The International Fencing Federation (FIE) and Swiss watchmaker Tissot announced that they have renewed their current partnership through 2014.

The deal renews Tissot’s status as Official Partner of the FIE and as the Official Timekeeper and producer of the Official Watch of the FIE Fencing World Championships. With the renewal of the agreement, ampoule these rights will be extended to FIE Junior World Championships. During FIE competitions, pills Tissot provides state of the art solutions with regard to timing and scoring system and handles statistics and TV graphics.

The partnership between the FIE and Tissot began in 1996 and has continued to this present day. An additional facet of Tissot’s devotion for fencing is the membership of 2008 Olympic sabre champion Zhong Man (China) in the Tissot brand ambassador team.

Alisher Usmanov, President of the FIE, said: “The FIE is very pleased to continue its longstanding relationship with Tissot. Tissot is setting the highest international standards in timekeeping and we share the same values of precision and perfection. Our partnership builds on trust and reliability. Overall, this is an ideal match as we both complement each other.”

The President of Tissot, François Thiébaud, added: Due to its long-term partnership with the FIE, Tissot has a profound link to fencing. This year, the FIE Fencing World Championships will be held in Catania, Italy from 8 – 16 October. At this very high profile event, Tissot will be on hand to time the three fencing disciplines: foil, saber and épée. The Official Watch presented by Tissot this year is a PRC 200 FIE Special Edition. This chronograph pays tribute to the brand’s long-standing passion and involvement in fencing.

NHL team Nashville Predators announced car company giant Nissan North America will sign on to an exclusive multi-year deal that monetarily mirrors that of other secondary naming rights deals across the country. 

Bill Krueger, cure vice chairman of Nissan Americas, erectile said: “Every year during hockey season this arena becomes a focal point in this community for great hockey action. Expanding our relationship with the Predators allows us to be part of this excitement while increasing our presence in Middle Tennessee. On top of that, anabolics we’re big fans of our hometown team.”

Terms of the new partnership include Nissan placing its name on the main entrance of Bridgestone Arena and on the atrium just inside the main entrance, having branding rights to one of the facility’s Zambonis and placing internal and ice-level signage. Ticket holders attending tonight’s regular season home opener will receive T-shirts, courtesy of Nissan, to celebrate the partnership.

Predators CEO Jeff Cogen said at a Thursday press conference: “Nissan’s commitment to the Predators and Bridgestone Arena is a welcomed addition. Like the Predators, Nissan is committed to Nashville and Middle Tennessee and this partnership further illustrates that commitment. Nissan’s involvement also continues the momentum our franchise and venue have been building on over the last 18 months.”

doctor helvetica, viagra sale sans-serif;”>Leading men’s grooming brand the Bluebeards Revenge has secured a agreement with English Rugby Union team London Wasps to become an ‘official partner’ for the 2011/12 season.

The deal will see the Bluebeards Revenge produce one of their infamous ‘Train Hard, Shave Easy’ TV commercials featuring the London Wasps players as well as creating marketing collateral around the club for use in magazines, newspapers and online media.

Justin Bullock, PR and Marketing Manager for the Bluebeards Revenge, said: “The Bluebeards Revenge is absolutely delighted to become ‘official partners’ to the London Wasps. The Wasps are a fabulous team with a great tradition of playing some of the most exciting rugby in Europe. They are regarded as one of world’s most iconic club rugby sides and we look forward to working with them on a number of exciting projects.”

Justin added: “We’ve invested a lot of time and effort looking for and researching the right sponsorship opportunity and we know that rugby, the fastest-growing participation sport in England, fits absolutely with The Bluebeards Revenge brand. It appeals to many of our customers, partners and retailers we work with, so this sponsorship will give us exciting opportunities to connect with them and deliver significant business benefit.”

Serena Sharman, Sponsorship Executive at London Wasps, said: “We are delighted to have The Bluebeards Revenge as an ‘official partner’ for the 2011/12 season. The Bluebeards Revenge is a quality range of men’s grooming products so their brand fits in perfectly with the London Wasps and the players love products.”

The London Wasps have won the English championship on six separate occasions, with their last success coming in the 2007/08 season, and the coveted European Rugby Cup (Heineken Cup) twice. This season the club will compete in the Aviva Premiership, the LV= Cup and the Amlin European Challenge Cup.

The club is known around the world for producing some of rugby’s finest talent and have five players in the current England Elite Playing Squad (Riki Flutey, Tim Payne, Joe Simpson, Steve Thompson and Joe Worsley). Notable former players include World Cup winners Lawrence Dallaglio, Matt Dawson, Josh Lewsey and Phil Vickery.

