Holiday Inn is set to offer rooms at a £20.12 rate in an attempt to bolster its sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

LOCOG has confirmed that this coming Monday 20th December, abortion as the 20th day of the 12th month, will be 2012 day, with sponsors of the Games will be rolling out more activities. To mark the occasion and celebrate its partnership with the Games, Holiday Inn, official hotel provider to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, is releasing rooms for just £20.12.

Rooms will be available to book for the £20.12 deal on 20th December from 00.01 hours to 23.59 hours for stays at 171 participating Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels. The deal involves a stay on any date between 26th December 2010 and 9th January 2011 (excluding 31 December).

Holiday Inn is currently undergoing a huge relaunch with a over US$1bn of investment across more than 3,400 hotels and 430,000 rooms worldwide.

Other elements of Holiday Inn’s London 2012 partnership include providing over 1,500 free nights to support 50 emerging and established British athletes.

Global  logistics firm FedEx is making a return to the PGA Tour as title sponsor of the 2011 St. Jude Classic in Memphis. The deal sees a multi-year sponsorship of the event scheduled in June of next year making it the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

“We continue to focus on a multi-year commitment to assure the tournament’s future success in Memphis,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement.

The company which is based in Memphis, previously had a long-running spell as the events title sponsor until 2006 in a deal which lasted 21 years.

A federal fraud investigation of Stanford Financial Group, which had served as the title sponsor following FedEx’s departure, saw the reference to Stanford dropped in 2009.

Smith & Nephew, a global medical technology company, stepped in this year as a presenting sponsor for the PGA Tour’s third-longest running event, dating back to 1958. However, FedEx has now revived its links with the event joining the FedExCup, which is given every year to the PGA Tour’s champion.

 

According to a study conducted by Enigma Research Corporation, WrestleMania XXVI generated $45.1 million in economic impact for the greater Glendale/Phoenix area.

Organized by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the event which was the twenty-sixth annual professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event also generated close to $5 million in local, state and county taxes.

Over the past three years, WrestleMania has generated nearly $150 million in cumulative economic impact for its host cities and states despite the country experiencing one of the worst economic periods in decades.

“WWE’s premiere event was an important addition to Glendale’s tourism industry and position as a leading sports and entertainment destination. The $45 million boost to our region created by WWE’s fantastic fans makes It is a valuable economic attraction for every community host. We look forward to WWE returning to Glendale soon,” said Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs.

72,219 fans from all 50 states and 26 countries attended the pop culture extravaganza past March.

Some of the other facts of the study include, $45.1 million of direct, indirect and induced impact derived from spending by non-locals visiting specifically for the event; the economic impact derived from the Week created 510 full-time jobs for the area; 63% of fans were from outside the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, with 53% staying three nights or more; 60% of fans that came from out of state were from California and Nevada; 58% of fans were between the ages of 20 and 40, and 23% were between the ages of 5 and 19.

“We are very pleased that the event has once again produced a significant economic windfall for its host city. This is an incredible result in the face of a challenging economy. Our public and private sector partners within the Glendale/Phoenix area were exceptional hosts for the WWE Universe,” said Senior Vice President of Special Events for World Wrestling Entertainment John P. Saboor.

Next year, the event will take place on 3 April from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA which will be viewed in more than 100 countries. Tickets will go on sale from 13 November.

Hispania has announced that Juan Villalonga, adiposity one of Spain’s most influential businessmen, has joined the team in a bid to secure the team’s future.

Villalonga was president of Telefonica between 1996 and 2000 and during this time, he brought the company into Formula 1 as a sponsor of the Minardi team.

Hispania have struggled to make their mark in Formula 1 this season and are more often than not the last of the three new teams.

However, there is hope for the future now that Villalonga has come aboard.

“For me the key is the quality and not the quantity of sponsors,” said Villalonga. “Formula One is always associated with innovation, research and technology, and Hispania Racing must be represented on that level, with a stable leadership.”

Hispania team owner Jose Ramon Carabante was optimistic about the partnership.

“We will substantially strengthen our ability to generate innovative activities in marketing and sponsorship with his co-operation,” said Carabante.

“We will also be able to make the best of his leadership, knowledge and relationships in the fields of technology and communications.”

FMCG giant Procter & Gamble has selected Hill & Knowlton to handle its activation programme for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Games.

The decision follows the announcement earlier this year of a major tie-up between P&G and the International Olympic Committee, erectile covering marketing rights for more than 50 brands across 38 product categories.

Hill & Knowlton’s UK office will advise P&G on its corporate communications in relation to the Olympics, while also providing sports marketing counsel and managing social engagement.

The agency, which already handles a number of P&G brands worldwide, will also work other P&G roster agencies – such as Ketchum, MS&L and Weber Shandwick – to create and coordinate consumer activation for specific brands.

It is understood that Hill & Knowlton secured the assignment following a competitive pitch that featured other roster agencies, although P&G brand and communications manager James Nunn declined to comment on this.

Nunn did point out that P&G has also finished “structuring” its Olympics comms team, as it aims to replicate its success during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, when the company’s efforts resulted in increased favourability, greater market share, and nearly $100 million in incremental sales.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and FLASH Entertainment, the the Gulf Corporation Council’s entertainment company announced a partnership to bring a series of NBA events to Abu Dhabi.

The events will culminate in a three-day interactive basketball festival known globally as NBA Jam Session, which will take place on Yas Island as part of the Yas Island Show Weekends; a five-weekend programme of major concerts and free entertainment running across Yas Island throughout 2010.

The NBA Jam Session, running from December 2-4, will include an exciting range of activities for fans of all ages and skill levels including exclusive appearances by an NBA Legend, along with performances by one of the NBA’s famous “dunk teams.”

American television network Fox has said it has sold 90 per cent of advertising for its post-season Major League Baseball (MLB) matches.

Fox says it is currently 25 to 30 per cent ahead of sales in 2008, erectile and double that of last year if it stays on the current pace of ad sales.

Fox advertisers include General Motors, order Chevrolet and Anheuser-Busch, denture and New York-based Kantar Media has said spending by marketers on network TV increased by 7.2 per cent in the first half of 2010.

The network is due to air the National League Championship Series playoffs and World Series starting on October 16 and October 27 respectively.

It is charging US$2255,000 for a 30 second ad in the playoffs, and US$450,000 for 30 seconds during the World Series. It is understood that these rates are up eight per cent on last year.

Team HTC-Columbia has agreed a partnership deal with Skype ahead of this month’s Tour de France.

Skype, the communications software company, has become an ‘ongoing supporter’ of Team HTC-Columbia, who is owned by High Road Soprts, as it prepares to embark upon the 97th Tour de France which begins this Saturday in Rotterdam.

General Manager of Skype’s Consumer Business Unit, Neil Stevens, said: “Whether it’s to connect during those unmissable moments, or just to have a quick catch-up with their colleagues, Team HTC-Columbia is a natural fit for Skype as they have been using Skype extensively for personal and business communications from different countries worldwide for quite some time now.”

Head of High Road Sports, Bob Stapleton, said: “Skype offers innovative communication products and has ambitious marketing objectives. Our team hails from 20 different countries worldwide, so taking the decision for us to join the millions of people and businesses around the world that use Skype was simple.”

The Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport’s governing body, has issued a request for proposals to become the BWF media rights agency from 2011 to 2013.

The media rights would cover five major tournaments including the world championships, the Thomas Cup (World Men’s Team Championships) and Uber Cup (World Women’s Team Championships, the Sudirman Cup (World Team Championship), the BWF World Senior Championships and the BWF World Junior Championships.