LAST WEEK'S 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 December 2-8, 2019 and include sponsorship news in the soccer world, with Africa, and features new naming rights partnerships.
Sponsorship News in Africa
Remember how last week we talked about how Paris Saint-Germain was looking for a naming rights sponsor for their Parc des Princes and their training center in Poissy?
Apparently, they’ve found a match!
Paris Saint-Germain just signed a 3-year partnership with Rwanda Development Board (RDB) for branding on the soccer champions’ training kit.
PSG’s chief partnerships officer, Marc Armstrong, said: “With this partnership, we will deepen our engagement with fans in Africa."
But that’s not it for Africa…
Hey, side note… do you remember Shakira’s song Waka Waka? All these headlines make me want to sing “Tsamina mina zangalewa; This time for Africa!” If you don't know it, have a listen:
Okay back to it. It’s not all good news for Africa –
Standard Bank informed Cricket South Africa (CSA) that it will not renew its agreement as the title sponsor of the South African National Men’s Cricket Team when it concludes on 30 April 2020.
We’re not really sure everything that caused that decision, but Standard Bank Group Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Thulani Sibeko, said, “In light of recent developments at CSA, which are a culmination of long-standing problems which have damaged Standard Bank’s reputation, it has decided not to renew its partnership with CSA.”
Ouch.
It doesn’t sound good for CSA, especially considering that apparently, this comes at a time where CSA CEO Thabang Moroe and his leadership have come in for heavy criticism following what has been a disastrous few days for the organisation.
More Soccer Sponsorship News
In addition, the English soccer club Tottenham Hotspur has extended their partnership with fashion brand Hugo Boss for another 3 years. The new deal ensures that Spurs will continue as part of the company’s sporting portfolio which includes Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and motorsport series Formula E.
We also heard of a contract extension for English soccer star, Raheem Sterling, with Nike.
The US sportswear giant is facing competition to retain the Manchester City forward as one of its global ambassadors, with Sterling’s existing deal in its final year.
On the flipside, British newspapers reported that discussions between Sterling and Nike are at an advanced stage regarding a contract extension that will run until 2023. We will keep you updated when we hear more about this deal.
Details on SportsPro Media website
But wait…! There’s more soccer sponsorship news!
Battery brand Duracell has announced a new content partnership with English soccer giants Chelsea and Amazon Prime making this Duracell’s first partnership in soccer in more than ten years.
Read more about Duracell/Chelsea/Amazon Prime deal
Additional Naming Rights Deals
Another naming rights deal was made this last week, with Intermountain Healthcare securing naming rights for the Raiders’ Performance Center and Corporate Headquarters. Intermountain Healthcare also becomes the Official Healthcare Partner of the Raiders and a Founding Partner of Allegiant Stadium.
The partners will focus their efforts and new initiatives towards better health outcomes and overall well-being for individuals, families, and communities in the west.
We applaud you both!
Official announcement from Raiders website
Hold up, there’s another new naming rights deal...
Coralville’s Xtream Arena announced a 10-year partnership with MidAmerican Energy who will have naming rights for the concourse inside the arena. This $1 million deal comes just two months after GreenState Credit Union announced a 10-year, $1.4 million naming partnership with the fieldhouse at the arena.
That said, we should mention this arena isn’t actually opened yet…it's set to be completed in August 2020.
The 5,100-seat arena will host concerts, University of Iowa volleyball games and other events. Meanwhile, the fieldhouse will feature five, full-size athletic courts and host a wide range of athletic events. The fieldhouse is expected to draw a whopping 250,000 visitors in its first year.
The Gazette reported on this and has the full scoop.
Brand New Tequila Lands BIG Sponsorship
Ever heard of Cincoro Tequila? Yeah, we hadn’t either.
That’s because apparently it was just co-founded this past September by Lakers’ controlling owner Jeanie Buss, alongside several other NBA team owners.
Despite its new status, NBA fans will discover this brand really quickly.
Why?
Because a sponsorship deal has already been secured. Yup… Cincoro Tequila has been named an Official Sponsor of the Los Angeles Lakers and will have in-arena signage at the NBA team’s Staples Center.
More details on SportsPro Media
In other news...
- Reed's named the official ginger beer of famed Rose Bowl Stadium and will be served throughout the UCLA campus. (source)
- US stock car racing series Nascar has renamed its elite tier the Nascar Cup Series after deciding against renewing its title sponsorship deal with Monster Energy in favour of a new premium partner programme featuring Busch Beer, Coca-Cola, Geico and Xfinity as cornerstone brands from 2020. (source)
- The Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) family is getting even larger next season as Alsco, the global leader in uniform and linen rental services and a proud partner of the Speedway, brings longtime customer Darden Restaurants and its Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen brand aboard for naming rights of the April NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) race. (source)
Look out next Monday for the usual round-up on sponsorship news.