Budweiser, an official sponsor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, has unveiled today their marketing campaign named Rise As One for the upcoming tournament.

As the official beer sponsor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, Budweiser has designed a holistic creative platform under the Rise As One thematic, which will serve to celebrate the moments that unite and inspire fans of the beautiful game around the world.

“While football brings out regional pride and fierce rivalries, it also brings fans across the globe together once every four years through shared passion,” said Andrew Sneyd, Global Vice President, Budweiser. “With the Rise As One campaign, Budweiser celebrates the world’s favorite game and its role in inspiring fans to celebrate the moments that unite us as a global community.”

Budweiser is present in over 80 countries around the world, and Rise As One will have truly global reach as markets around the world bring it to life through a unified platform including new television and out-of-home advertising, as well as customized local market activations and initiatives to engage fans in-store, online and across social channels. Additionally, Budweiser will develop and distribute global broadcast and digital FIFA World Cup related content through strategic media partnerships, the details of which will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Budweiser’s Rise As One campaign will be unveiled to a national audience with the first of multiple new TV spots breaking online on March 5, 2014 and supported by impactful out-of-home content, which will showcase the passion of fans across the world as they come together to celebrate the tournament.

Global marketing agency GMR Marketing and Experience Worldwide have announced a formal merger in the UK under the GMR name, effective immediately.

The decision follows a longstanding and successful partnership dating back to 2009. 

The merger combines the agencies’ collective expertise in engagement marketing and sponsorship, as well as significant portfolio of international clients across sports, entertainment, music and lifestyle. GMR is managing major sponsorship activations at the Sochi 2014 Winter Games and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

As part of the merger, James Hunt, who has been with Experience Worldwide for four years as Client Services Director, will assume the role of Managing Director out of GMR’s London office. In his new role, Hunt will lead the agency’s efforts across EMEA.

“GMR has experienced significant international growth over recent years and the London office has been vital to this expansion,” says Gary Reynolds, GMR’s CEO and Chairman. “James and his team were an enormous asset throughout the London 2012 Olympic Games and will continue do great work as an official part of the GMR family.”

GMR has 17 offices in 10 different countries worldwide.

Arnold Palmer Golf Management, doctor owned by Century Golf Partners, health announced it has entered into a long-term lease agreement with the equity members at Mira Vista Golf & Country Club.

Located in the East Bay of San Francisco, pills the venerable member-owned Club features a newly renovated 18-hole golf course with spectacular views of the San Francisco Bay area.

“After careful consideration of our options, we chose a partnership with Century Golf Partners,” stated Paul Brown, President of Mira Vista Golf & Country Club. He continued, “We were impressed with their exceptional track record of providing a fine private club experience, working with members to increase membership levels and their reverence for the history of our club.” Ron Svein, the Club’s General Manager, added, “Mira Vista is a terrific club with an impressive legacy. Our team is looking forward to combining forces with Century Golf Partners to deliver a superb member experience.”

Doug Howe, a partner with the Dallas-based Century Golf Partners, commented, “We are very excited about this opportunity to work with the Mira Vista members and staff. This is an extraordinary club with members who have passionately supported their club for many years. Our goals are simply to ensure the club reaches a full membership roster and the members have fun and enjoy their club.”

In addition to the membership and management expertise of Arnold Palmer Golf Management, Mira Vista members will enjoy access to the “Palmer Advantage – Platinum,” a reciprocal club and travel benefit that provides concierge services and special privileges at private clubs, resorts and golf courses throughout the United States and internationally.

Cricket Australia (CA) today announced a partnership with Hampshire Cricket which will see six of Australia’s most talented young cricketers travel to the United Kingdom to attend the Ageas Bowl International Cricket Academy (ABICA).

As part of the program the players will compete for six different club teams in the Southern Electric Premier League for the duration of the English domestic cricket season.

The landmark partnership will provide the selected players with the opportunity to train and play in elite state-of-the-art facilities in England during Australia’s domestic off-season. The players will have access to world-class coaching and sports science and medical staff.

The program and partnership with Hampshire Cricket will form part of the 2013 AIS Men’s Cricket Program and the Kerry Packer Foundation will provide scholarships to the selected players, medicine in its continued endeavour to support young cricketers.

The ABICA is based at the Ageas Bowl which boasts first-class training facilities and is used by Hampshire Cricket to identify and nurture talented young players.

CA’s Executive General Manager Team Performance Pat Howard said the partnership would provide a unique development opportunity for some of Australia’s most talented cricketers.

“CA is very excited about this partnership and opportunity for our very best young players, check ” Howard said.

“The opportunity to experience cricket in a different country will grow them as players and as people. For those chosen it will be an important part of their development.”

