FLW, the world’s largest tournament fishing organization, has announced a multi-year sponsorship renewal with BRP.

BRP, a world leader in the outboard engine market, will feature the Evinrude brand throughout the agreement. 

Evinrude will receive exposure across all of FLW’s platforms, including its tournaments and Expos, multiple websites, FLW Bass Fishing magazine and the “FLW” television show on NBC Sports Network. “FLW” is broadcast Sundays in high-definition (HD) to more than 559 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.

“FLW is extremely pleased to announce our continued partnership with BRP,” said Trish Blake, President of FLW Marketing Division. “The relationship reinforces the commitment both companies have to growing the sport of professional bass fishing. Our tournaments offer the perfect showcase to display the efficient, reliable Evinrude E-TEC motors that BRP is known for — motors that FLW Tour pros depend on day after day.”

 

 

Golf Australia has announced that Taylors Wines have extended their partnership as the Official Wine Sponsor of the Emirates Australian Open for an additional three years.

The announcement follows a successful four-year partnership between the highly awarded family winery and the prestigious national championship.

Golf Australia CEO Stephen Pitt thanked Taylors Wines for their ongoing commitment to the Emirates Australian Open.

“We are very pleased to have Taylors Wines continue their long-term association with our national championship and look forward to our guests enjoying the best that Taylors has to offer at the Taylors Wine Bar during the tournament,” Pitt said.

Taylors Wines third generation Managing Director Mitchell Taylor said the partnership with the Emirates Australian Open was exciting given the event’s reputation as one of the world’s most respected golf championships.

“This year we will be reaching out to spectators even further, offering a taste of our premium wines while they take in all the action of this exciting tournament at the Taylors Wine Bar” Taylor said.

“On a less serious level, we also love golf at Taylors, and with a wine label named St Andrews, how could we not be involved?”

Fans at the Emirates Australian Open will be able to head to the Taylors Wine Bar at The Lakes Golf Club to enjoy the winery’s first ever sparkling wine alongside wines from its Estate and Jaraman ranges – certain to be a hit with tournament patrons.

Taylors Wines will also be served exclusively in tournament corporate hospitality areas.

The Emirates Australian Open will be played next week at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney from 6 – 9 December 2012 and is sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia and OneAsia.

R+L Carriers, a privately owned American freight shipping company, has renewed it’s title sponsorship of the New Orleans Bowl for a further five years.

R+L Carriers has been the title sponsor of the New Orleans Bowl, in its 12th season this year, since 2006.

“R+L Carriers is pleased to extend our partnership with the New Orleans Bowl,” R+L Carriers Vice President of Business Critical Solutions Greg Bronner said in a release. “We are in the business of connecting the world through our first-class shipping solutions. What better way to bring people together than through a showcase of sports and competition at its best while continuing to reflect our support of collegiate athletics.”

This year’s New Orleans Bowl will be played Dec. 22 with the University of Louisiana-Lafayette meeting either East Carolina or Rice at 11 a.m. in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The opponent will be announced Saturday afternoon. 

LeBron James and Champs Sports have agreed a deal to execute a fully integrated digital content, consumer engagement and e-commerce partnership.

As part of a first-of-its-kind partnership, James will star in a four-part video cover story in the next issue of SWAG, the new digital publication from Champs Sports. The magazine features original content that gives teen athletes and fans a unique look at sports culture through the eyes of today’s most relevant athletes and entertainers.

His video series, titled “SWAG16,” features a list of James’s 16 favorite things, which was compiled through a series of interviews with friends and family who know him best. Those must-have things – including Twitter, fresh haircuts, NFL Sundays and the ‘90s sitcomMartin – are pitted head to head in a bracket-style showdown as James is quizzed by comedian Jerrod Carmichael to reveal the one thing he couldn’t possibly live without.

Before SWAG magazine goes live in December, LeBron James.com will play host to an exclusive SWAG16 Bracket Contest, which centers on a clickable interactive game. The game gives consumers the chance to enter to win a pair of signed Nike LeBron X shoes. LeBronJames.com also will include ads directing visitors to a branded microsite on champssports.com where they can purchase the latest LeBron James sneakers, apparel and accessories. The partnership also will be cross-promoted through digital and social media marketing, as well as influencer outreach and paid advertisement.

