The EquiTrend Top 100 brand equity survey is in this week's
BRANDWEEK. In its seventh year, the survey tracks perceptions of
brand quality among 1,000 consumers nationwide who are older than
14. A rating of 8.00 or higher is classified as a "world class
brand." Sample companies with rating: Disney World (8.40),
Disneyland (8.20), The Summer Olympics (7.78), Nike athletic
shoes (7.71), CNN (7.68), Nike activewear (7.58), ESPN (7.46),
Reebok athletic shoes (7.39) (BRANDWEEK, 4/8 issue)....Ira
Rainess, who handles Cal Ripken Jr.'s endorsements, says the O's
star is getting, "about 50 proposals a week," but adds, "I turn
down about 95 percent of them" (WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/12
issue)....SMG and Sports Productions, Inc. announced yesterday a
joint venture arrangement for the "Classic," the Black Coaches
Association's annual college basketball doubleheader. SMG will
take over ownership of the event and SPI and SMG will administer
the event and handle all ticket sales and promotions (SMG)....The
United Postal Service has dedicated a stamp to the Boston
Marathon (USPS)....Sportmart Inc. will open two stores in British
Columbia this weekend. The stores will be called SportDepot
because Kamloops-based Sport Mart Discount Superstores owns the
Sports Mart name in B.C. and Alberta (VANCOUVER SUN,
4/12)....August Busch IV was interviewed in BRANDWEEK. Busch on
A-B's advertising strategy: "If you get too serious or
straightforward, you don't even register, with some of the other
work that we're competing against for advertising share of mind
with the Cokes, the Pepsis, the Nikes" (BRANDWEEK, 4/8
issue)....Nike stock was up 1 1/8 to 83 1/2 after Merrill Lynch
repeated a long-term buy and a near-term accumulate
recommendation ("NBR," PBS, 4/11)....Russell Corp. reported sales
up 4% for the first quarter compared to the same period last year
(Russell Corp.)....The N.Y. POST's Peter Vecsey writes he has
heard Nike has a 10-year, $20M endorsement package on the table
for Georgetown's Allen Iverson if he turns pro (N.Y. POST, 4/12).
