IMG's Tim McGhee Leaving Company

IMG Senior VP/Corporate Consulting TIM MCGHEE is leaving the company within a month. In an internal email sent Thursday, IMG Senior VP & Managing Dir DAVID ABRUTYN offered no reason for McGhee's departure, saying that McGhee will exit on March 1 "to pursue the next step in his distinguished ...

Tags: People and Pop Culture, IMG

Differing Reasons For First Time SB Advertisers

For first-time Super Bowl advertisers, the decision to "play" in the Super Bowl is an indication that their brand or their category has come of age. The companies have reached what they believe is sufficient critical mass to justify what this year is at least a $3.5M investment to conn ...

Tags: Marketing and Sponsorship

Visa's Michael Lynch Resigns After 16 Years

Visa Head of Global Sponsorship Marketing MICHAEL LYNCH , one of the most influential voices in the sports sponsorship industry, has resigned after 16 years with the leading payment-card brand. Lynch was one of the first people hired specifically for sponsorship marketing for Visa, which has a port ...

Tags: People and Pop Culture, Visa

Visa Sponsorship Chief Michael Lynch Resigns

Visa Head of Global Sponsorship Marketing Michael Lynch , one of the most influential voices in the sports sponsorship industry, has resigned after 16 years with the leading payment-card brand. Lynch was one of the first people hired specifically for sponsorship marketing for Visa, which has a port ...

Bautista On Video Game Cover In Canada

Blue Jays RF Jose Bautista, who has led the AL in home runs the past two years, will appear on the cover of the Canadian version of Sony’s "MLB 12: The Show." Bautista did a shoot Monday in N.Y. for the video game, scheduled to be released March 6. Red Sox 1B Adrian Gonzalez will be on the cov ...

Tags: Marketing and Sponsorship

New Era Releasing NFL-Licensed Caps This Week

New Era's five-year NFL rights deal does not officially begin until April, but the Buffalo-based cap maker has its first NFL-licensed products in more than a decade at U.S. retail this week. Pro Bowl caps, priced at $28 for the 3930 model and $35 for the fitted 5950 cap, are being sold this week at ...

Tags: Marketing and Sponsorship, New Era

Athletes To Star In Bridgestone SB Ads

Spurs F Tim Duncan and Suns G Steve Nash will star in one of Bridgestone Tires' ads scheduled to air during NBC’s broadcast of Super Bowl XLVI, while another spot includes Pro Football HOFers Troy Aikman and Deion Sanders . The ads from The Richards Group, Dallas, continue to showcase t ...

Activation At AFC, NFC Championship Games

Sponsors and teams are putting the finishing touches on activation plans around Sunday’s NFL conference championship games. The Patriots host the Ravens in the AFC Championship game at 3:00pm ET, and the home team is giving away what are the first unsponsored NFL rally towels in memo ...

Tags: Marketing and Sponsorship, San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots

NFL Teams Prep Actiavtion Around Playoffs

Home teams in this weekend's divisional round of the NFL Playoffs are readying activation plans. In S.F., where the 49ers host their first playoff game since '02, the five-time Super Bowl champs are giving away 66,000 red rally towels emblazoned with one of coach Jim Harbaugh's favorite slogans ...

Tags: Marketing and Sponsorship

NBA Names Heat Retailer Of The Year

The NBA has named the Heat as its '11 Team Retailer of the Year. The award came at the league's annual team licensing show in Las Vegas, held in conjunction with the current Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show. The Heat were named the first three-time winner of the award, having also won in '03 and ' ...

Tags: Marketing and Sponsorship, Miami Heat