The National Football League (NFL), NFL Players Association (NFLPA) and next-generation gaming technology studio Mythical Games today announced a partnership to launch NFL Rivals, a new NFL video game that leverages blockchain technology, on the Mythical Platform in early 2023.
Delivering on the fantasy of being a team General Manager, this fun, easy to play game will allow NFL fans and gamers alike to compete against other GMs with their assembled player rosters and teams, building, leveling up and improving their lineup. In addition, fans will be able to own, collect and trade non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of their favorite players through this play-and-own game experience.
“With the rise of blockchain technology, we are thrilled to partner with Mythical Games on a blockchain-enabled game that delivers new play-to-own NFT capabilities, creating a new adventure for fans who love to play football games,” said Joe Ruggiero, SVP of Consumer Products at the NFL. “The interest in NFTs and video gaming amongst current and prospective fans continues to grow and combined have accelerated the NFL’s exploration of new gaming models that can deliver an unmatched experience to fans.”
Ahead of the NFL Rivals game launch, 32 limited-quantity collections of unique generative 3D NFL franchise-themed NFTs will be released in a series of drops called “Rarity League.” This officially licensed collection will provide owners access to special events, in-game rewards and other unique features.
“NFTs are revolutionizing the fan experience, and we’re excited to collaborate with the imaginative team at Mythical Games to create a whole new blockchain-based world in which NFL players take center stage.” said Terése Whitehead, Vice President, Consumer Products & Strategy at NFL Players Inc., the marketing and licensing arm of the NFLPA.
“Partnering with the NFL to drive new fan and player engagement through fresh game design and the benefits of Web3 is an exciting moment for us,” said Jamie Jackson, Chief Creative Officer, Mythical Games. “NFTs with utility can add value to players in-game, and we can’t wait to bring these concepts to NFL Rivals to evolve the team management genre by adding the advantages of play-and-own games, offering the community new ways to engage with their favorite teams and players both in and outside this virtual world.”
NFL Rivals will launch globally for web and mobile web in early 2023. Interested players can join the Discord or visit the NFL Rivals website now for more information and to stay updated.
cinch, the UK’s fastest growing online car marketplace, is set to become Crystal Palace’s official front of shirt sponsor for the 2022/23 season for both the men and women’s teams, on a multi-year contract.
cinch will also become Palace’s official training wear partner as part of the deal, benefiting from significant brand exposure across the club’s Academy teams, Selhurst Park stadium, digital channels, as well as branding on all replica shirts.
cinch, who make it easy for people to find, buy and own a car, has over 10,000 cars available to choose from online, and can deliver a car in as little as 72 hours, adds Crystal Palace to its already impressive roster of sports properties which includes England Cricket, SPFL and Northampton Saints Rugby, all of which continue to support cinch in its quest of being the most popular place to buy a car online.
Barry Webber, Commercial Director at Crystal Palace, said: “cinch is a well-established, family-friendly and instantly recognisable brand across the UK and beyond, and this landmark partnership is yet another statement of progress at the club, both on and off the field.
“This is an incredibly exciting time for our partnership to begin, as we enter our 10th successive season in the Premier League with a squad packed full of international talent, whilst cinch continues its impressive expansion and innovation in the car market. We look forward to helping each other secure our respective ambitions.”
Avril Palmer-Baunack, Chairman of Constellation Automotive Group, cinch owners, said: “We are delighted to be joining Crystal Palace as front of shirt sponsor. cinch is an ambitious brand that has achieved a lot in a short space of time and this new partnership will further support our expansion in the UK car market. We look forward to working with the teams, fans and local community and have high hopes for the club next season on absolutely ‘cinching it’!”
The BIG3 announced the renewal of their partnership with Microsoft, extending their integral role as the Official Technology Partner of the league in a multi-year deal. Microsoft will continue to be the official jersey patch partner for all 12 BIG3 teams and support the league with technology enhancements including Surface devices on the courtside for game planning and preparation. As part of the pact, the 2022 BIG3 Draft will be hosted at the Microsoft Lounge on Wednesday, May 25 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT in Los Angeles. The Draft will air live on VYRE Network, BIG3.com, and BIG3 YouTube Channel hosted by Ice Cube, Ed Cohen, Jim Jackson, and special guest appearances from BIG3 players and coaches at the Lounge and via Microsoft Teams.
