LAST WEEK TODAY: BIG DEALS, BIG ENGAGEMENT

Missing sponsorship news?

Check out the blog every Monday for a weekly roundup of the past week's most exciting and industry-altering news. These stories cover February 26-March 4, 2018.

1. It was a good week for Tough Mudder's sponsorship team. Two new deals were signed: CELSIUS and T-Rex. Is it just us, or could those make for awesome obstacle integrations and activations onsite?
2. The Ride Share category race continued: Uber signed up to the "Official Ride of the Stony Brook Seawolves." That's one of the best mascot names we've heard. Also, which schools are left to continue the Uber v. Lyft competition?
3. Post-PyeongChang, Samsung looks like the sponsor coming in strongest for digital engagements. Ralph Lauren and Intel ranked second and third, with McDonald's and Red Stripe both with a strong showing.
4. Despite those numbers, the Olympics (IOC and NOCs) is having some difficulty with sponsorship: after the Rio Games, several sponsors opted out of their deals. Will we see the same with PyeongChang? On a happy note: deals with Asian sponsors were up, likely correlated to the Olympics' Asian swing with Games in PyeongChang, Tokyo and Beijing.
5. Entertainment sponsorships were in the news this week; the upcoming film "Ready Player One" had a new deal with  sweepstakes hosted by partners Atom Tickets, Spotify and Lyft, and MoviePass signed onto sponsor the Miami Film Festival. Spoiler Alert: We've also seen some entertainment deals already this week as well!
6. ExxonMobil made a splash in the NBA. Three new team deals were signed with the Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, and Houston Rockets.

Did we miss any? Tweet @be_tandem - we hate being behind the times just as much as you do.

Look out next Monday for this week's game-changers.