illustrate an alternative.

For the record and as I've told the sender and written about before, generic, ...

"Snowbranding"

Are you looking for new guerrilla marketing campaign ideas? Are you looking for new ways to leverage winter sports events to drive awareness for your product or service?

Brands looking for new, cost-effective ways to drive awareness during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games and other winter sports festivities should check out the guerrilla marketing concept below called snowbranding. The piece shows how a group in Leipzig used a few tools to engage consumers in wintry conditions. The tactic of snowbranding is quite simple, yet it can serve as a way for brands to really stand out to consumers (that is, if it's worthy enough for them to withstand the cold to pay attention).

Check out the cool "snowbranding" guerrilla concept below!

Brian Gainor is a passionate sport...

Deals

Brooklyn Cyclones' KeySpan Park renamed MCU ParkAMEX and Naomi Campbell Team Up For Fashion WeekMercedes-Benz Sponsors MotorTrend iPhone App

Trends

Perfume And Politicians in NASCAR?Is Foursquare Ready for Brand Sponsorship?
Why the music is still playing for the merry dance between bankers and art

Tactics

Kia's Marketing VP Dishes On Bowl Strategy

Sponsored channels, whereby companies brand vertical segments of content, are all the rage from online communities like YouTube to traditional media such as Reuters. Yesterday, SlideShare, the popular slide sharing application, launched a new service called Channels that allows companies to custom brand microsites within the professional slide sharing community. The majority of SlideShare's community are business decision makers, and businesses can now sponsor topical channel content (presentations, whitepapers and webinars) or create branded channels. The company has signed up the likes of Adobe, Ogilvy, Microsoft, Razorfish Marketing and The White House for the service.

“Our vision is to build a new type of advertising that both community and advertisers will embrace," said Rashmi...