In Jonesboro, Miya Garrett in Arkansas State's student newspaper reports the school has signed a seven-year, $11M "partnership extension with Adidas" that will keep it with the brand through the '22-23 academic season. The athletic department "initially held an agreement with an annual value of $345,000 and provided a promised value of $215,000" (Arkansas State University HERALD, 4/19 issue).
SAVE SOME FOR THE FISH: Michael Phelps is joining Colgate-Palmolive's water conservation awareness effort as a global ambassador. Phelps made the media rounds earlier this week to promote an effort that will help raise awareness for the "Save Water" program (Colgate-Palmolive).
THE SAFE BET: MEDIAPOST's Wayne Friedman noted RSNs "maintain their popularity with advertisers -- and viewers." Barclays media analyst Kannan Venkateshwar said that ad sellout levels on RSNs "were at 80%" prior to MLB Opening Day. Across 29 RSNs, Venkateshwar said that there have been "six new advertisers with advertising deals worth more than" $1M. He added that some clients are "shifting budgets out of entertainment prime-time programming to sports" -- in part "due to concerns over brand safety" (MEDIAPOST.com, 4/17).
