Faversham based online swim store Simply Swim has become an official sponsor of Faversham Swimming Club based in Kent, England.

The local business is committed to supporting the volunteer-run club’s work in getting adults and kids swimming and encouraging fitness in youngsters.

Established in 1965, Faversham Swimming Club runs an indoor pool all year round, with an outdoor pool within the complex open throughout the summer and has over 300 members, ranging in age from 5 to 85.

There are several groups for Faversham Swimming Club members to join, depending on age and ability, from Tadpoles for little ones right through to the adults’ Masters training programme as well as synchro, lifesaving and water polo. In addition, Faversham Swimming Club members can gain ASA awards from basic to honours level.

Forming part of The Simply Group, Simply Swim sells a range of swimsuits, competition swimwear and accessories for all the family, suitable for various needs, from the occasional dip to high level competition swimming. The group is to open a one-stop retail outlet in Faversham in December, which will sell a vast range of outdoor and lifestyle products including swimsuits, hiking and camping equipment, scuba gear, fitness clothes, ski wear and beachwear.

Simply Swim CEO Gerrard Dennis said “We’re delighted to be sponsoring Faversham Swimming Club. As a local business, we recognise the invaluable work the volunteers do in encouraging local youngsters to get fit. We’re particularly impressed with the excellent range of activities they provide for the whole community. Simply Swim staff and their families are keen Faversham pool goers and It’s a pleasure to be associated with the club.”

Tim Boorman from Faversham Swimming Club added “We are very proud to have Simply Swim as our new sponsors and our members are looking forward to the opening of the new store in Faversham.”

The Singapore Athletic Association (SAA) has secured a partnership with Japanese athletic equipment company Asics for the South-east Asian (SEA) games.

The 27 athletes competing at the Nov 11 to 22 SEA Games in Palembang will take to the tracks in brand new Asics apparel, thanks to a sponsorship from Runner’s World, the brand’s distributor in South-east Asia.

The sponsorship is worth $20,000 in kind and marks the first time the Japanese brand is sponsoring Singapore’s track and field athletes since 1993.

Runner’s World CEO Andy Zhao, himself a former athlete in his school days, said the company is looking into a long-term partnership with the Singapore Athletic Association (SAA).

He said: ‘Asics will continue to support the development of Singapore’s sport talent as we build on the beginning of a fruitful partnership with the SAA.’

Discover Financial Services and the National Hockey League (NHL) today announced the renewal of a multi-year sponsorship agreement naming Discover as an Official Partner of the NHL in the U.S.

As part of this agreement, Discover will become title sponsor of the inaugural NHL on NBC broadcast on Thanksgiving Friday, now titled the 2011 Discover NHL Thanksgiving Showdown. This broadcast launches NBC’s coverage of the NHL for the season, making it the earliest NHL regular season broadcast on national U.S. television in more than 20 years. In promotion for this game, featuring the Boston Bruins hosting the Detroit Red Wings (1:00 pm ET)(1:NBC), Discover and the NHL also will introduce a co-branded float titled “Frozen Fall Fun,” which will make its first-ever appearance in this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The float, featuring a live performance of Grammy-Award winning artist Cee-Lo Green, is 36-feet long by 20-feet wide and is designed to reflect a fall hockey theme. Also created to showcase the Discover and NHL partnership, the float will feature NHL stars from the past, a synthetic ice rink, a 12-foot tall turkey that serves as a hockey goal, plus an assortment of colorful fall decor.

David Lehanski,NHL  group vice president of integrated sales, said: “Having a new ownership platform on a day that is synonymous with shopping was a natural fit to renew our partnership with Discover, but we wanted to make it even bigger. The idea of incorporating a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade gives us a unique way to not only promote this partnership, but also the 2011 Discover NHL Thanksgiving Showdown in front of an audience that traditionally reaches nearly 50 million viewers.”

Jennifer Murillo, vice president of brand communications for Discover, added: “We’re proud to work with our partners at the NHL to participate in some of America’s favorite holiday traditions, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and watching a great hockey match-up on NBC.”

