Lenovo to Sign Major Sponsorship Deal with NFL

Lenovo is set to ink a new deal with the NFL as the league’s official PC supplier in a three-year deal.

Lenovo will announce the deal later this week with an employee event at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, featuring NFL names including Jerry Rice and DeAngelo Williams, along with some football skills competitions. Lenovo’s U.S. headquarters are in nearby Morrisville, N.C.

“We’ve built up our brand presence in the U.S. and increased our market share from seventh to fourth,” said David Schmoock, senior vice president, Lenovo Group, and president, North America, Lenovo. “We want Lenovo to get in the consideration set of 18- to 35-year-olds as we continue to expand our presence in the U.S., and the power and reach of the NFL should help us do that.”

The deal is the latest in an expansion of marketing activities in the U.S. for Lenovo, the world’s No. 2 PC maker. In the U.S., Lenovo is the No. 4 PC brand, but its American retail distribution has grown exponentially, from 400 to 4,000 stores over the past three years. Globally, most analysts say it will pass HP as the world’s top PC brand late this year or in early 2013.

David Rabin, Lenovo’s executive director of North American marketing, said: “When you make a long-term investment in a property the size of the NFL, you are sending a powerful message. We’re one of the biggest brands in the tech world that a lot of people still haven’t heard of, so we’re picking a brand as powerful as the NFL to partner with.”

IBM dropped its broad-based computer category rights this year after a 10-year run. Lenovo’s category rights include PCs, laptops and work stations. Tablet PCs are not included.