The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Steven Perlberg cites YouGov BrandIndex data as showing that Pepsi, Sony and Coca-Cola have "seen a brand bump thanks to World Cup-related advertising." Meanwhile, McDonald's "has dropped in YouGov's 'buzz score,' which asks interviewees whether they have heard something positive or negative about a brand." Pepsi is not an official FIFA or World Cup sponsor, but is "running soccer-themed ads" and "saw its brand awareness increase 4%." Coca-Cola, which is a sponsor, "had its 'word-of-mouth' score grow 5%." McDonald's, which has "advertised heavily surrounding the World Cup, has lost brand perception" (
WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/30).
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY: Warriors G Stephen Curry said that his Under Armour signature shoe is "in production and is likely headed for a release" at the beginning of '15. BAY AREA NEWS GROUP's Diamond Leung noted Curry, who yesterday "participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil a court that features his personal logo, is the face of Under Armour’s basketball division." Curry and UA this week "held the first SC30 Select Camp, allowing 20 top high school guards from around the world" to work with Curry (INSIDEBAYAREA.com, 6/30).
ICY HOT: The ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL profiled equipment maker Total Hockey as part of a feature on the 25 fastest-growing companies in the market. Total Hockey's "expansion into new cities coupled with its move into the lacrosse market has boosted revenue" more than 84% since '11 to $48M in '13. The company within the last two years has "added 10 new stores in the U.S." Total Hockey President & Owner Michael Benoit said, "The last five or seven years have been good growth years for hockey. It’s not double digit (growth), but compared to other sports, it’s trending up" (ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 6/27 issue).
BATTER UP: In Baton Rouge, Ted Griggs noted a recent investment by Envisage Equity in Baton Rouge-based Marucci Sports is "the latest step in Marucci’s ambitious growth plan." Marucci co-Founder & CEO Kurt Ainsworth, also a former MLBer, has "laid out a blueprint for the company to double in size in the next two years and eventually become No. 1 in every product line for baseball" (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 6/28).
