NBA Marketing Notes: Toyota Inks Two-Year Extension With League
In this week’s SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, Terry Lefton reports Toyota has signed a two-year deal to remain a corporate sponsor of the NBA. The auto maker first signed with the league in ’05. The NBA was “hoping to also lure ... General Motors into the fold, but was unable to land that deal” (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 10/29 issue).
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Harris Bank Inks Three-Year Deal
To Be Bulls' Presenting Sponsor |
BANK SHOT: Chicago-based Harris Bank has signed a three-year deal with the Bulls that makes the company the team’s presenting sponsor. Harris will be the official bank of the Bulls, and a combined Bulls/Harris logo will appear on team print ads, press and promo materials, Bulls.com and United Center ushers’ lapel pins. The sponsorship includes the “Hero of the Game” promo at all home games, which allows branches to nominate a community hero, who will receive game tickets and be recognized on-court before the game. Harris will also be the presenting sponsor of the Bulls Adopt-A-School program. Also, during five home games, Harris will conduct its “Shirt Off Our Back” night, in which all fans will get a scratch-off card that could be good for one of five signed authentic jerseys (Harris). In Chicago, Lewis Lazare writes a print ad campaign via Element 79, Chicago, “blends Harris’ signature burgundy with the Bulls’ fire-engine red.” Harris marketing Senior VP & Head of Marketing Strategies Justine Fedak said that she “wanted to bring a different feeling to the bank” with the sponsorship. Lazare: “Judging from this debut print effort, it looks as if it will be quite a passionate feeling” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 10/30).
CELTICS: In a Q&A with the BOSTON GLOBE’s Keith Reed, Celtics President Rich Gotham said the team is working on finding a season-presenting sponsor. Gotham: “The idea is for a sponsor to tie themselves as closely as they can to the Celtics and be part of all our outbound marketing touches. We’re talking to a few different companies about that right now.” Asked if the team’s marketing approach will change this season with the on-court product upgraded, Gotham said, “We’re still going to give people the maximum value for their investment in Celtics tickets from a game-entertainment and fan-experience standpoint. With regard to our outbound sales and marketing programs, we’re going to need to pull back on some of the things that we’ve done in the past, simply because we won’t have the tickets available for some of these unique promotional programs that we’ve utilized in the past to fill the seats” (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/28).
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