“The Bluebeards Revenge is all about a really great shave with a scientifically proven, stubble reducing ingredient,” explained Justin. “But we also stand for the less than conventional approach to life, cocking a snoot at the nanny state and the madness that is the bureaucratic balls ache of endless red tape and over the top health and safety clap trap.”

NHL Team Ottawa Senators and City of Ottawa Archives have announced their new partnership and officially unveiled an historical exhibit that will reside on the 200 level of Scotiabank Place, celebrating Ottawa’s hockey history.

The partnership coincides with the Senators’ 20th anniversary, which is being celebrated during the 2011-12 hockey season.

Senators president Cyril Leeder, said: “Along with the many special events surrounding our 20th anniversary season, we felt this partnership with the City of Ottawa Archives was a perfect fit to highlight for our fans the rich hockey history from the region. Today, we are pleased to contribute items to this exhibit that our fans can enjoy on their visits to Scotiabank Place during this historical season to signify the start of our partnership with the City of Ottawa Archives and we will continue to acquire and contribute many more items in the future.”

The City of Ottawa Archives, as part of its mandate, acquires the records of persons, organizations or businesses that contribute to the history of Ottawa and its residents, including its sports history. The Senators occasionally receive donations of items of a historical nature or heritage value from individuals or organizations. To ensure the preservation and diffusion of these donations, the Senators have entered into a partnership agreement with the City of Ottawa Archives to be the custodians of these items.

As part of this partnership, the Senators and the Archives agreed to jointly form a historical committee that will review the donations and advise on their pertinence and significance in regards to Ottawa’s hockey heritage. The group will recommend action for their retention, disposal or transfer to the City of Ottawa Archives for preservation where deemed appropriate.

Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa, added: “Sport is truly an opportunity and a means for a community to rally together, and I’m pleased the Ottawa Senators and the City of Ottawa are partnering to celebrate our storied hockey history and make these wonderful artifacts accessible for people to enjoy.”

The Senators and the Archives are encouraging citizens to identify their own historical hockey items and donate them for preservation. 

Dollar General, chain of variety stores in the US, announced its new sponsorship agreement with Nascar’s Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) that includes contenders in both the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series in 2012. Dollar General also announced plans to continue its Camping World Truck Series sponsorship with Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) in 2012.

Rick Dreiling, Dollar General’s chairman and CEO, said: “Dollar General is excited to partner with Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2012. Dollar General’s 2012 racing program will be primarily focused on NASCAR. We chose to increase our presence in NASCAR because it is a sport that reaches our customers. We look forward to working with JGR and KBM to help us continue to build our brand through NASCAR.”

Dollar General will become the primary sponsor of JGR’s No. 20 Toyota Camry, driven by Joey Logano, for 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup races. In addition, Dollar General will be the primary sponsor of JGR’s No. 11 Toyota, driven by Brian Scott, for a full season in the Nationwide Series. In 10 Nationwide races, Dollar General will also support an additional JGR car, either No. 18 driven by Kyle Busch or No. 20 driven by Logano. In the Camping World Truck Series, Dollar General will return for 10 races with KBM. The No. 18 truck will be driven by Busch.

Joe Gibbs, owner and founder of JGR, commented: “We are thrilled to have Dollar General partner with us at Joe Gibbs Racing. Dollar General is one of the fastest-growing retail brands in the country because of its ability to deliver value and convenience, and our goal is to promote the Dollar General brand by delivering victories on the track. This is an exciting day for JGR and NASCAR.

“Everyone at KBM couldn’t be happier that DG is returning for more truck racing next year,” said Busch. “I’m grateful to be driving for Dollar General in both the truck and Nationwide series. Our team will work hard to continue to put Dollar General in victory lane.”

The 2012 season marks Dollar General’s eighth year of NASCAR sponsorship, which to date has included the Dollar General 300 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Dollar General 300 Powered by Coca-Cola at Chicagoland Speedway.

Paciolan, the leading provider of ticketing, marketing, and fundraising solutions in college athletics, announced that The University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) will continue its 26-year partnership with the company for a five-year term.

Through Paciolan’s industry-leading solutions, including its online ticketing technologies, CU has nearly doubled its online season ticket renewals and achieved 100 percent online student ticketing. With the renewed partnership, CU will be implementing Paciolan’s new CRM solution. CU has been working with Paciolan since 1985.

