Wales Rugby League have secured a substantial three year sponsorship deal with Town & Country Broadcasting, one of the fastest growing commercial media companies in the country.

The three year deal sees the Nation Radio brand become the official partner of Wales Rugby League from immediate effect with a “SUPPORT YOUR NATION” strap line being used for both station promotion, raising awareness and uniting Welsh supporters to the cause of Wales Rugby League. The Nation brand will appear on the sleeve of Wales Rugby League playing shirt.

Mark Rowley, Chairman of Wales Rugby League said: “Rugby League in Wales is growing at a phenomenal rate and this partnership will provide invaluable support to increase brand awareness of the sport across the country not only via the Nation listeners but throughout the network of other stations they have within the parent company, Town & Country Broadcasting.

“It will also help underpin our overall communication strategy going forward with regular slots promoting the sport from the community game right up to the National side with a call to sport lovers across Wales to be part of the excitement and take pride in its nation’s team as Wales Rugby League becomes the focus of global sporting attention in the lead up to 2013.”

Martin Mumford Managing Director of Town & Country Broadcasting said: “This is an exciting time for Rugby League in Wales over the next three years with the team competing in the prestigious 4 Nations this year and co-hosting the World Cup in 2013. 

“Having previously supported Rugby League at Grass Roots and Super League level, it’s a natural progression for us to show our support for the national side.

“With Nation Radio’s sister stations throughout South and West Wales each able to support their local sides, it’s the perfect match.”

Leading UK underwear company Premier Lingerie have added to their growing list of Premier League clubs by signing a deal with Newcastle United.

The club has signed a deal with football-related underwear specialists Premier Lingerie to stock the official club shops with special black and white underwear emblazoned with the club’s logo.

The range includes bras, viagra 40mg briefs, French knickers, stockings, suspender belts and camisoles in a variety of sizes.

Stuart Middlemiss, Newcastle United’s head of retail, said: “This is something which a lot of other clubs have been exploring and we are keen to see how Newcastle fans take to the club-branded lingerie.”

The deal sees United become the second Barclays Premier League club to stock lingerie in their club shops after linking up with Midlands-based Premier Lingerie. Wolverhampton Wanderers were the first to sign up last Christmas, and now the company is in discussions with numerous other clubs.

Paul Robinson, director of Premier Lingerie, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Newcastle United – it’s such a big club and has a massive fan base, not only in the north east but across the country and further afield.

“We’ve had a great reaction at Wolves so I’m confident that they’ll also be a hit with Newcastle fans.”

Paul added: “Women now make up about 20 per cent of football supporters but only three to five per cent of club merchandise is aimed at them. A lot of clubs simply stock pink t-shirts with the club’s logo on them – that’s not good enough. Not enough clubs are doing anything sassy for their female fans, so that’s where we’re helping.”

To rectify this Premier Lingerie has developed an exclusive range of lingerie for female supporters. The range includes a variety of styles produced in club colours, with the emblem proudly placed.

The New York Islanders have become the first professional sports team to have an official tattoo parlour.

The once storied franchise dominated the NHL in the early 1980s, winning four consecutive Stanley Cups, but it’s been all downhill ever since. The team hasn’t won a playoff round in nearly twenty years, and the city just turned down its request for tax dollars to fund a new stadium. Nassau Coliseum is widely considered the worst arena currently home to a major sports team. 

On ten home dates next season, Tattoo Lou’s will set up a booth offering artwork and body piercings, as well as jewelry and other collectibles. Both the team and the business itself are citing the partnership as a historic boon for the ink industry. Founder Lou Rubino released a statement outlining how happy he is to have joined the Islanders family.

“This partnership with the Islanders is a great fit for us and it’s a wonderful benefit to be a part of the Islanders team. This is another victory for the tattoo industry. For a long time, tattoos were frowned upon, but now we’ve become more and more mainstream. One of the main things I love about this partnership is the history the Islanders have. My dad opened his first shop in 1958. We’re a part of Long Island history just like the Islanders.” said Rubino.

Justin Johnson, senior vice president of corporate partnerships and marketing for the Islanders, also commented: “Our team is thrilled to bring another Long Island institution to the Coliseum, especially one from such a unique industry. Tattoo Lou’s is an innovative brand with a creative vision. They’re a great fit with our energetic team on the ice and our youthful fan base around Long Island.”

European private equity firm Bridgepoint has reached an agreement to acquire Infront Sports & Media AG, a leading international sports marketing company based in Switzerland, taking 100 per cent of Infront’s shares from Jacobs Holding AG,.

Infront represents more than 120 top sports rights holders and delivering 2,300 event days each year. In 2010, Infront generated revenues of just under $849 million and has more than 20 offices across Europe and Asia and a diversified rights portfolio in winter sports, football and summer sports. It is also a key player in media production handling some of the most complex sports events, including the Fifa World Cup.

In football, it is partner to international and national federations (e.g. the German Football Federation DFB), leagues (e.g. the Italian Lega Calcio) as well as clubs (e.g. A.C. Milan, FC Schalke O4, SV Werder Bremen).

