Announcements

DePaul Strikes Arena Naming Rights Deal With Wintrust
Crain's Chicago Business, November 16, 2016
The new home of DePaul University men's and women's basketball on the McCormick Place convention center campus has a new name... More

Trump Campaign Gets a Race Car Courtesy of Nascar Owners
Bloomberg Politics, November 04, 2016
Donald Trump is entered in a different race this weekend... More

Cubs World Series Makes Team’s Stars A Hit With Marketers
Chicago Tribune, October 25, 2016
Winning the World Series could do more than end a centurylong drought for the Chicago Cubs and their long-suffering fans. A victory on baseball's ultimate stage could launch the team's charismatic young stars, and its grizzled manager, into the sports marketing elite... More

Michael Phelps Garners Marketing Opportunities Following Rio Games
Wall Street Journal, October 12, 2016
Millions of Americans watched as Michael Phelps solidified his legacy as the most decorated Olympic athlete in history after finishing the Rio Games with six more medals... More

Hyundai Rises to 15th in Ranking of Largest U.S. Corporate Sponsors
Automotive News, October 11, 2016
Hyundai Motor America’s NFL sponsorship helped the automaker make a major gain in U.S. sponsorship rankings for 2015, jumping from No. 58 to No. 15 on consultant IEG’s annual report of top spenders... More

How Brands Can Use Fan-Generated Video Content in Sports Marketing Campaigns
Portada, September 21, 2016
At #Portada16 Sports marketing experts and brand marketers spoke about how they can make the best use of homemade video content generated by sports fans... More

Is Kaepernick's Brand Benefiting From National Anthem Protests?
Fox Business, September 13, 2016
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has endured plenty of criticism in recent weeks due to his decision to kneel in protest during the National Anthem, but there’s evidence that the ongoing debate over his actions has boosted his personal brand... More

Lowdown: NFL Splits Auto Sponsors as Ford Joins Hyundai in Three-Year Deal
Advertising Age, September 07, 2016
Hyundai's reign as the NFL's only automotive sponsor ended today when Ford announced a three-year deal as the official truck of the NFL... More

Will This Megaconcert With the Stones, Dylan and The Who Really Pass Up Sponsors?
Adweek, September 06, 2016
The nasty jokes started shortly after the Rolling Stones, The Who, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Roger Waters and Bob Dylan announced they'd be performing on the same bill for the first time at an epic two-weekend rock show dubbed Desert Trip... More

White Sox Get No New Money from Naming Rights Deal with Guaranteed Rate
Chicago Tribune, September 02, 2016
The new naming rights deal for the publicly owned stadium where the White Sox play baseball is worth $25.1 million but will deliver no additional money to the team, documents associated with the agreement show... More

Here's What Sox Get in Ballpark Naming Deal
Crain's Chicago Business, September 01, 2016
The White Sox's new stadium naming rights deal with Chicago-based mortgage lender Guaranteed Rate is worth a fraction of the team's previous contract with U.S. Cellular... More

So You Sponsor Colin Kaepernick, Now What?
Ad Age, August 31, 2016
NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has effectively put his sponsors in a quagmire with his controversial decision to remain seated as the national anthem played during last Friday's preseason game against the Green Bay Packers... More

Fore! Golf Sponsorships To Surpass $1.8 Billion This Year
MediaPost, August 29, 2016
If golf’s return to the Olympics after more than a century wasn’t enough, golf properties have even more to cheer about: a solid increase in sponsorship spending... More

MasterCard’s Priceless Sponsorship
Warc, August 24, 2016
MasterCard, the payments firm, is shifting its sponsorship strategy away from being a "dumb buyer" and towards co-creating unique partnerships and experiences – a move based in part on meeting the needs of millennials... More

U.S. Cellular Field, Home of the White Sox, to Become Guaranteed Rate Field
Chicago Tribune, August 24, 2016
Out with the Cell, in with … well, fans aren’t quite sure what to call it yet... More

Rio Incident Cuts Short Ryan Lochte's Commercial Victory Lap
Reuters, August 18, 2016
The week after winning his sixth career Olympic gold in Rio, U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte should have been doing a victory lap, cashing in on his performance with fresh sponsorship deals... More

How Nike Brilliantly Ruined Olympic Marketing Forever
Adweek, August 10, 2016
Unless you happen to be a company like GE, Coca-Cola or McDonald's—a brand that can afford the reported $100 million to $200 million it costs to be an official Olympic sponsor—you'd better not mention the Rio games in your marketing... More

Bridgestone Hoping To Capitalize On Olympic Sponsorship
Tire Business, July 27, 2016
It's tough to find a seat at the most exclusive Olympics sponsorship table, but Bridgestone Corp. has one of the 12 chairs for at least the next eight years... More

Key Sponsors Praise NBA Move to Pull All-Star Game From N.C.
Ad Age, July 21, 2016
The National Basketball Association today said it would pull the 2017 All-Star game from North Carolina, citing the state's controversial anti-LGBT law. And sponsors — which faced the prospect of dealing with protests — are big winners in the decision, said sports marketing experts... More

Sevens’ Olympic Moment
Raconteur, July 10, 2016
As rugby sevens makes its bow at the Rio Olympics, players, fans and sponsors believe that the shortened version of the game could be about to break out as a real commercial force... More

WIMBLEDOSH! Why it's not just Andy Murray making a mint at the world's most lucrative Grand Slam tournament
The Daily Mail, July 08, 2016
WIMBLEDOSH! Why it's not just Andy Murray making a mint at the world's most lucrative Grand Slam tournament.. More

Lowdown: Olympics Have an Official Mosquito Repellent Brand
Ad Age, July 06, 2016
Here's an Olympics sponsorship with major topical relevance: SC Johnson's Off! has been named the official mosquito repellent of next month's Summer Olympics games in Rio de Janeiro... More

NBA Sponsorship Dollars Jump 8% in 2015-16 Season
MediaPost, June 30, 2016
Sponsorship spending on the National Basketball Association and its 30 teams totaled nearly $800 million in the 2015-2016 season — up 8% from the previous year, according to IEG research, part of WPP’s ESP Properties... More

Budweiser: Experiences Are The New Impressions In $1.4 Billion Live Music Sponsorship Market
Forbes, June 15, 2016
Half of all Americans attended live music events last year, with more than half of the $152 annual average spent by music consumers going toward concerts and festivals. With tens of millions of fans prioritizing live events, it’s no surprise advertisers are looking for ways to capitalize on music’s popularity... More

Krupa: Increased Sponsorships Rev Detroit Grand Prix
The Detroit News, June 04, 2016
Driver Graham Rahal sat at the dais of the IndyCar Series media center in the 1908-vintage Belle Isle Casino talking about racing and announcing his latest sponsor... More