Marketplace Roundup
 |
GM Pays About $1M A Year
To Sponsor NHL Teams |
In L.A., Alana Semuels notes GM execs "acknowledge that their marketing budget is smaller this year than last, though they declined to say by how much." GM CFO Ray Young said that the company "would market its remaining brands heavily despite a 2009 budget he termed 'a low point.'" IEG Senior VP & Editorial Dir Jim Andrews said GM pays about $5-10M annually to MLB for a sponsorship deal it renewed before this season, and about $1M a year to sponsor teams in the NBA, NFL and NHL. But GM "has been rolling back some of its sports sponsorships, deciding not to renew its deal with the U.S. Olympic team." The company also "has scaled back its NASCAR sponsorship" and ended Buick's nine-year relationship with golfer Tiger Woods. Borrell Associates CEO Gordon Borrell said that GM's bankruptcy filing in the "short term ... is likely to hit already struggling TV stations and newspapers the most dramatically" (L.A. TIMES, 6/4).
SCRATCH & SAVE: Saints VP/Marketing & Business Development Ben Hales said that team officials are talking about a "new advertising partnership with the Louisiana Lottery Corporation." Hales: "We have worked with them in the past on in-stadium advertising and things of that nature. This would involve using our (team) logo and marks on 'scratch off' (tickets) and things like that. We'll pursue every business opportunity we can with these kinds of relationships. It makes perfect sense because this is a real world solution to the current economic problems" (NOLA.com, 6/3).
 |
Dixon Golf Offering Environmentally-
Friendly Golf Balls |
FLIGHT STATUS: USA TODAY's Charisse Jones examines Delta Airlines' attempt to grow in the N.Y. market and notes it has "expanded its team of executives based" in N.Y., become the official airline sponsor of the Yankees, and "ramped up its marketing, branding its name on everything from a Midtown building to a restaurant near Grand Central Station." Delta Senior VP Gail Grimmett: "We wanted to make sure that we really became part of the fabric of New York." Jones notes in addition to sponsoring the Yankees, Delta has been the official airline of the Mets for several years (USA TODAY, 6/4).
ON THE GREEN: In Phoenix, John Davis reports Arizona-based Dixon Golf "launched its Earth golf ball and recycling initiative in January," and unlike most golf balls that contain lead, cobalt, tungsten and titanium, Dixon Golf CEO Dane Platt said Dixon balls are "green to the core." While Dixon Golf has a "daunting task in a highly competitive and sometimes cutthroat industry," it is "starting to make some inroads." The company "has been named the official ball of the eGolf Pro Tour, a developmental tour based in the southeast, and eGolf Amateur Tour" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 6/4).
|