New for this season, Microsoft will deploy a robust data analytics platform to measure player shot performance on the court. Powered by Microsoft Azure and Windows technologies, this innovative platform, from solution-provider Noah Basketball, will enable coaches and players to see real-time insights courtside from their Surface devices to make gametime decisions. BIG3 will integrate a new data and analytics platform powered by Microsoft across all aspects of the game to enhance the fan experience.
Additionally, Microsoft will continue as the presenting sponsor of Young3, the BIG3’s youth program that provides children in local communities with the opportunity to enrich their lives through FIREBALL3. Young3 and Microsoft plan to enhance the programming by including STEM-related activities.
“We could not be more excited to continue our partnership with Microsoft,” said BIG3 CEO, Chris Hannan. “Microsoft elevated the BIG3’s technology, coaching capabilities, and fan engagement avenues last season. We are excited to unveil even more innovative enhancements and content this season.”
“The BIG3 continues to push the boundaries and progress the sport of basketball,” said Microsoft General Manager of Strategic Partnerships Jeff Hansen. “We are incredibly pleased to leverage our most innovative technologies to help empower BIG3 coaches, players, and fans.”
BIG3 is the official creator of the new global sport, FIREBALL3 and is returning for its fifth season this summer. Known as a ground-breaking league that focuses on innovation, the BIG3 is introducing a new model of ownership announced last month which leverages blockchain technology to sell NFTs offering ownership-like benefits.
Today, Thursday 25th May, the FIS Council elected the Organisers of the 2027 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle & Freeski, Nordic and Alpine World Championships as well as for the 2026 FIS Ski Flying World Championships. The final presentations by the six candidates took place earlier in the day with the highly-anticipated decision announced at the Allianz Tower in Milan (ITA), which was streamed live on the FIS digital platforms.
It was a full field bidding to host the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships with four candidates: Crans Montana (SUI), Garmsich-Partenkirchen (GER), Narvik (NOR) and Soldeu (AND) all in the hunt.
The Council elected Crans Montana (SUI) as the host of the 2027 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships. It will be the second time that the Swiss resort has hosted the Alpine Ski World Championships and 2027 will mark the 40-year anniversary from their first outing.
“We had four excellent bids to host the 2027 Alpine World Championships and it certainly was not an easy decision. Crans Montana brought a passion to its bid that you could feel. Bringing the Alpine World Ski Championships to the heart of Alpine Skiing in 2027 will be an unbelievable opportunity.”
Oberstdorf (GER) was unanimously elected as host of the 2026 FIS Ski Flying World Championships. It will be the seventh time that the German venue has hosted the Ski Flying World Championships.
“After hosting the highly successful FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in 2021, Oberstdorf will bring both a wealth of organizational experience to the table together with very high interest from the community,” said FIS President Johan Eliasch.
Also unanimously elected was Montafon (AUT) for the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships 2027. It marks the second time that Austria has hosted the joint World Championships, which features more than 30 medal events.
“In 2015, Austria was the first host to take on these massive joint World Championships when Kreischberg hosted. We are happy to go back to the roots with an Austrian resort hosting and are even more pleased to put these World Championships in the very capable hands of Montafon,” said Eliasch
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2027 were unanimously awarded to Falun (SWE). The central Swedish community hosted the Nordic World Championships in 2015, putting on a spectacular show with tens of thousands of passionate fans.
“Falun already gave the world an unforgettable World Championship in 2015 and I am pleased that we can return there so quickly, just 12 years later, which will allow them to build on their experience and deliver another fantastic two weeks of Nordic action,” said Eliasch.
Overview of the votes
2026 FIS Ski Flying World Championships: Oberstdorf (GER) – unanimous
Volleyball World today announced a historic partnership with Polsat, Poland’s premier broadcaster, for the television rights in Poland for all international volleyball and beach volleyball events over the next decade.
The agreement will run from 2022 to 2032, with Polsat viewers able to watch all major international competitions, including the men’s and women’s editions of the FIVB Volleyball World Championships in 2022, 2026 and 2030, the Beach Volleyball World Championships, the annual Volleyball Nations League (VNL), the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, Olympic Qualifying tournaments and a new FIVB World Event in 2025 and 2029.
Today’s announcement comes as Poland is set to co-host this year’s FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship with the Netherlands and the men’s tournament alongside Slovenia with potentially another country yet to be announced.
The agreement represents a more than 200 per cent increase in the media rights value and is a clear illustration of the popularity of the sport in Poland and the growth of volleyball globally.
