Belkin Seize Title Sponsorship of Blanco Pro Cycling Team

Belkin, store creator of people-inspired technology products, today announced that it has signed an agreement to become the title sponsor of the Blanco Pro Cycling Team through 2015.

Renamed the Belkin Pro Cycling Team, the team will begin competing under its new name and logo at the 2013 Tour de France.

“Cycling relies on innovation to drive success and has a passionate, tech savvy fan base that follows the sport closely, which aligns really well with the Belkin brand,” said Chet Pipkin, Belkin’s founder and CEO. “Associating our Belkin and Linksys brands with this successful, well-established pro cycling team enables us to introduce ourselves to millions of people around the world and interact with them.”

Through the sponsorship, Belkin aims to elevate brand awareness on a global scale for both Belkin and the Linksys brand, which it acquired earlier this year. The team jersey, bib short, team clothing, bikes, vehicles, website and social media properties have been updated with the new Belkin Pro Cycling Team logo and colors: black, white and Belkin green, and will feature both the Belkin and Linksys logos.

“With 19 victories this year and a new title sponsor, 2013 is shaping up to be a dream season for our team,” said Richard Plugge, general manager of Belkin Pro Cycling. “As a company, Belkin shares our same values and global ambitions, so we are very excited to have them on board as our sponsor. We look forward to two years of shared successes.”

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Seals Financial Sponsor

Australian Rugby League team, denture Manly Warringah Sea Eagles have announced a corporate partnership with growing financial services company Mentor1 Financial.

The alliance will see Mentor1 promoted on Sea Eagles playing shorts and at Brookvale Oval for the remainder of the 2013 season.

Mentor1 offers a range of financial planning services including superannuation advice, link retirement planning, treatment mortgage finance, investment advice and life insurance.

Founder and Principal Planner, Liam Diggin said it’s a timely partnership as he plans to open a division on the Northern Beaches.

“I am looking forward to working with the club and players to contribute back to the local community,” Mr Diggin said.

Sea Eagles General Manager, David Perry said the club is proud to be aligned with such a respected, growing and successful company.

“Mentor1 is a trusted financial advice brand, operating for more than 20 years and we thank Liam and his team for their valued and passionate support.”

“We look forward to working with Mentor1 into the future and hope we can assist in enhancing their business.”

BP Joins Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games as Official Partner

Leading international oil and gas company, thumb BP has become the latest Official Partner for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The company will also become an Official Partner of Team Scotland and Team England at the largest multi-sport event Scotland has ever seen.

As part of the support for Glasgow 2014, allergy BP will provide advanced fuels for the official Games vehicles. 

The Partnership with Glasgow 2014 will see BP launch a mentoring scheme for 65 young people aged between 17-21 to help give them the chance to develop skills that will help make them more employable. They will also take part in a number of projects in their local communities reflecting BPs commitment to Scotland, their Glasgow 2014 partnership and the Games legacy. 

The Games will take place in Glasgow from 23 July to 3 August 2014 and will feature 6,500 athletes and officials from across the 71 Nations and Territories of the Commonwealth. 

Lord Smith of Kelvin, Chairman of Glasgow 2014, said: “We are delighted to welcome BP into the Glasgow 2014 sponsor family as a company with such a strong global brand, but with roots that are firmly in Scotland. 

“This is an exciting partnership and with BP’s successful track record in supporting sport, we are looking forward to developing some exciting opportunities with them from now until Games time.”

Peter Mather, BP’s Group Regional Vice President for UK/Europe added: “We are delighted to be supporting the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 which follows naturally on from our major partnership with the London Olympics and Paralympics.” 

“We are committed to help the organising committee deliver outstanding Games for Scotland and the UK.”

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Perth Glory FC Gains Macron as Apparel Sponsor

Perth Glory FC have announced Italian and European technical sportswear manufacturing giant, sales Macron as its official apparel partner for the next two Hyundai A-League Seasons.

Macron is an established European leader in the production of active sportswear for over 42 years, treat covering the core business areas of teamwear, merchandising and leisurewear for the sports of football, basketball, volleyball, rugby , handball and baseball.

Perth Glory FC General Manager Anthony Radich commented on the deal: “We are very excited to have a brand with the football pedigree of Macron on board and welcome them to Australia, to Perth and most importantly to the Perth Glory Football Family.”

The Macron offer was overwhelming ” It was very evident to us early on that Macron shared a common vision and philosophy to ours. Macron had a genuine enthusiasm and a long term vision to invest in both our club and in the sport in WA and Australia and that went beyond merely supplying product. This combined with the quality of their product, their professionalism and football pedigree was significant “, said Mr Radich.

