Latest Thinking from IEG

In the Wake of Boston Tragedy, Sponsors and Properties Discuss What’s Next
Although the twin bombings at the Boston Marathon have already had a significant impact on marathons and other types of events—namely increased security—most sponsorship veterans expect the incident to have little impact on sponsorship spending in the endurance sports space

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Filed under: events, marathon, sports, venues, cause marketing

Designer “Haute-Eliers” And Their Brand Partnerships
Over the last decade, upscale fashion brands found on New York City’s Madison Avenue, Paris’s Avenue Montaigne and London’s Sloane Street have extended well beyond apparel and accessories into housewares, sheets and textiles, lighting and furniture.

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Filed under: international, trends, venues, fashion

Sponsorship Takeaways from the AFP Int’l Conference on Fundraising
I had the pleasure of moderating a sponsorship panel discussion at the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ 49th International Conference on Fundraising in Vancouver earlier this month.

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Filed under: cause marketing, how to get sponsorship, local, nonprofit, selling, venues, arts

Bad Faith: Big Brother Pulls the Rug Out from under Venue Sponsorship
Unsettling news came out of Vancouver last week, as the provincial government of British Columbia killed a deal for telecommunications company Telus to obtain naming rights to BC Place Stadium.

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Filed under: Canada, contracts, government/municipal, in-kind, naming rights, negotiating, telecommunications, valuation, venues, backlash

Power Balance Pavilion: I Don’t Hate To Say I Told You So
Thirteen months ago when the NBA Sacramento Kings signed a five-year deal for wristband-maker Power Balance to take over the naming rights to the Arco Arena, I tweeted the following: “Did the Maloof/Kings/Power Balance naming rights deal just set the #sponsorship industry back 100 years? I'm leaning toward yes.”

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Filed under: non-traditional categories, pro sports, selling, valuation, venues, naming rights

New Ticketmaster Book a Scintillating Read for Sponsorship Buyers and Sellers
Just finished a must-read for anyone in sports, event or entertainment marketing: Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped by Dean Budnick and Josh Baron.

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Filed under: events, music, venues, entertainment

Plenty of Questions Surround Mercedes’ Superdome Deal
Stadium naming rights sponsorships never fail to create conversation about their value, origins and overall worthiness, and last week’s agreement to put the Mercedes-Benz name on New Orleans’ Superdome is no exception.

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Filed under: naming rights, pro sports, valuation, venues, automotive

The Secret behind Jones Soda’s Phantom Sponsorship

I should start by saying I don’t actually know what really happened behind the scenes of the very interesting turn of events that unfolded last week regarding the NBA New Jersey Nets and the switch of the team’s official soft drink sponsorship from Jones Soda to Coca-Cola.

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Filed under: pro sports, soft drink, venues, beverage

Livestrong Sporting Park: Nice, but not a Big, New Idea

The deal between MLS team owner Sporting K.C. and Livestrong to make the cancer-fighting foundation the naming rights sponsor of the new soccer stadium opening in June is certainly commendable. However, it is neither unprecedented, nor the best example of this type of partnership between a sports property and a nonprofit.

Those that have come before include:

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Filed under: cause marketing, naming rights, nonprofit, pro sports, trends, valuation, venues, what is sponsorship, assets

Chase Paid $30 Million And Didn’t Get Title? Smart Move

The news that JPMorgan Chase signed a 10-year agreement with Madison Square Garden for a reported $30 million a year certainly raised many an eyebrow across the sponsorship industry earlier this week.

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Filed under: naming rights, pro sports, spending, sports, trends, valuation, venues, financial services