Hampshire Cricket Chairman Rod Bransgrove said he was looking forward to Hampshire Cricket playing a key role in the development of the selected players.

“The Ageas Bowl International Cricket Academy commences operations in April of this year and we are delighted that Cricket Australia is sending six high-performing young players to the Academy in its inaugural year, viagra 60mg ” Bransgrove said.

“This shows a high level of confidence and faith in the ABICA facilities and staff and we look forward to working with CA in accelerating the development of these talented young cricketers.”

The National Selection Panel (NSP) are currently finalising the AIS squad and will select six of these players to take up the opportunity with Hampshire Cricket. A final announcement regarding the selected players will be made in due course.

With NFL replacement refereees job being scrutinised the league and representatives for its locked-out referees were negotiating in an effort to end their dispute, according to several people familiar with the talks.

The talks already had been scheduled before Monday night’s controversy, one person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.

That person said he didn’t believe the furor would have a significant impact on the negotiations. Talks have been ongoing.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and league attorney Jeff Pash were among the participants in Tuesday’s negotiations, another person said.

The league and NFL Referees Association have been at odds over salaries, pensions and non-economic issues. Several people familiar with the negotiations have said in recent days that pensions have emerged as the top issue separating the two sides. The referees have been asking for an annual contribution of $38,500 per official to their pension plan, which the NFL considers too generous for part-time employees, according to one person with knowledge of the talks.

One person familiar with the negotiations said Monday, before the controversy in Seattle, that a deal was unlikely this week but could be within reach next week. But even that was uncertain, the person said.

A former NFL front-office executive said Tuesday he remained skeptical that the public outcry over the missed call Monday night would lead the NFL to make major concessions in the negotiations with the locked-out referees to get them back on the field.

“They are a reactive group,” the former executive said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic. “They do react to what’s on the (television) networks, what’s in the newspapers. But with money, they can dig in. They consider this group they’re dealing with (the referees) to be unreasonable. I don’t think they’ll cave in. They’ll compromise, but they won’t cave in.”

Former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker said an erroneous call by the replacements that decided a game was bound to happen sooner or later.

“I think the biggest shame of it is that anybody with half a brain could see this coming,” said Tucker, who played for Washington, Dallas, Buffalo and New England. “If you watched the preseason games, if you watched the first two weeks of regular season games, it was inevitable.”

Tucker said he thinks the controversy could spur a resolution between the league and the regular officials.

“I do think they’ll get something done in the next few days because of the pressure,” Tucker said. “But it’s so frustrating, because why did it have to come to this? This could have been done last week. Maybe the league was hoping this wouldn’t happen, or it wouldn’t be this bad if it did happen. But you could see it coming from a mile away. They could have avoided this train wreck and yet they chose not to.”

Even United States president, Barack Obama deemed the situation “terrible” and declaring it was time to get regular officiating crews back on the job.

“I’ve been saying for months we’ve got to get our refs back,” Obama said as he returned to the White House from an appearance before the United Nations. In a tweet that went out under his initials, Obama said: “NFL fans on both sides of the aisle hope the refs’ lockout is settled soon.”

{jcomments on}

The ATP announced they will add a new tournament in Rio de Janeiro in 2014, with SAP Open in San Jose getting the boot.

The San Jose event, the second-oldest men’s professional tennis tournament in the United States, with roots stretching back to 1889, will be held for the final time next February in San Jose.

This did not come as entirely surprising news, given the SAP Open’s struggle to attract top players and sizable crowds in recent years. But it still counted as a jolt in many ways, given the Bay Area’s rich tennis tradition.

“The history and longevity of pro tennis in the Bay Area is definitely something we didn’t take lightly,” said Mike Lehr, executive vice president of business development for Sharks Sports & Entertainment (which owns the tournament). “That’s one reason we’re going to continue to try to find ways to bring tennis to San Jose.”

Lehr was referring to potential exhibition matches, ideally involving some of the sport’s big names.

Sharks Sports & Entertainment will remain involved in the tennis business: It also owned the ATP and WTA (women’s) events in Memphis, Tenn., which it sold to a group taking those tournaments to Brazil. The ATP stop in San Jose, technically, will move to Memphis.

Lehr traced attendance woes in the Bay Area to the limitations of HP Pavilion.

“Part of it was the single court, and having to spread out the tournament a lot differently than in a facility with multiple courts,” Lehr said.

The SAP Open started as the Pacific Coast Championships in 1889, held at the old Del Monte Lodge in Monterey. The tournament has had several homes in the 123 years since then, from the storied Berkeley Tennis Club to San Francisco’s quirky Cow Palace, and ultimately San Jose beginning in 1994.

by Ismail Uddin