Scotiabank's 20-year naming rights deal with MLSE is an "ambitious attempt to secure its front-runner status in hockey sponsorship by imprinting its name on two of the sport's crown jewels" -- the soon-to-be-named Scotiabank Arena and the Maple Leafs, according to Bradshaw & Robertson of the GLOBE & MAIL. The deal will "anchor Scotiabank's marketing strategy for the next two decades." By virtue of its size and scope, the deal is a "landmark in Canadian sports marketing." Scotiabank CMO John Doig said, "We knew right away that there was a horse race here." Sources said that the RBC was among the "most determined rivals waiting in the wings." Sources said that as part-owners of MLSE, BCE and Rogers Communications had an agreement to "stay out of the bidding." After Air Canada's exit, Scotiabank "enjoyed its own 60-day window in which to negotiate exclusively, though that didn't preclude MLSE from carrying on less formal discussions with other suitors." The exclusivity clause was "written into an existing sponsorship deal Scotiabank had as official bank of the Leafs." Scotiabank had been "preparing for a moment like this for years." The bank "dropped its sponsorship" of the CFL in '13, then "wound down partnerships with individual teams." Scotiabank now will "dip into other areas of its existing marketing budget -- such as broadcast, out-of-home or event digital ads -- to help pay the tab" (GLOBE & MAIL, 9/1).
