BlackBerry, Canon Top Sponsor Exposure For Preakness On NBC

Preakness Stakes title sponsor BlackBerry generated 6 minutes, 53 seconds (6:53) of exposure during Saturday's race coverage on NBC, over three times more exposure than any brand in the '08 event, according to Connecticut-based Sponsorship Research Int'l (SRi). As title sponsor of the race, the BlackBerry name was included in the race logo, and the majority of the brand's exposure stemmed from on-screen graphics and race logo displays in the paddock area. Canon, which served as presenting sponsor of the event, generated five minutes, eight seconds (5:08) of exposure, as most on-screen Preakness graphics included "Presented by Canon." NBC's coverage of the '09 Preakness generated more than double the exposure for sponsors over the '08 race, as brands experienced 20:20 of exposure this year compared to 7:31 last year. The increase can be attributed to the addition of title and presenting sponsors, as well as the exposure generated by NetJets and ADT. NetJets, which did not sponsor the '08 event, received 3:24 of exposure from its placement on jockey apparel, while ADT generated 2:12 of exposure from the ADT Sports Update, up 560% from 0:20 last year (SRi).