“LeBron James is the athlete who most resonates with the core Champs Sports customer, so partnering with him to produce original content and integrate marketing efforts across both brands is a tremendous opportunity for us,” said Frank Bracken, vice president of marketing, Champs Sports. “And LeBron’s digital footprint is so large, active and culturally relevant, that it allows us to integrate our brand content and engagement programs into his digital platforms in such an organic and natural way.”

“We are very excited about this new partnership with Champs Sports. It helps us tell an original story about LeBron by connecting directly with fans through our digital and social platforms,” said Maverick Carter, CEO of LRMR. “LeBronJames.com is a community of fans who share LeBron’s love of sports, entertainment, technology and fashion. SWAG16 from Champs Sports is the perfect content partner for our site because it’s an authentic and engaging way for fans to hear directly from LeBron. We are always looking for new ways to work with partners and SWAG16 is an important model for what we are doing in the digital space.”

BT has chosen iCITY and the north end of the former International Broadcast Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as the home of its new BT Sport channels. 

The company will become a long term anchor tenant of the building, story now part of iCITY, ailment | as it seeks to contribute to the Olympic legacy, price by providing jobs and opportunities to the local community.

BT will refit part of the building to house three TV studios, a control centre, 20 edit suites and an audience holding area. BT Sport will show 38 live games a season from the Barclays Premier League, including 18 of the top clashes, for three years from August 2013. The live coverage will be fronted by Jake Humphrey, BBC Formula 1 and football presenter. The new channels will also show 69 live rugby union games a season from the Aviva Premiership.

The new Olympic Park studios will be a production hub for all the sports content that BT will offer and some programmes will be hosted from the studios. Some features and programming will be filmed at another iconic venue, the BT Tower.

During the Olympics, the press centre and IBC hosted 28,000 media covering the games at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. The building’s legacy was secured when iCITY successfully bid to take over the centre. BT has now agreed the terms for a ten-year lease with iCITY to be the anchor  tenant of the former IBC, to ensure it creates opportunities and employment for the area. iCITY will create a world-leading technology cluster, building on the success of East London’s flourishing digital and creative industries, and supporting regeneration and economic growth across the capital and the UK.

Ian Livingston, chief executive of BT, said: “BT is leading the way to secure the Olympic sporting legacy for the community. We see this as a natural continuation of our role as official communications services partner for London 2012.”

Drake University announced today that Hy-Vee, Inc., will serve as the presenting sponsor of the Drake Relays in a partnership that promises to enhance and elevate the already sterling reputation of the Drake Relays.

“The Drake Relays is one of the crown jewels of track and field – an event that has transcended athletic competition to become a true community celebration,” says Randy Edeker, chairman, CEO and president of Hy-Vee, Inc. “Hy-Vee is thrilled to partner with Drake as the university builds on a proud tradition and ushers in an exciting new era for the Relays.”

Part of that exciting new era is more than half a million dollars in purse money for a field that currently features 16 medalists from the 2012 London Olympic Games and a world record holder already confirmed to compete at the Relays with more to potentially join the star-studded field at a later date. Those Olympians and professional athletes will compete in ‘London Rematches’ for a $50,000 purse in the running events and a $25,000 purse in the field events. The purses are the largest for an event in the United States and $20,000 more than is offered by the Diamond League, the sport’s top professional circuit.

“Our relationship with Hy-Vee will further the legacy of the Drake Relays as never imagined before,” says Brian Brown, the Franklin P. Johnson Director of the Drake Relays. “The athletes and fans will be truly inspired by the level of competition at the Blue Oval for the 104th running of America’s Athletic Classic. I have never been this excited about the athletes that you will see compete at the Drake Relays this year

The Relays and those athletes, including 2012 Olympic gold medalists Aries Merritt, Felix Sanchez, Renaud Lavillenie, Jenn Suhr, and Brittney Reese, will be featured on ESPN2 with 90 minutes of action being broadcast to nearly 100 million homes in prime time.

In addition to the enhanced level of professional competition inside Drake Stadium, the partnership with Hy-Vee will also invigorate the Relays’ road races with $120,000 in prize money awarded to the top finishers in the Wellmark Grand Blue Mile, 10-kilometer race, half marathon, and a new 6-kilometer race staged in conjunction with Character Counts in Iowa. The 6-kilometer distance is representative of Character Counts in Iowa’s Six Pillars of Character – Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship. Character Counts in Iowa will receive a portion of the proceeds from the 6-kilometer race. “The new Hy-Vee road races will take new prominence with a finish in the stadium on Sunday and prizes like we’ve never seen before,” Brown said. “This will be a Drake Relays that you do not want to miss.”

