Shaquille O’Neal is the hardest working guy in the pitch-man business. The NBA Hall of Famer shows up in TV commercials, digital ads and social media spots for products in just about every industry, while also being a serial franchisee, spinning a side gig as a DJ and...
With Major League Baseball locking out players last week, the prospect looms of losing games to a drawn-out fight over the next collective bargaining agreement. While everyone hopes for a settlement before the 2022 baseball season heats up—giving MLB and union...
A quick scan of Olympic and World Cup headlines should be sufficient for sponsors of any global sporting event or organization to realize that it’s no longer if, but when. When will they be called to state their stance on the non-sporting actions of a host country?...
Those of us who have never worked full-time on the corporate side of sponsorship marketing may find ourselves daydreaming about what it would be like to have one of the most coveted roles in sports business. From the outside—and perhaps especially for the salesperson...
Many sports teams and consumer brands run loyalty programs, but only recently have properties and sponsors started to integrate them as part of a sponsorship activation. One difficulty was the “conversion factor” between two points systems. What’s the airline mile...
In the vernacular of sports and other partnerships, corporate sponsors are often referred to as “brands,” while sponsored organizations are typically called properties or rights holders. While this works as industry shorthand, it partially negates the consideration of...
As sports team ownership evolved from being a pet project for high-net worth individuals or families to a true business venture, the standard business imperatives of growth, acquisition and agglomeration changed the ownership landscape. Ownership groups reorganized...
As leagues and teams seek short- and long-term solutions to declining attendance and ticket sales trends, their corporate partners are undoubtedly watching closely and assessing the ramifications for their brands’ ability to reach and interact with fans. With general...
Banking and financial services are two of the traditional cornerstone industries in sports sponsorships. The growth of P2P money transfer apps, mobile payments and digital wallets shifted the key question for consumer finance companies and their partner properties...
In recent conversations with two sports properties, each shared that it was revamping the way it solicits, sells and works with corporate partners. And each was doing the exact opposite of the other. One was adopting an “account-management” structure, eliminating its...