Will Simpson, director of ticket operations for The University of Colorado at Boulder, said: “We’re thrilled with how Paciolan’s products and services will help improve our season ticket holders’ and donors’ experience. Their innovative technologies, strategic vision and solid communication structure are a perfect complement to our business model and long-term goals.”

Leveraging Paciolan’s online ticketing and Fundraiser’s Advantage solutions, CU offers a process that enables donors to conveniently make donations and payments online when renewing season tickets. Ongoing enhancements to their renewal process resulted in CU nearly doubling its online season ticket renewals.

CU also secured 100 percent of student ticket sales online via its CUBuffs.com site where students can purchase tickets that are then assigned to their Buffs student ID card. CU’s online student ticketing process combined with their strategy to shift single tickets to print-at-home delivery have helped it reduce will call windows from 10 to four per football game.

Developed using Paciolan’s eVenue solution, CU’s ecommerce ticketing site offers 3D clickable seat maps, and view from seat and cross-sell carousel features that enable it to efficiently sell tickets in real-time, while elevating the customer experience.

Paciolan also helped CU create an innovative solution for their season ticket package, which includes sophisticated seat upgrades at a neutral game site.

“Working with our client partner, Deana Itow, and ecommerce specialist, Brandon O’Connor, we developed a process that allowed our season ticket holders to upgrade their seats for this neutral site game completely online. This replaced a manual process that previously took me a week to accomplish,” continued Simpson.

With the partnership renewal, CU will be adding Paciolan’s CRM solution, which will complement its outbound sales program and fuel sales initiatives. It will allow CU to accurately document every customer transaction and enhance its communications process to better and more efficiently serve them.

Using Paciolan’s Analytics created specifically for Colorado, the university is able to see a visual color-coded stadium “heat map” that allows it to quickly ascertain which seats are selling through and then develop marketing programs to support those sections that need to be filled.

“These powerful analytics have helped us sell more tickets,” said Simpson. “We’re able to see areas of the stadium and their sell-through rates, so we can proactively develop marketing programs and targeted promotions to help us reach our goals.”

Dave Butler, chief executive officer of Paciolan, added: “We’re proud to be working with The University of Colorado for the past 26 years. Helping CU achieve its online ticketing goals for students and season ticket holders is both exciting and rewarding. We look forward to helping them develop new strategies and further growing their already successful athletics initiatives.”

Premier League champions Manchester United have signed a two year content partnership deal with UAE telecommunications operator Du.

 

Farid Faraidooni, chief commercial officer od Du, said: “We are proud and excited by this partnership deal with the legendary Manchester United Football Club, which allows us to bring a wealth of MU-related content to the dedicated fans amongst our five million customers.

 

“Manchester United is an icon and our sponsorship of the club will open up a world of exclusive privileges to our customers, allowing them to experience more than has ever been possible.”

As part of the sponsorship agreement, exclusive United-related material will be available to Du’s mobile, TV and internet customers, and will include video clips, images, match updates, team news, and games.

 

The deal was announced at Dubai’s GITEX consumer electronics fair in the presence of former striker Andy Cole, part of Manchester United’s 1999 treble winning team, and currently a coach at the club.

“In recent years, the club has grown very close links with the Middle East and we know from our visits there that the fans are as loyal and as passionate about the team as anyone,” said Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United.

 

“To be able to address them directly is incredible and the network of deals that we are building up means that more and more fans can feel involved with what happens at United,” he added.

Of Manchester United’s reputed 300 million strong global fan base, 56 million are reported to live in the Middle East. We believe Manchester United is the leading brand when it comes to harbouring a winning competitive spirit, and we are pleased to align with such a like-minded entity,” concluded Faraidooni.

 

The deal sees the UAE boost its already strong sponsorship ties with the English Premier League. Etihad and Etisalat both sponsor United’s rival Manchester City, while Emirates has a long standing relationship with London club Arsenal.

NFL’s Baltimore Ravens have established a partnership with ThompsonGas, United States of America’s 19-largest propane provider to benefit the Ravens All Community Team Foundation.

ThompsonGas will sponsor the Ravens’ “Three-and-Out” promotion, as anytime the Ravens’ defense stops the opposing offense in the first three downs, ThompsonGas will make a $500 donation to the Ravens All Community Team Foundation.

ThompsonGas CEO Randy Thompson, said: “Everyone at ThompsonGas is proud to be associated with the Ravens and their storied defense. The Ravens always put a great team on the field that gives its best efforts. We feel that work ethic and reputation align with our mission to deliver great propane products and services to our customers.”

