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Marketing and Sponsorship

Corner Kicks: Nike Takes Over USL Sponsorship Despite Divesting Stake In League

Nike on Wednesday said that it is “taking over as sponsor of the United Soccer League three years after the company sold its majority stake in the minor league circuit.” In Portland, Erik Siemers noted Nike “inherited ownership of the USL" in '07 when it acquired U.K.-based Umbro, "which held a 98 percent stake in the league.” Nike “divested its stake” in the USL in August ‘09 to Atlanta-based NuRock Soccer Holdings, "though the Umbro brand stayed on as the league's primary sponsor.” Nike subsequently sold Umbro to Iconix Brand Group in a $225M deal “that closed earlier this month, prompting Nike to shift over and become USL's primary sponsor” (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/12).

COMING TO AMERICA: MARKETING magazine’s John Reynolds reported EPL club Tottenham Hotspur has “earmarked developing the football club's brand in the US as a key priority by targeting its portfolio of sponsors and its US support base through marketing initiatives.” Tottenham Int'l Business Development Senior Manager Aidan Mullally said, "We see the US as our number one priority." The club “went on a pre-season tour of the US this year,” visiting L.A., Baltimore and N.Y., and a “number of the club's sponsors are US companies," including HP, EA Sports, and Under Armour. The club said that it has “around six million fans in the US” (MARKETINGMAGAZINE.co.uk, 12/12).

FOR KICKS: PR WEEK’s John Owens reported Puma is “planning to ratchet up its share in the increasingly competitive soccer market by targeting youngsters through the brand's big-name soccer stars.” The company has “picked Clifford French as its retained UK and Ireland agency covering football following a three-way pitch process.” The appointment, replacing “incumbent Mercieca, will involve the agency using a trio of stars -- and their respective soccer shoe deals -- to appeal to young fans.” Puma in the campaign will “use its links" with EPL club Manchester City F Sergio Agüero and MF Yaya Touré, as well as La Liga club FC Barcelona MF Cesc Fàbregas (PRWEEKUS.com, 12/12).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

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SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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