Andrea Palilla , Country Manager for Macron said: “Perth Glory is a team aspiring to go places much like Macron with an ambitious, exciting and well conceived long term vision. We are highly confident we can achieve great things together and as Perth Glory have shown throughout this process they also share a strong desire for quality and attention to detail which we pride ourselves on. We really appreciate their support and look forward to being an important part of the Glory family – one that also has great pride and tradition.”

The brand whose mantra is “work hard, play harder” has an impressive football pedigree which continues to grow rapidly at both an amateur and professional level with Macron being the official apparel partner for Italian Serie A football giants Lazio, Napoli and Bologna as well as La Liga teams Real Betis and Mallorca in Spain, EPL sides Aston Villa and West Ham and Leeds United in the UK, SC Braga in Portugal, AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands, Hajduk Split in Croatia and Macabbi Tel Aviv in Israel just to name a few.

Sunoco to Sponsor IndyCar 400 at Pocono Raceway

American petroleum and petrochemical manufacturer Sunoco will sponsor the INDYCAR 400 at Pocono Raceway on July 7.

The 400-mile event, the second leg of the Fuzzy’s Triple Crown, will be the first Indy car race at the 2.5-mile track since 1989.

“Sunoco has been a great partner of the Raceway for many years,” Pocono Raceway president and CEO Brandon Igdalsky said. “We are thrilled they came on board as the presenting sponsor for such a historic race as this one.”

Sunoco, the Official Fuel Retailer and Convenience Store of INDYCAR, also will sponsor the No. 11 Sunoco “Turbo” car driven by Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan.

Green Bay Packers Reportedly Sign Dental Partnership

NFL’s Green Bay Packers have signed a marketing deal with Dental Associates, the state’s largest family-owned dental group practice, for the 2013 season according to reports.

The group practice, founded in 1973, operates 10 clinics, including three in the Milwaukee area, in southeastern Wisconsin, Green Bay and the Fox Valley. It employs 800 people, including more than 100 dentists.

Dental Associates bought the historic Iron Block Building in downtown Milwaukee last year and plans to move its headquarters and open a boutique dental clinic at the site this fall.

Silverstone Signs Virgin Trains Partnership to Run Direct Transport to British GP

Silverstone Circuit have announced a partnership with Virgin Trains that will see the train operating company run a direct ‘F1 Express’ public transport package from central London to Silverstone on the Sunday of the 2013 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix.

The special package is available to anyone purchasing a Sunday Grandstand Ticket for the UK’s premier motor sport event, providing fans with a reserved grandstand seat on race day plus return travel to and from the Northamptonshire Circuit. 

The specially chartered Virgin ‘F1 Express’ train will transfer passengers from London to the Northamptonshire circuit in just 90 minutes, ensuring fans don’t miss any of the on track action.

The Williams F1 team supported Silverstone and the new-for-2013 ‘F1 Express’ train by making its F1 showcar available for a promotional photo shoot.

Silverstone’s tie-up with Virgin Trains is the first step in a long-term partnership to further improve access to the British Grand Prix for travellers from the South East. With 80% of tickets on the ‘F1 Express’ already sold, plans are now being made to expand the service in 2014 to include direct trains from Birmingham and Manchester. 

Richard Phillips, Managing Director, Silverstone Circuits Ltd, commented: “We are delighted to have teamed up with Virgin Trains to offer British Grand Prix fans the ‘F1 Express’ train service direct to Silverstone. We decided to trial this new public transport option from London this year and it’s proved to be very popular. So much so that we’ll be looking to expand the operation further for 2014, offering a similar service to and from other major cities around the country. 

“The partnership with Virgin is just one element of a range of increased public transport options that we have put in place for this year’s event, including additional Park & Ride options, Megabus shuttles from a number of train stations and 39 coach services from a large number of UK cities. We have made a significant investment to further improve the British Grand Prix experience for fans and are looking forward to welcoming them all to Silverstone.” 

Adrienne Nankivell, Sales Manager for Virgin Trains, said: “Our partnership with Silverstone Circuit is a fantastic first step in what we hope will be a successful relationship to facilitate easy and direct access to the British Grand Prix for fans. After seeing how popular the Virgin Trains travel options have been this year, we are pleased to confirm that the service will be expanded to cover the event next year and that Virgin will provide services from the major UK transport hubs of Birmingham, Manchester and London. Our specially chartered trains provide a fast, reliable travel solution to and from Silverstone and will provide even more fans with the opportunity to enjoy this fantastic motor sport event.” 

