Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln brand has signed a multi-year
partnership with the USTA to become the Presenting Sponsor
of the U.S. Open Men's Singles Championship, the Official
Vehicle of the U.S. Open and an Official Sponsor of Arthur
Ashe Kids' Day, effective this year. Lincoln will receive
the first-ever netpost signage for all U.S. Open men's
singles matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium and will create the
"Lincoln American Luxury Pavilion" interactive fan area at
the event. Lincoln will also run ads on CBS' and USA's
coverage of the Open. Additionally, as of January 2001,
Lincoln will be the presenting sponsor and the exclusive
vehicle of USA League Tennis, the USTA's rec tennis league.
The company will also run a print campaign around USA Tennis
Month, a grassroots initiative slated for May (USTA).
THE DETAILS ON THE DEAL: BRANDWEEK's Terry Lefton
reports that the deal is for five years and cites sources
who put it "in excess of" $20M, not including the CBS and
USA ad buys. Lincoln replaces Nissan's Infiniti brand,
which dropped out after an 11-year run as an Open sponsor.
Lefton writes that the Lincoln deal "continues the USTA's
success in a rather lackluster sports sponsorship
environment," as the U.S. Open has "juiced sponsorship
revenue" from $15M to $36M over the past five years under
Dir of Marketing Pierce O'Neil (BRANDWEEK, 4/17 issue). The
SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Daniel Kaplan writes that the deal
marks Lincoln's "first national sports sponsorship," which
the brand "plans to use ... as part of a recent effort to
exchange its stuffy reputation for a trendier, younger and
more appealing image" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/17 issue).
