The Bruins on Saturday held their Stanley Cup championship parade, and major corporations “ponied up $50,000 apiece to get their brands on the flotilla of duck boats carrying” Bruins players, according to Greg Turner of the BOSTON HERALD. Boston Arts, Tourism & Special Events Acting Dir Chris Cook said that the city and the team “sold top Duck Boat sponsorships to AT&T, Dunkin’ Donuts, Gillette, JetBlue, John Hancock Financial Services, Reebok and TD Bank to offset expenses for the massive event.” The funds covered “the celebration’s estimated $250,000 in production costs -- such as renting two Jumbotrons and putting up fences to protect landscaping -- and part of the potential $400,000 taxpayer tab for police overtime and other government costs.” The full duck boat sponsorship included “a banner ad on the roof” that could be spotted in aerial TV coverage. Additional companies “signed up for lower-priced marketing opportunities, such as a scrolling ad on the big screen flashing toward the masses gathered in Copley Square” (BOSTON HERALD, 6/18). Boston Duck Tours Assistant Dir of Marketing & Sales Bob Schwartz said that “no money is going to Boston Duck Tours,” which donated “the use of its duck-boat flotilla to the city in honor of the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in 39 years.” Dot Joyce, a spokesperson for Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, said that she “did not know what the cost of the festivities will be, but that it is expected to be in line with the Celtics 2008 victory celebration price tag of $360,000” (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/18).
FLYING OFF THE SHELVES: In Boston, Kaivan Mangouri reported a “rush for Bruins souvenirs gathered steam in anticipation” of Saturday’s parade. Some shoppers “seeking commemorative T-shirts or hats were turned away as stores scrambled to restock hot items.” Retailers said that the “top seller” was a $30 Stanley Cup Champs Locker Room hat from Reebok. A Modell’s Sporting Goods store sales associate said that the store in Newton “ran out of the hats for the second time in two days” on Friday. Olympia Sports in Boston’s Prudential Center “sold out its stock of 80 hats” Friday morning, and customers “waited in line for a noon shipment that replenished the supply.” Olympia Sports employee Jim Kallinich said that the store “had opened at 9 a.m. -- an hour early -- and sold about $5,000 in merchandise in the first two hours of the day.” As for T-shirts, Kallinich noted that those “with the name and number of Bruins goalie Tim Thomas and center Brad Marchand were in the most demand.” Mangouri noted “novelty items, such as shot glasses,” also were “heavy sellers” (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/18).
