Although the Sponsorship Group of London has acquired 70% of
the sports marketing firm, Championship Group of Atlanta and
Chicago, the top three Championship execs -- Ardy Arani, 41, Gary
Stokan, 40, and Tom Swanson, 43 -- retain 30% and will continue
to head the firm, "which will operate autonomously and maintain
its name" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/5)....Corporate logos are now "spread
across outfield fences" of the Cape Cod League, as MLB has
"sliced its annual $85,000 subsidy to $40,000 with no sign of
restoring it next year" -- making a "big hole" in the league's
$135,000 budget. This year, signs are "pervasive" and sponsors
include Ocean Spray and Friendly's. The $130,000 "from the
sponsors is almost triple what the league lost" (BUSINESS WEEK,
7/10 issue)....Graphic artist Thomas Nash, who originated the
design for the Rockets new logo, said he is "getting bad press
from the public" on the new look, even though the team changed
his original concept. Nash: "I am glad to be a part of the
Rockets in a way, but I'm getting blamed for the uniforms, the
teeth, the pinstripes and everything else" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE,
7/1). Cosmonaut Anatoly Soloyvey wore a T-shirt with the new
Rockets logo while on the space station Mir (Mult.,
7/4)....Wrigley has decided not to renew its ad schedule in the
upper right hand corner of the front page of USA TODAY's interior
section. They had been an advertiser for 18 months, at an
estimated $2.3M a year (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/30)....Growth
Advisory, Inc. has been appointed by Woodford Publishing to
market the Rams yearbook and obtain local business advertising
(ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7/3)....Volkswagen in Canada gave 10
members of the CFL Argonauts cars as part of an endorsement
arrangement. The deal has "led to a morale problem on the team,"
according to one player (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 7/5). The
Argonauts are also trying to bolster attendance by offering a
"Guaranteed Win Night." If the Argos should lose to the Rough
Riders, fans will receive a free ticket to the team's next home
game (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 7/5)....USA TODAY's "Ad Track" featured the
Anheuser-Busch ads with the Budweiser frogs, which premiered
during the Super Bowl. Nearly 3/4 of the 612 consumers surveyed
who had seen the ads at least three times liked them. The frog
ads "are helping to raise the profile" of Budweiser -- "even with
non-drinkers" (Dottie Enrico, USA TODAY, 7/3)....Ed Fowler of the
HOUSTON CHRONICLE writes that the concept of "one-on-one"
continuing with Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon has "been
done." Examples: "Brutus: Next time, mano a mano. Julius."
"Donald: Go ahead. I double-dog dare you. Send 'em out on
strike again. Bud" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/1) ....Electronic Arts
Inc. will report net income of $4.4M or $.08 a share, down from
$11.9M or $.23 a share last year, according to Lewis Alton,
President of L.H. Alton & Co. He projects revenue of $65M, down
17% over the past year (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/3).
