Ravens, Eagles Both Activating Around Cinderella Playoff Runs

AAA Will Serve As Presenting Sponsor Of Eagles' "Believe In Green" Playoff Bash

The Ravens and Eagles, both of which have made it to their respective conference championship games after coming into the playoffs as the bottom seeds, are having some success selling playoff sponsorships despite entering the playoffs with no chance of hosting a game. Ravens VP/National Sales & Partnerships Kevin Rochlitz has sold postseason deals to sponsors as varied as Esskay Meats, Shoppers Food & Pharmacy and Smyth Jewelers through association of events with Ravens players, personnel and cheerleaders as attractions. Rochlitz: "It's easy when you have a game that's something sponsors and fans can touch and feel." As has been the case for the past few weeks, the Ravens will stage a series of rallies on "Playoff Purple" Fridays around which the team sold signage and electronic media. "We create our own events to have something in the home market to sell," Rochlitz said. The Ravens' playoff campaign tag is "What's Our Name? -- Ravens," and that line has appeared in ads and on licensed apparel. Meanwhile, the Eagles have adopted "Believe in Green" as their playoff thematic, a variant of the NFL's "Believe In Now" seasonal tagline. After some earlier success with Anheuser-Busch as a sponsor of the same sort of events as the Ravens for its Bud Light brand, the Eagles have sold an incremental deal to AAA, which will be presenting sponsor of a "Believe In Green" playoff party tomorrow in Philadelphia, which will include Eagles players and cheerleaders. AAA gets signage at the event, along with online, TV, and radio inventory, which it will use to market the party and a fan cruise planned for March. The Pennsylvania Lottery has also signed on as a playoff sponsorship for the same sort, said Eagles Senior VP/Business Operations Mark Donovan (Terry Lefton, THE DAILY).

FLYING HIGH, FINALLY: In Arizona, Ed Taylor wrote with the Cardinals still in the NFL playoffs after “two improbable victories ... a lot of people are jumping on the Cardinals' bandwagon,” and it is “being reflected in sales at sports merchandise stores.” Arizona-based Just Sports Owner Kelly Roberts, who has 16 stores located throughout the state, said, “We’re making plans for the whole next two weeks. If they go to the Super Bowl, we’re anticipating it will be bigger than the [D'Backs'] World Series year.” Roberts added that the “hottest products" are anything with WR Larry Fitzgerald’s or QB Kurt Warner’s names on them (EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE, 1/12).