Throughout the NHL season, Discover will offer opportunities for cardmembers to redeem their Cashback Bonus rewards for tickets to the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic in Philadelphia. Discover cardmembers also receive discounts to Shop.NHL.com and the NHL Powered by Reebok store in New York City, NHL GameCenter Live subscriptions, and more.

Discover will remain the Official Card of the NHL, NHL All-Star Weekend, NHL Winter Classic, NHL Awards and the NHL Draft.

As a tie-in to its NHL sponsorship, Discover also launched two new national television ads yesterday featuring the popular Peggy character along with Blackhawks center Patrick Kane  and Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas.

Both 30-second spots showcase each player’s frustration as they face some of the challenges consumers face when calling their card’s customer service departments. The television ads highlight Discover’s award-winning customer service while positioning Peggy, a likable, but incapable customer service representative of the fictitious U.S.A. Prime Credit Company, as a person who frustrates callers with long hold times, excessive transfers and the inability to solve problems. The new ads are a follow-up to the “Peggy” ad Discover launched earlier this year that featured curator of the Hockey Hall of Fame and Stanley Cup handler Phil Pritchard.

FC Barcelona are looking to expand their brand in Asia after securing a sponsorship deal with Chinese company Intersports.

The main responsibility of the agreement will be to develop the Catalans brand in the Chinese market where they have yet to establish a foothold like their Premier League counterparts.

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell stated the partnership is “the first step towards developing a Barca feeling in Asia”. The deal is set to start at the end of this month when a club delegation visits China.

Rosell added: “(We want to) create a permanent link with the Chinese society, herbal so that all who wish to can share with us the values of FC Barcelona. We will take it a step at a time, prostate so that the new generations of Chinese citizens understand what the Barca feeling is.”

Also part of the deal, a new training camp will be opened at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium Barcelona’s marketing director, Laurent Colette stipulated.The camp will run over the next five summers for children aged between six and 14, with a total of 180 children a week expected to take part under the supervision of a team of Barcelona coaches and 25 local coaches.

The European Champions last month opened camps in India as they looked for an influence in that market. “It is very important to transmit the Barca philosophy to local coaches, because sooner or later China will be a world footballing power,” said Colette, according to the club’s official website.

Heifeng Xia, Intersports president, added: “For us, FC Barcelona is the best team in the world and the Bird’s Nest Stadium is the best ground in the world. We wanted the best team in the best stadium. Barca is the most influential club in China and we hope this will be a long-term collaboration between us.”

Mayo Gaelic Ahletic Association sponsors Elverys Sports have secured the naming rights to the Castlebar venue McHale Park which hosts Castlebar Mitchell and other teams.

It means that Mayo’s home grounds will now be known as Elverys McHale Park after a five year deal was agreed between the county board and the Castlebar firm, which is set to help repay some of the debt which the venue had accumulated, with recent work redeveloped 38,000 all-seater stadium costing over €16m ($22m).

“Money has to be raised to repay our loans,” Mayo secretary Sean Feeney told the Irish Examiner. “We got a fair bit of advice from Dermot Power (GAA Commercial Manager) and Peter McKenna (Croke Park Stadium Manager).

“Clubs are always the first port of call when fundraising but there’s a limit on what you can ask them because they all have their own debts. The fact a Mayo company has won the naming rights makes it all the more satisfying.”

Procter & Gamble’s Vicks VapoRub, cure have made NFL quarterback Drew Brees their brand ambassador with the New Orleans Saints player becoming the brand’s first-ever “VapoDad.”

For the first time in over 100 years, a father-figure will appear as the primary caregiver in its advertisements. Appearing alongside his real-life son Baylen, Brees will be seen in television and print advertisements for VapoRub this upcoming cold and flu season.

“There are no sick days in the Brees household, so when Baylen comes down with a cold, we use VapoRub to provide relief for his cough and cold symptoms.”