Volleyball World CEO Finn Taylor said:
“This deal is a true indication of the growth of volleyball globally and that the improvements and evolution in the quality of production for international volleyball undertaken by Volleyball World is paying off. Striking such a significant deal with a key broadcast partner like Polsat should illustrate the growing value of volleyball as a television product for other broadcasters around the world.”
Zygmunt Solorz, Founder and Owner of Polsat Television, stated:
“Volleyball is Poland’s national sport and it is also the most successful sport in our country. Polsat Television and our mobile network operator Plus, have continued to support Polish volleyball organisations for over 20 years. We are extremely proud that we could broadcast the many trophies won by both Polish women’s and men’s teams and we hope to see many more. We are also happy to confirm our excellent relationship with Volleyball World and the FIVB, our prestigious partners in the world of sport.”
FIVB President Dr Ary S. Graça F° said:
“When I was elected President of the FIVB in 2012, I promised opportunity and innovation, and this is exactly what we have done through the launch of Volleyball World and now this agreement with Polsat. Indeed, this agreement is clear proof that the ground-breaking decision we took in launching Volleyball World was the right one.
“I have no doubt that Polsat will provide the highest-quality of TV production throughout the course of this partnership, showcasing the very best of the sport to Poland’s passionate fans. It is a reflection of the sport’s huge popularity in Poland and the growing strength and value of volleyball and beach volleyball worldwide.”
CEO of Polsat Television Stanisław Janowski said:
“When you say volleyball, you think of Polsat. Six of our sports TV channels allow us to cover even the most demanding tournaments, and our viewers can watch many matches simultaneously. We are only days from launching a state-of-the-art broadcasting van, working in HDR technology and delivering four times more accurate images than before. Once again Polsat will raise TV production standards and fans watching our coverage from their couches will get the feeling of being right in the center of the sports action.”
Volleyball has a huge and loyal fanbase in Poland and the sport is among the most popular in the country. Poland also has world-class hosting credentials having hosted a number of volleyball events, including VNL action and, of course, the 2014 edition of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship. A new standard of sports presentation was introduced by the FIVB at this event, and an incredible 62,000 fans attended the opening match which to this day remains the volleyball World Championship attendance record for a single match.
Middlesex Cricket is delighted to announce that iShares by BlackRock, a leading global exchange traded fund (ETF) provider has become the Club’s Major T20 sponsor for the 2022 season.
This will be the first year of the partnership for iShares; which will see their logo featuring on the back and collar of the Middlesex Men’s newly launched Vitality Blast Nike playing shirts. iShares will also feature on the back of the Sunrisers’ Women’s playing shirts across all competitions.
In a first for Middlesex Cricket, this sponsorship will also see iShares have 100% sponsorship of the digital live stream and social media handles for all T20 activity in 2022.
As the Club’s Major T20 Sponsor, iShares will also benefit from an increased brand presence at the Home of Cricket, whilst also having exclusive access to activations and events that will bring cricket to iShares’ staff, clients, and their families. The innovative partnership will also see iShares providing bursaries to underprivileged youngsters within the county, providing them with opportunities within the game.
Speaking of the new partnership, Middlesex’s Digital Partnerships lead, Bill Pasterfield, commented:
“This is an extremely exciting partnership for us at Middlesex. To work with such a prestigious brand across shirt, stadium and digital sponsorship is a real testament to the way in which we can benefit our sponsors in multiple ways.
“It’s been a pleasure working with iShares to put this agreement in place and I look forward to an exciting year ahead where we can build our relationship and make a genuine impact in the game.”
Josh Dibbens, Head of UKMEA Marketing commented:
“We are excited to partner with Middlesex Cricket for the T20 summer season at Lords. ETF investors are passionate about cricket and this sponsorship allows iShares to further grow its brand within the UK and support local communities offering Cricket bursaries to underprivileged children.”
Rubi Cohen, Head of Marketing for Vindicia, says organisations should be taking greater steps to look at their customer retention plans.
The funnel is the most important piece of “infrastructure” in your marketing plan, but it’s got a problem. It ends at the point when the connection with the customer is more important than ever, and it puts your revenue potential at risk.
The funnel is broken
The customer journey begins at the top of the funnel, at the awareness stage, and marketers devote much time, energy and resources nurturing those leads to the consideration stage and to the ultimate win, acquisition. All the marketing dollars spent on optimizing the journey and ensuring good acquisition rates are definitely well spent. But they could be spent better if the funnel didn’t suddenly come to an end just when the customer finally decides to sign on.
“It’s time for marketers to ask themselves whether retention is part of your marketing plan, and if not, why not?”
