In India, Sharma & Rao reported Nike “has renewed its contract with the Board of Control for Cricket in India to be the official kit sponsor of the Indian cricket team and the new deal is said to be pegged at approximately” US$60.6M. Nike will also “be the official licencee for apparel merchandise for the Indian team” (TIMES OF INDIA, 4/26).
SWITCHING IT UP: Richard Petty Motorsports driver AJ Allmendinger for this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crown Royal presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400 at Richmond Int'l Raceway “will have primary sponsorship from Nautica, an apparel company part of VF Corporation.” Allmendinger, whose car is sponsored by Best Buy “for the majority of races, will have the Nautica logo on the hood of his car” (SCENEDAILY.com, 4/26).
RACING SCHOOL: In Miami, Michael Vasquez noted the Univ. of Miami was the “declared winner in NASCAR’s 12-school collegiate sports-marketing competition.” Students from the participating schools “worked through case studies and organized a promotional NASCAR viewing party," and these activities were factors "in the final ranking.” UM’s winning team “receives a free VIP trip to a NASCAR event,” and the five students will attend next month’s All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Oklahoma State Univ. finished second and Coastal Carolina Univ. came in third (MIAMI HERALD, 4/23).
DOUBLE OR NOTHING: MARKETING magazine’s Sarah Shearman reports Heineken “has launched StarPlayer, a dual-screen football game, as part of its UEFA Champions League sponsorship that fans can play while watching” games on TV. The free StarPlayer game, created by AKQA, can be “played on the Heineken Facebook page or downloaded from the App Store” starting today. Heineken “plans to make it available across multiple platforms.” Heineken reports that “75% of TV viewers are ‘dual-screening’ and 72% watch the UCL at home alone” (MARKETINGMAGAZINE.co.uk, 4/27).
HEALTHY LIVING: In California, Landon Hall noted former soccer player Mia Hamm is “lending her name to a Dannon promotion designed to help inform mothers” about the “right choices for their children’s diet.” Dannon on Monday launched the “Live Your Active Culture” campaign (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 4/25).