Historically, VapoRub has only featured women as the primary caregiver in its advertisements. With fathers becoming increasingly involved in the upbringing of their children, Vicks felt it was important now more than ever to feature its first VapoDad.

Andy Cipra, Brand Manager, Vicks North America, said: “Vicks believes that both mothers and fathers play an equally important role in the health of the family unit. Drew Brees is known for his close relationship with his family, which made the decision to make Brees the first VapoDad a natural one.”

Drew Brees first worked with the brand with advertisements for Vicks DayQuil and NyQuil. The VapoRub spots will differ by providing a more family-focused message, highlighting the nurturing role parents play in their children’s lives.

“I’m truly honored to become the first-ever Vicks VapoDad. My son Baylen and I had the opportunity to shoot this commercial together, which makes this opportunity that more special for me,” says Drew Brees. “There are no sick days in the Brees household, so when Baylen comes down with a cold, we use VapoRub to provide relief for his cough and cold symptoms.”

Vicks VapoRub is over 100 years old with one of the most recognizable scents in the world. Research has shown that the therapeutic vapors found in VapoRub can help provide the feeling of freer breathing to a person suffering from a cough due to the common cold. Simply rub Vicks VapoRub on the chest and throat to temporarily relieve coughs due to common colds or on muscles and joints to temporarily relieve minor aches and pains. The combination of vapors in Vicks VapoRub, including menthol, camphor and Eucalyptus Oil, works to reduce a cough by acting on airway sensory nerves.

Boxing icon Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao has entered into a one-year agreement with top-selling cognac brand Hennessy for a reported $1 million pay off.

The deal with Hennessy, capsule which accounts for 40 percent of the cognac being retailed, adiposity was made possible by Pacquiao’s Canadian adviser Mike Koncz and Top Rank marketing boss Lucia McKelvey.

Speaking from Los Angeles Sunday where Pacquiao is training for a November 12 rubber match with Juan Manuel Marquez, capsule Koncz said: “At first, I thought, ‘what can you give someone who has everything?’”

Pacquiao will appear in both TV commercials and print ads, which will showcase him in and out of the ring. LVMH Moet Hennessy, the Paris-based luxury goods conglomerate which also includes Louis Vuitton and TAG Hauer, will pay Pacquiao about $1M, a source said.

The Hennessy partnership is one of many deals that Pacquiao has entered into with various multinational companies here and abroad.

Also in Pacquiao’s portfolio are business relationships with Nike, Hewlett-Packard, and State Street Produce, apart from his long-standing dealings with San Miguel Corporation.

Koncz said a shoot with Hennessy is in the works most likely occurring in December and there’d still be quite a few more joining the Pacquiao bandwagon in the near future, something that is a testament to the Filipino boxer’s immense popularity and unmatched charisma.

For his upcoming fight, Pacquiao is guaranteed a purse of more than $20 million against Marquez, but his take-home pay should be higher since he has a cut in the ticket sales, closed-circuit viewing, and pay-per-view revenues.

Australia Rules Football Club West Coast Eagles and Bankwest have begun their major partnership.

As of today, health Bankwest will formally step up to the position of major partner, buy cialis a position the strongest banking brand of Western Australia will share with a 25-year West Coast Eagles partner SGIO.

For the 2011 season, treat Bankwest joined the club as a premier partner, however, as determined earlier this year, Bankwest will now assume higher status. The Bankwest logo will make its debut on the West Coast Eagles Eagles’ playing guernsey at the start of the 2012 season.

The Bankwest logo will feature on the front of the new away guernsey and on the back of the club’s home guernsey. The new away guernsey features a slightly new look with the white key lines removed and the logo design more prominent in line with the club’s popular home and clash guernseys.

The PGA TOUR and Mitsubishi Electric have extended their Official Marketing Partnership and title sponsorship of the Champions Tour’s season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai through 2015, while also completing a deal with golfer Fred Funk in the process.

The Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai is scheduled for January 16-22, 2012, and features an elite field of the past two seasons’ tournament champions and past five years of senior major championship winners.