Beyond acquisition is the entire world of retention – making sure that customers are satisfied and engaged, providing them with delightful experiences and building long-lasting connections based on trust. It’s time for marketers to ask themselves whether retention is part of your marketing plan, and if not, why not?
Retention – A smarter approach
By now, you understand that acquisition is not the end game, and “cost per lead” doesn’t really reflect the entire retention journey, the customer’s true value or the efficacy of the marketing activities you did to acquire them. So, if you’re going to start considering LTV as a key metric, then suddenly, retention becomes a smarter and stronger approach.
Churn is a marketing problem
Once a customer is acquired, the job of retaining them tends to fall through the cracks. There are two ways that customers churn:
Voluntary churn, when they actively decide to leave (a marketing problem that probably already has your attention)
Passive churn, or put another way, “technical churn” (a problem that, in marketing terms, is overlooked and ignored)
“It is not just the job of the IT department to prevent passive churn. It’s also a marketer’s job.”
Passive churn is when the e-commerce payment fails or an error occurs and the customer is lost. There are a million reasons why this can happen, but it’s always a shame, because the customer churned inadvertently, for no good reason. After all, think about the money and effort you invested in developing the customer’s relationship with your brand, making sure they prefer your product or service over the competitors. And after all that, the customer simply “drops off,” without asking for it!.
The question then becomes: how are you addressing passive churn, or perhaps more specifically, whois addressing it?
It’s important to adjust perspective here and to realize that this is not actually a technical problem, but a problem of retention. And it is not just the job of the IT department to prevent passive churn. It’s also a marketer’s job.
The churn tools are ready for you
You don’t need to be a sophisticated data scientist to understand that lost customers are lost revenue, and not just that, they are also lost brand ambassadors – which means loss of untold revenue potential. There is no reason not to include retention in your marketing plan, and every reason (and more) to include it.
“If your marketing strategy is only working at the top and middle funnel to get conversions, then it’s only doing half the job.”
Fortunately, the tools you need to fix the problem are available, accessible, and easy to implement with your existing funnel and systems. Vindicia Retain is working all the time in the background to retain customers with accurate churn identification and prevention solutions. What’s more, it requires no heavy integration to get amazing results. In fact, check out the Forrester reportabout the impact of Vindicia Retain and how it saved $24 million for our customers over three years.
Go to the land beyond conversions
If your marketing strategy is only working at the top and middle funnel to get conversions, then it’s only doing half the job. When customers want to stay connected, but can’t, then it’s time to step in and go beyond conversion to retention. Today’s marketers are fueled by data, not just figures and numbers, but a holistic approach that supports the customer’s expectations for their entire lifecycle. Make retention part of your marketing plan with the holistic, data-driven Vindicia Retain and stop missing out on the incredible potential revenue of satisfied, connected customers.
Rubi Cohen leads marketing for Vindicia. Previously, Rubi worked at Amdocs, Vindicia’s parent company, where he held key marketing responsibilities heading the global digital marketing domain, introducing a successful online footprint, and impacting the global brand reach. With over a decade of marketing and strategic experience in creative brand building, marketing communications, creating and activating data-driven marketing organizations, Rubi brings a track record in developing marketing strategies that bring to life both internal and external organizational goals, articulating a unique competitive edge, boosting growth, and elevating business revenue and performance for tech and SaaS companies.
McLaren Racing today announced a new multi-year partnership with Cadence Design Systems Inc., a leader in computational software, as an Official Technology Partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team.
Cadence has more than 30 years of computational software expertise, providing software, hardware and IP that enables customers to turn design concepts into reality. The partnership joins two brands with an ongoing commitment to innovation.
McLaren will use Cadence Fidelity CFD Software, a comprehensive suite of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solutions, to investigate airflow. The team will also leverage Cadence’s computational software expertise to tackle design projects that require advanced compute power and precision.
Cadence branding will be carried on the McLaren MCL36 F1 cars from the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix.
To celebrate the partnership’s launch, Cadence will also be represented on all three Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolets, and on the race suit of Arrow McLaren SP driver Juan Pablo Montoya for this year’s 106th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Matt Dennington, Director of Partnerships, McLaren Racing, said:
“We’re delighted to welcome Cadence to the McLaren Racing family. Cadence is a technology leader that prioritises innovation. Its CFD and advanced electronic technologies will be crucial assets for our design operations. We look forward to a fast-paced collaboration that supports our constant drive to boost our on-track performance.