In winter sports, Infront is the undisputed market leader representing six out of the seven Olympic winter sports federations, including FIS for skiing and the IIHF for ice hockey; in motor sports, it is the promoter of the FIM Superbike World Championship. Infront is also one of the leading sports marketing organisations in China where it represents the Chinese Basketball Association – on league and national team level.

Infront Board of Directors chairman Dr Andreas Jacobs said about the acquisition, “We are pleased that after an extensive strategic review we have found a new investor which will actively contribute to Infront’s ambitious growth plans which we believe will be of great benefit to our esteemed clients as well. We wish Bridgepoint and Infront well on behalf of the current shareholders.”

Bridgepoint’s experience in the sports sector includes its current investment via another fund in Dorna, the global rights holder to the FIM MotoGP Motorcycle World Championship, as well as a successful track record in TV production that includes All3Media in Great Britain, producer of Formula One in the UK and Marathon Group in France, respectively sold in 2006 and 2007.

Xavier Robert, Partner at Bridgepoint in Paris, said: “Infront is a scarce asset in an attractive sector with a strong management team and a unique competitive position. It has a well diversified portfolio of prestigious and operationally complex events that position it well to outperform the market.

“Not only are there continued growth prospects with current rights holders, but also the potential for strategic expansion in terms of geography, products and services.

“Based on the existing strategy and our combined experience, we expect Infront to continue to grow as it captures new opportunities in the international sports entertainment market, ultimately establishing Infront as the global number one sports marketing group.”

Bridgepoint will encourage the further development of Superbike and MotoGP although both series will continue to be organised and managed separately. Dorna and Infront Motor Sports are each fully committed to the long-term relationship with the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) as their strategic partner as well as the successful partnerships with teams and manufacturers, circuit owners, sponsors, broadcasters and other stakeholders of the series.

Infront’s President & CEO Philippe Blatter said, “Bridgepoint is the strong new strategic investor we have been looking for.  The company is fully committed to actively contribute to Infront’s ambitious expansion plans and to support our solid international team – Bridgepoint shares our long-term vision.

“We are convinced that the new and strengthened ownership structure will not only form an even stronger basis for the future success of Infront, but will be of great benefit to our valued partners and clients. With Bridgepoint as our shareholder, we are in a position to tackle many additional opportunities now presented by the market while remaining highly focused on the continued delivery of high quality services to our clients and partners in all areas of our existing business.”

The global sports rights market is estimated to be worth $121 billion in 2011, with the global market for media and sponsorship rights representing  $56 billion.

.ORG, The Public Interest Registry (PIR) has agreed a sponsorship with JR Motorsports and driver Jamie McMurray.

In conjunction with GoDaddy.com , .ORG advertisements will run on McMurray’s No. 7 car during the following NASCAR season.

Lance Wolak, vice president of marketing and sales for .ORG, The Public Interest Registry, said: “Next to the .ORG logo on the No. 7 car, we are calling on the NASCAR community to ‘get together, get online,’ which signifies the widespread use of .ORG domain names to give millions of individuals, companies and organizations an online home to share their interest, passion or cause.”

PIR joins GoDaddy.com in this sponsorship to take part in an increasingly popular American tradition, NASCAR. “We wish Jamie the best of luck in his upcoming races,” adds Lance Wolak.

 

TaxSlayer.com have announced a multiyear partnership with The Gator Bowl Association as the new title sponsor beginning with the 2012 Gator Bowl.

The TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl will be played at 1 p.m. Jan. 2 at EverBank Field and it will be televised on ESPN2.

Jimmy Rhodes, vialis 40mg president of TaxSlayer.com, buy said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with the Gator Bowl Committee in supporting the Gator Bowl Games.”

Greg Smith, pills | chairman of The Gator Bowl Association, said “As the country’s sixth-oldest Bowl game, we believe that TaxSlayer.com further enhances the Gator Bowl’s image as one of the premier Bowl games in the nation.”

The 2012 TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl marks the 67th game for the Gator Bowl Classic and the 2012 game will showcase a team from the Southeastern Conference against a team from the Big Ten Conference.

A source familiar with the deal who asked not to be identified said earlier Thursday that the contract is for three years.

The Gator Bowl Association had set a date of July 1 to find a title sponsor. After that date it planned to adjust its budget and proceed without a title sponsor.

The title sponsor will be able to present a top payout to attract top college teams to the end of the season games. The total payout to the 2011 Gator Bowl featuring Mississippi State University and the University of Michigan was $5.4 million.

TaxSlayer.com provides tax preparation software for professional and personal use. It launched its software for professional tax practitioners in 1992 and its software for individual filers in 1998. The company also is sponsoring the NASCAR race teams of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Aric Almirola and Josh Wise.

National Football League team Dallas Cowboys have been joined by a new sponsor Petit Jeans Meat as the ambassador in the Cowboys’ official grill master,

The sponsorship deal that has allowed the company to gain distribution deals with several large grocery chains throughout the state.