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Yorkshire Pride to Sponsor Castleford Tigers for 2014 Season

Rugby Super League team, Castleford Tigers have announced that Yorkshire Pride will be one of the Club’s kit sponsors for next season..

Yorkshire Pride have several popular and traditional British bars based in the heart of Benidorm, Spain regularly visited by Castleford fans.

The latest sponsorship agreement follows the recent announcement that Carlsberg UK brand, Tetley’s will also appear on the Club’s kit next season.

Castleford Tigers Commercial Manager, Richard Pell said: “We are very pleased to welcome Yorkshire Pride into the Club’s family of sponsors.

“Yorkshire Pride delivers a fantastic experience for British tourists, many of whom are Cas fans, when they visit one of the three bars in the area.

“This is a good partnership for Castleford Tigers as they are ardent fans of the Club and big supporters of Rugby League, so we are delighted to have them as one of our kit sponsors for next season.”

Yorkshire Pride Owners, Tad and Lesley Dawson said: “Many Castleford fans are Yorkshire Pride customers, so this partnership is perfect in bringing us even closer to the people who we serve.

“We are delighted to agree this sponsorship deal and look forward to a bright future together.”

Back9Network Sign Two New Golf Ambassadors

Back9Network, an lifestyle television network and multiplatform media company, announced PGA Tour professional J.J. Henry and LPGA professional Alison Walshe as ambassadors.

Back9 will leverage Henry and Walshe in marketing communications, content development and as analysts which will include serving in commentary roles for the Back9network and Back9Network.com as well as providing analysis for industry news and information shows.

“J.J. is one of Connecticut’s storied athletes and a veteran tour player. He brings an insightful perspective from inside the ropes to the Back9 team and Allison offers a fresh look as an up and comer on the LPGA circuit. We’re thrilled to welcome these two New Englander’s to the Back9 team,” said James L. Bosworth, Chairman and CEO of Back9Network. “Both players share our vision of making the sport inclusive to everyone and encouraging more people to enjoy the game of golf and live the golf lifestyle.”

Back9Network provides lifestyle programming presented in a variety of formats (e.g., scripted, non-scripted, fiction, non-fiction, drama, feature length films, news and information) with golf and golf-related themes as backdrop.

Henry, a two-time PGA Tournament winner, attended Texas Christian University and was the individual runner up at the 1998 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Chamiponships and turned pro later that year. Henry’s first PGA Tour win came in 2006 at the Buick Championship, becoming the first Connecticut golfer to win the event. He also played on the 2006 Ryder Cup team, halving all three matches he was involved in. Henry came close at the 2012 Byron Nelson Championship where he had a one-shot lead with two holes to play and ended up finishing runner-up. Henry’s second PGA Tour win came at the Reno-Tahoe open, earning him entry into the PGA Championship the following week.

Walshe, who earned her LPGA card in 2010, played collegiate golf at the University of Arizona, where she was a three-time All-American with 10 individual wins. In 2008, she was a member of the victorious U.S. Curtis Cup Team, and played for the U.S. World Amateur Championship team. In 2007, Walshe won the North-South Amateur Championship. In 2011 her best finish was a tie for 10th at the Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola.

Henry and Walsh join an impressive list of Back9 brand ambassadors which includes golf legend Tony Jacklin, professional golfer Cheyenne Woods and tour professionals Padraig Harrington, Ricky Barnes, Parker McLachlin, William McGirt, Johnny DelPrete, Willy Pumarol, Nicole Hage, Kyle Thompson and Berry Henson and former PGA of America President Jim Remy.

Hamburg Set to Lose Main Sponsor Imtech

According to German reports, Bundesliga side Hamburg SV is set to lose a number of sponsors including their naming rights sponsor.

SPORT BILD reported the club’s naming-rights sponsor Imtech wants to end its €25M ($33M) per year sponsorship deal with the club as soon as possible.

Imtech CEO Gerard van der Aast said: “We definitely won’t extend the naming-rights deal with the HSV stadium. Due to our tense financial situation, we want to end our sponsorship deals with the HSV, FC Bayern and VfB Stuttgart as soon as possible.”

The company’s deal with the Hamburg-based club runs until 2016, but Van der Aast hopes “to reach a quick agreement with the club.”

HSV Marketing Dir Joachim Hilke said: “We have talked to the representatives of Imtech Germany and expect that the current contract will be fulfilled.”

In addition to Imtech, Austrian tourism region Zillertal Tourismus has announced to end its three-year, €750,000 ($1M) sponsorship deal with the club. South Korean-based companies Hanwha Solar and Kumho Tires, which pay a combined €1.5M ($2M) per year, will end their deals after striker Heung-Min Son left the team.