In Seattle, Brian Rosenthal reports the Seattle School Board last night unanimously voted night to allow commercial advertising on area high schools' "athletic fields, stadium scoreboards and school calendars.” The vote “came amid protests from parents and teachers holding signs” that read, "School is for learning, not for marketing." But School Board members “called it a modest proposal that was necessary given the school district's tight budget situation.” Officials said that the advertisements would “not be inside school buildings and would not promote unhealthful products” (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/21).
KICKSTART: REUTERS reports adidas “raised its forecast for sales of soccer products in 2012 to a new record of more than” $2B as fans “rushed to snap up jerseys from Germany, hotly-tipped in the Euro 2012 tournament, and replica match balls” (REUTERS, 6/21).
ANTE UP: Tennis player Rafael Nadal has joined PokerStars and will play in poker tournaments between tennis matches this summer. As part of the deal, he will represent PokerStars in online tournaments, in advertising campaigns and at charity events. More details will be announced in the coming months (PokerStars).
CLOTHING THE PEOPLE: The WTA named Chinese clothing brand Erke the official partner and supplier of sports apparel for all on-court officials for the ’12 and ’13 BNP Paribas WTA Championships. Under terms of the deal, Erke will provide clothing for all chair umpires, linespeople, ball kids and on-court TV camera crew in the tournament. In addition, Erke will develop a product line co-branded with the WTA Championships specifically for the event (WTA).
THE POWER OF DIGITAL: Nike VP/Digital Sport Stefan Olander said that “connecting with consumers using digital channels is more valuable and powerful to brands than anything that can be achieved with traditional marketing methods.” He added, “When you have millions of people that come back and reconnect with your brand multiple times a week, [you] realise that that connection is more valuable and powerful than any traditional pushed marketing messages” (MARKETINGWEEK.co.uk, 6/21).