“The Monaco Grand Prix is a fantastic event to launch our partnership, and we’re excited that Cadence will join our brand across multiple race series this weekend by running on the Arrow McLaren SP cars for the Indy 500.”
“As part of the McLaren Racing family, we’re bringing our Fidelity CFD Software to the team, supporting the team in its ongoing pursuit of boosting performance, and we will collaborate with McLaren to continually push and innovate. We’re looking forward to the multi-year partnership and achieving milestones together that put the team on the road to victory.”
The Jockey Club announces today that Boodles, Britain’s leading fine jeweller since 1798, will sponsor the Cheltenham Gold Cup at The Festival™ in 2023 and 2024, when the iconic Grade One contest celebrates its centenary.
The family-owned company first supported the Blue Riband of chasing in March of this year, when Rachael Blackmore partnered A Plus Tard to a historic victory by becoming the first female jockey to succeed. The pair were roared home by a record crowd of 73,875 racegoers at the Home of Jump Racing.
Since Red Splash landed the inaugural staging of the three and a quarter mile contest as a Jump race in 1924, it has been won by some of the most famous names of all-time including Golden Miller, Arkle, Desert Orchid, Best Mate and Kauto Star.
In addition to its support of the Cheltenham Gold Cup Boodles also extends its sponsorship of the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at The Festival, which it has put its name to since 2018, for a further two years and gains further sponsorship rights across The Jockey Club.
Boodles’ first involvement with The Festival came in 2014, when it backed the Leading Jockey Award. The company also has a major presence in The Orchard™ at Cheltenham Racecourse. Situated in the tented village, The Orchard delivers top-class entertainment with premium and unique experiences for racegoers to make the most of their day at The Festival.
This 2023 edition of the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup will be run on Friday 17th March at the conclusion of the four-day Festival and broadcast live in the UK on ITV main channel, digital platforms, Racing TV, BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT.
For the first time in 2022, the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup was broadcast successfully on national television in the USA via the Fox Sports network, which is available to 55 million households.
Michael Wainwright, Managing Director of Boodles, said:
“After an epic build-up to this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup and then a wonderful day for the race itself, capped by the charismatic Rachael Blackmore being the first female jockey to win it, the Boodles board had no hesitation in extending our association by another two years.
“The whole experience was fabulous exposure for Boodles, and for me personally it provided one of the best days of my life.”
Ian Renton, Managing Director for Cheltenham Racecourse and The Jockey Club’s West Region, said:
“I am thrilled that Boodles has decided to further extend its relationship with The Festival by agreeing to sponsor the next two renewals of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
“After enjoying a record attendance this year, the 2023 running of the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup takes place on St Patrick’s Day and the great race celebrates its centenary in 2024, so I am sure there are some truly memorable days ahead.
“Boodles is now approaching a decade of involvement with The Festival and hopefully has reaped the benefits of its association with the four biggest days in Jump Racing.
“Coverage of The Festival seems to start earlier and be more extensive with each passing year and it was a milestone moment this year when the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup received its first broadcast on national television in the USA.
“We look forward to continuing to work alongside the team at Boodles with their tremendous passion and commitment as well all our other partners, both old and new, in the coming times ahead.”
STN Video is pleased to announce the multi-year renewal of their exclusive partnership with the PGA TOUR to distribute digital video highlights to news publishers. STN partners with every major sports league and organization in the United States and Canada, bringing exclusive, premium sports videos to digital publishers in both countries. STN has been the PGA TOUR’s online video distribution platform for local & regional news outlets since 2014.
The PGA TOUR provides STN with one of the largest golf video content offerings in all of digital sports. Over the course of this partnership with the PGA TOUR, STN Video has delivered hundreds of millions of video views to engaged golf fans. This premium golf video offering, which includes over 100 highlights per event round, player interviews, and expert analysis, is made available to the top digital publishers across the U.S. and Canada to extend the TOUR’s brand and sponsors to their avid golf fans.
“STN Video is a first-rate partner for distributing our digital video content to news outlets and golf fans,” said Chris Wandell, Vice President, Media Business Development at the PGA TOUR. “Since 2014, our partnership has successfully allowed the TOUR’s digital video content to reach more golf fans through STN’s publishing partners while creating more opportunities for TOUR sponsors and advertisers.”
“The PGA TOUR produces the very best in professional golf content,” states STN’s CEO Matthew Watson. “We are extremely pleased to provide one of the largest digital distribution platforms in all of sports to not only display this world-class content, but to offer unique and incremental opportunities for the premier brands supporting the PGA TOUR.”