David Ruff, Dallas Cowboys CEO, said: “I don’t know about the team but there will be Petit Jean Ham and Petit Jean Bacon in the Dallas Cowboys stadium,” says David Ruff, CEO. He says one conversation began the company’s largest advertising campaign yet.

“Really, just a chance meeting between our marketing director and a man associated with the Cowboys who is actually who they call their grill master. Before we knew it, we were in discussions with the Cowboys about doing a sponsorship which allowed us to become the official ham and bacon of the Dallas Cowboys,”

According to their contract, Ruff says not every part of Texas will have the chance to enjoy the Cowboy’s ham and bacon.

“Houston has a professional football team also, the Houston Texans and there is a 75 mile radius protecting that franchise that we cannot sell our product within that 75 mile radius of Houston,” says Ruff

As for the Cowboys, Ruff says, “Whether the team has it as their pre-game meal or not, I don’t know but we can check on that.”

Sony Ericsson is ramping up its sponsorship activity for the UEFA Champions League this season, erectile following the success of its tennis sponsorship campaigns.

This year’s Champions League activity will be “dialled up” to include a number of social media campaigns, which the company says have been successful in building brand awareness and driving sales of the Xperia handset range.

Stephan Croix, head of global marketing partnerships and sponsorship at Sony Ericsson, said: “Social media will now become an additional investment in our Champions League sponsorship, we will dial up the volume to help build the brand and continue to drive commercial success.”

The extended activity will include the launch of an app that will offer extra content around the tournament and Facebook-exclusive promotions. The sponsorship will continue to be aligned with the Xperia range, which will include new handsets in the coming months.

Sony Ericsson will also continue its partnership with FourSquare to allow fans to collect branded badges when they visit stadiums, enter competitions and share tips about where best to celebrate after the games.

The phone manufacturer will promote the activity outside of social media with retail partnerships, to offer competitions and extra content. The entire sponsorship activity will be activated across 36 markets.

Sony Ericsson has just concluded its tennis sponsorship campaign dubbed Xperia Hot Shots.

The campaign launched at the Miami Sony Ericsson Open in March and included a web-based TV programme that aimed to build up the profile of six up-and-coming female tennis players, an app and Facebook promotions.

The Hot Shots campaign generated 823,238 Facebook fans and more than 3 million video views on YouTube.

Croix says: “Hot Shots was a project when we started but the response was tremendous. Thousands of fans actively engaged with the programme and we are now thinking about a ’season two’.”

Sony Ericsson’s official Facebook page has more than 6 million fans, making it the 40th biggest brand on the social network in the world.

The International Sailing Federation announced that Atlantis WeatherGear has been selected as the ISAF Race Officials Clothing Supplier.

It is a partnership that will see Atlantis supplying ISAF’s race official team with a range of clothing and accessories for the next four years.

Along with a kit including polo shirts, capsule baseball cap, ampoule watership hat and dry bags, ISAF’s Race Officials will be offered a selection of branded items from the Atlantis range. Designed by sailors for sailors, these will include the innovative Aegis Jackets and hybrid bibs from Atlantis’ coastal sailing collection, Grand Prix Softshell jackets and vests, and the ultra lightweight Microburst jacket and pants.

The on-water gear together with tech shirts and items from Atlantis’ “Deck-to-Dock” collection will offer ISAF’s race officials a combination of performance and style to keep them dry and comfortable whilst they are out on the water and looking smart and professional when they are ashore.

ISAF has over 700 volunteer race officials based around the world performing the roles of international judges, race officers, measurers and umpires at sailing events worldwide. Providing them with clothing is no simple task, so ISAF will be drawing on Atlantis’ experience and expertise to manage an on-line ordering system and delivery as well as offering high quality products that are proven to be fit for purpose.

Bill Lynn, Atlantis’ head of marketing, said: “We’re thrilled that ISAF has selected Atlantis as their clothing partner. This relationship will help us gain visibility for our brand at the world’s premiere sailing events while putting ISAF’s influential race officials in gear that they will love.”

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Hanwha Solar have added to their growing list of sponsoring soccer clubs by agreeing a partnership deal with English Premier League team Bolton Wanderers.

The deal was co-ordinated co-ordinated on behalf of the Korean firm by sports marketing agency Sportfive. Previous Hanwha partnerships which have been secured by Sportfive include German 1.Bundesliga club, Hamburger SV, with a number of other European club partnerships set to be announced.

Allan Duckworth, CEO of Bolton Wanderers, said “The addition of Hanwha Group to our growing partnership portfolio is an exciting new development and we are grateful to Sportfive for their assistance. We have an excellent relationship with Sportfive and appreciate their support in bringing major global partners to our football club, including Hanwha and 188BET.”

Carl Woodman, managing director of Sportfive Limited, added: “We have a great relationship with both Hanwha Solar and Bolton Wanderers FC and are delighted to have contributed to this new partnership. We are pleased to introduce a major new international sponsor into UK football and to optimise Sportfive’s significant international presence for the benefit of our clubs here in the UK.”