PGA Tour Transitions Championship Tournament Dir Kevin Krisle said that the event "will look locally and nationally to secure" a title sponsor after Transitions Optical informed the tour it will not extend its deal after next year. Krisle said, "We'll work in synch with the PGA Tour to try to find a title sponsor. The search process has begun." Title sponsorship for the tournament "has been reported to be around $7 million per year." While there has been "no time frame set to find a sponsor, the next season's schedules come out in the fall." If there is "no title sponsor by fall 2012, the local tournament may be in trouble." PGA Tour Exec VP/Communications & Int’l Affairs Ty Votaw "would not speculate on when a sponsor needed to be secured" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 11/3).
INK STAND: Tattoo Lou’s this season signed on as the official tattoo shop of the Islanders, and in N.Y., Dave Caldwell reports the shop's merchandise is "selling briskly" at the Islanders' team stores. That includes $25 T-shirts "with Islanders logos decorated in flaming orange and yellow with the word Revenge" and body jewelry like earrings and tongue barbells that "carry tiny Islanders logos." Islanders Senior VP/Corporate Partnerships Justin Johnson said, "It’s part of culture, and it’s not something we've shied away from. We're appealing to the 20- or 30-somethings that the Islanders are hip, cool and relevant again." Caldwell notes the tattoo stand is "across a cramped hall from a refreshment stand, but Johnson said the reaction had been 'beyond positive.'" Indications are that the shop "will be open for longer than the 10 home dates" already scheduled (N.Y. TIMES, 11/3).
OWN NEW TEAM: In Indianapolis, Curt Cavin reports driver Ed Carpenter has left Sarah Fisher Racing to form Ed Carpenter Racing, which will be "supported by a three-year commitment from Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka, a company owned" by golfer Fuzzy Zoeller. ECR will "work with an established motor sports organization based in Indianapolis" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 11/3).
BRANDING SHEETS: Sheets Energy Strips co-Founder Jesse Itzler, whose dissolvable energy-supplement brand has "made a splash in recent months with its 'I take a Sheet' ad campaign, explained to AD AGE what the 100 Mile Group is." Itzler said, "Our group does three things. We take equity interest in brands and then help out in sizzle marketing, bringing celebrities into emerging brands. So our first project was Zico coconut water. We got involved early as an investor and brought in a lot of celebrity investors like ["Live with Regis & Kelly" co-host] Kelly Ripa and [model] Gisele [Bundchen]. They were probably doing $5 million to $7 million in sales when we came in, and they should do $100 million next year. The second thing we do is start our own brands. We created a brand called Sheets with [Heat F] LeBron James, Maverick Carter (James' business manager) and Warren Struhl. We birthed that here. And the third thing we are is a creative agency, where we do work-for-hire stuff" (ADAGE.com, 10/31).