Those road races will continue the Drake Relays and Hy-Vee’s long-time support and commitment to health and athletics and ensure that the Relays remain an integral part of the Des Moines community.

“There’s no better partner than Hy-Vee to help take the Drake Relays to a place of extraordinary greatness and success,” says Drake Director of Athletic Sandy Hatfield Clubb. “Our shared commitment to excellence and the health and vitality of our community makes this a perfect  partnership.”

Hy-Vee’s sponsorship of the Drake Relays is one of many examples of the company’s long-standing relationship with Drake University, which includes a $300,000 gift this past July to create the Hy-Vee Student Learning Commons in the Morgan E. Cline Atrium for Pharmacy and Science.

“We are extremely grateful to Hy-Vee for their generosity and commitment in helping to take the Drake Relays to the next level,” says Drake University President David Maxwell. “The Relays have enjoyed the support and engagement of the Des Moines community; Hy-Vee has taken a giant step in making it a truly collaborative undertaking. We look forward to our strengthened partnership, which will ensure that the Relays continue to be one of the world’s premier track and field events.” The 104th installment of what promises to be one of the greatest Drake Relays in its storied history is scheduled for April 24-27 at Drake  Stadium.

Groupon announced a multi-year agreement with MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), asthma the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, allergy to become MLB.com’s official daily deals site.

Under the new arrangement, anabolics Groupon will host deals from a number of MLB’s 30 clubs through its GrouponLive events platform.

Groupon and several MLB clubs debuted a variety of successful offers in markets across the country during the 2012 regular season and postseason.

“Groupon is proud to partner with MLB Advanced Media and work with the teams to create new, unique opportunities for our customers to appreciate America’s favorite pastime,” said GrouponLive General Manager, Greg Rudin. “In addition to great deals on tickets, fans will have a chance to enjoy unforgettable ballpark experiences.”

“Groupon offers a cutting-edge marketing channel with an extensive customer base to drive additional ticketing opportunities and incremental revenue for our teams,” said Noah Garden, EVP, Revenue, MLBAM.

The partnership also will provide baseball fans with the opportunity to purchase once-in-a-lifetime experiential packages from participating clubs, including access to batting practices, luxury box seats and clubhouse and ballpark tours.

The London 2012 Olympics had a significant part to play in The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) announcing an increase in its annual figures for the size of the European sponsorship industry.

Much of the upturn is accounted to the Olympics and the European Championships held in Poland and the Ukraine with sponsorship monies entering the economy in the build-up to these events. 

ESA’s figure for the value of the 2011 European sponsorship market is €26.5 billion – a 14% increase on 2010’s total of €23.3 billion.

The uplift year on year was not across all markets with understandable downturns reported in Greece for example.  Other markets remained static as the economic conditions prevail.  However, unhealthy Europe has benefited from being host to major European and Global events with figures expected to remain buoyant for 2012 as the full effect of hosting London 2012 and the UEFA European Football Championship is seen and with Sochi due to host the Olympic Winter Games in 2014. 

ESA’s figures cover all forms of sponsorship, illness excluding activation, for sports and non-sports across the 50 European Countries.  The ratio of sport to non-sport sponsorships is 67:33 a growing trend to non-sport activities as brands take a wider view of sponsorship.

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) today announced that MBrands International has joined the ISAF Connect to Sailing as Exclusive ‘Performance Partner’ for clothing and personal equipment.

MBrands International is the holding company of two water sport brands; Magic Marine for sailing, and Mystic for extreme water sports.

“Magic Marine is pleased to support a continued initiative that stimulates and supports the sport of sailing in all of its types,” said Max Blom Sr, President and CEO of MBrands. 

“The Connect to Sailing platform can benefit the entire range; from the smallest new youngster to the ocean going cruiser. As a company, we strive to support the growth and introduction to the sports that we also love.”

Dan Jaspers, ISAF Training and Development Manager, commented on the latest partnership: “We have been looking for some time for an Exclusive ISAF Connect to Sailing clothing and personal equipment Partner to complement our initiative with the right blend of existing international brand recognition within the performance domain of sailing as well as dedication towards the growth of the sport at grass roots (participation) level.

“MBrands have demonstrated to us that these fundamentals are at the core of what they strive to provide as a company. We have agreed to a four year partnership which will see many of our emerging and developing nations alike benefit from the products and services that 

“MBrands will bring to this ISAF Training and Development Programmes. I look forward to growing this relationship further over the coming years.”