The tournament, on the Big Island of Hawaii, has been the starting point of the season for the Champions Tour since 1997. During that span, the tournament has made a significant economic and charitable impact on Hawaii’s Big Island community. Almost $650,000 has been donated to various island charities, including $55,000 this year to the Rotary Club of Kona. The funds will assist the Keiki Eye Vision Program to help identify vision difficulties early in a child’s development.

Mitsubishi Electric will also continue to provide the highly popular Diamond Vision LED scoreboards at virtually every PGA TOUR tournament as the Official Large Outdoor Video Display Provider of the PGA TOUR. Rolled out in May 2007 at The PLAYERS Championship, the Diamond Vision boards have significantly strengthened the on-site fan experience with a variety of player and venue information, along with graphics generated by the TOUR’s ShotLink real-time scoring system. The Diamond Vision scoreboards were first used on the Champions Tour at Hualalai in 2009. As part of the new sponsorship agreement, Diamond Vision scoreboards will be introduced at all Champions Tour stops in 2013.

Mitsubishi Electric will continue as the Official HVAC Products of the PGA TOUR and, beginning in 2013, will become the Official Elevator and Escalator of the PGA TOUR. As an Official Marketing Partner, Mitsubishi Electric has and will continue to use select PGA TOUR tournaments for hospitality and entertainment.

Katsuya Takamiya, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Electric US Holdings, said: “We are pleased to continue our relationship with the PGA TOUR and the Champions Tour. Our customers enjoy our relationship with the players and especially The Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. We could not ask for a stronger association with an organization, one that demonstrates a huge charitable impact and personal commitment to its sponsors, especially from the Champions Tour.”

As a further commitment to the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour, Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating recently announced its sponsorship of Fred Funk, a six-time winner on the Champions Tour. As part of Funk’s sponsorship his golf bag, as well as his right shirt collar, will carry the Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating logo. This additional presence will help Mitsubishi Electric raise awareness of their cooling and heating products among target customers. Funk won the season-opening championship at Hualalai in 2008.

Leading UK-based electronic cigarette company E-Lites are set to pound the international market having wrestled their way into a sponsorship deal with mixed martial artist, Jeff ‘The Snowman’ Monson.

E-Lites, the company behind the most advanced electronic cigarettes in the world, announced that they will be sponsoring Monson’s M- 1 event in Moscow’s Olympic Stadium against Fedor Emelianenko on November 20th 2011.

Jeff ‘The Snowman’ Monson is an American mixed martial artist from Olympia, Washington. He is a two-time winner of the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship and a NOGI Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Champion.

A Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and American Top Team member, Monson has a black belt in Jiu Jitsu as well as a professional boxing record of two wins and one draw.

Nicknamed ‘The Snowman’ after his winning performance at the 1999 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship, Monson came in as an unknown and beat four Brazilians in a row in the 88-98 kg weight class. His opponents described him as a snowball – white, compact, rolling and getting bigger and stronger as the tournament went on.

He will take on Fedor Emelianenko, considered one the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. A former Pride Fighting Championships heavyweight champion, who will attempt to snap a three-fight losing streak when he returns to challenge Monson at home in Russia for the first time in four years.

Adrian Everett, a founder and co-director of E-Lites said: “We’re really honoured to be associated with one of the best mixed martial artists in the world and are really looking forward to supporting him at this historic event in Russia. Just like Monson, E-Lites has really snowballed, with more and more people making the sensible switch.

“Our aim is to provide smokers with an enjoyable and authentic smoking experience – but one that is significantly healthier, better value and unrestricted for use in almost all public places. We hope by raising awareness on an international scale, even more smokers will be converted.”

E-Lites contain a solution of pharmaceutical-grade nicotine, purified water and tobacco flavourings. The internal components of the device are activated upon inhaling and turn this solution into a vapour.

Crucially, E-Lites contain none of the tar, tobacco, carcinogens and added chemicals found in conventional cigarettes. They produce a vapour, rather than smoke, that has no strong smell.