The sponsorship is the cornerstone of ThompsonGas’ expansion in the Baltimore market. Headquartered in Hagerstown, Md., with service in 10 states in the Northeast and Southeast, ThompsonGas has served parts of the Baltimore market for years. However, due to the greater demand for propane and the opening last year of its state-of-the-art propane rail terminal in Baltimore, ThompsonGas is expanding their services.

Edward Burchell, Vice President of Regional Sales & Partnerships for the Baltimore Ravens, added: “As a 65-year-old family-owned and family-operated business, ThompsonGas has always been a strong supporter of the communities it serves. This is a great partnership to help build its brand and support the many activities of the Ravens All Community Team Foundation.”

Kentucky Coal Association (KCA) announced that this year’s first practice of the University of Kentucky basketball teams will be sponsored by the Friends of Coal–Kentucky.

Bill Bissett, sale President of the KCA, said: “The beginning of basketball season is big news in Kentucky, and we’re proud to be a part of this great kickoff event. As the representative of Kentucky’s 18,000 coal miners, it gives us a great opportunity to not only communicate with thousands of Kentuckians on how coal provides affordable electricity throughout the state and nation, but also this sponsorship is helping pay tribute to their continued dedication and hard work in supporting the Commonwealth.”

Earlier this year, the Friends of Coal-Kentucky was the signature sponsor of the University of Kentucky vs. University of Louisville football game, where more than $75,000 in scholarship funds was donated to the UK Mining Engineering Department. The sponsorship of Big Blue Madness is second of three sponsorships with IMG and UK Athletics.

apoplectic helvetica, sans-serif;”>Motorola Mobility UK Ltd has announced a sponsorship deal with the NFL in the UK, which includes a comprehensive rights package around the 2011 NFL International Series game, between the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday 23rd October at Wembley Stadium, and the wider NFL season, including the Super Bowl.

The sponsorship will allow Motorola Mobility, who will become ‘Wireless Communications Provider of the NFL’ in the UK, to launch an integrated marketing campaign building on the brand’s history as one of the NFL’s flagship sponsors stateside.

As part of the campaign, Motorola Mobility has launched an NFL-themed microsite atwww.motorola.co.uk/NFL, which features an online game giving players the chance to win a VIP trip to Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis in February 2012 as well as a host of Motorola Mobility products and NFL merchandise. The engaging and competitive game invites would-be quarterbacks to throw three passes to their wide-receiver. Each participant who successfully scores a touchdown will be entered into a free prize draw to win the trip. The site is set to delight fans with its real-life sound effects and obstacles, which feature amongst them the NFL’s opposition players who intercept the football.

The integrated campaign runs across outdoor media and experiential activity at various events before and at the game. These include the official Wembley Tailgate party and the NFL Fan Rally in Trafalgar Square plus call centre activities with key retail partners and presence on Motorola Mobility’s online portals, including the Motorola Europe Facebook page.

The activity also incorporates presenting sponsorship of the free pre-game ‘Friday Night Lights’ screening of the iconic movie Jerry Maguire in Trafalgar Square on Friday 21st October, complete with free popcorn and performances from the Buccaneers cheerleaders.

The action continues on game-day at the Tailgate party where the Motorola “Players’ Tunnel” will put fans in the heart of the action, replicating the tunnel the players will use to enter the Wembley field. A game-day batak challenge will allow fans to attempt to beat the time set by an NFL star in one of the players’ favourite training rituals with the best time score on the day winning another coveted VIP trip to Super Bowl XLVI. Motorola Mobility products, including Motorola XOOM, Motorola ATRIX, Motorola DEFY+ and Motorola Pro+, will appear at each yard line in the tunnel marking out the products you need to stay ahead of the play.

Victoria McManus, UK marketing director, Motorola Mobility, said: “Motorola has a proud history as one of the NFL’s premier sponsors in the US and we are delighted to extend the partnership and bring all the thrill of the game to a UK audience. Our online quarterback game will challenge fans to sharpen their skills on the field while the VIP grand prize is a money-can’t-buy experience to place fans at the heart of the action in Indianapolis – may the best quarterback score the touchdown!”

Marc Armstrong, commercial director of NFL UK, also commented on the partnership: “We are thrilled that Motorola Mobility UK is joining our sponsorship programme and the addition to our sponsor family of such a great brand is an endorsement of the NFL’s UK strategy and a sign of our continuing growth in this market. Their comprehensive range of activities will be extremely popular with our existing UK fans and also help attract new fans to the sport.”