Miller Genuine Draft and the NBA announced a new multiyear partnership that will make MGD the official beer partner of NBA Canada. The partnership will include local market MGD activation in Canada around the NBA Playoffs, The Finals, the NBA Draft, NBA Summer League, NBA Canada Series and NBA All-Star 2016 in Toronto -- the first NBA All-Star outside the U.S. (NBA). ... Brazilian bank Caixa "confirmed" that it and Brasileiro side Vasco "will have a renewed" sponsorship contract for R$15M ($4.8M). The deal runs until the end of the year (MAQUINA DO ESPORTE, 5/25). ... The Turkish Basketball Federation sealed an agreement with Spor Toto as title sponsor of this season’s TBF Turkish Basketball League playoffs, which tipped off last week and will include up to 27 TBL matches (Infront). ... Newly-crowned Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich "will hold talks with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba" on Wednesday. Soon it "may sell shirts with player names in Chinese characters." The team "will also play three friendlies against Inter Milan, Valencia and Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande in July" (XINHUA, 5/25). ... Man City "announced a three-year partnership with PZ Cussons to embed the club in the Nigeria market." Appearing on PZ Cussons’ local brands Premier, Olympic and Robb, the consumer product group "will help build the side’s profile in the region as a result of its ‘Official Partner’ status" (THE DRUM, 5/26). ... Gatorade has become the National Rugby League side Warriors' latest partner by signing on as the club's official sports drink for the next two seasons. Through the agreement, Gatorade will receive exclusive sports drink pourage for Vodafone Warriors matches at Mount Smart Stadium along with access to tickets, player appearances and opportunities for the fans to experience what it takes to be a professional athlete (Warriors). ... The Lotus F1 Team announced a new global collaborative marketing partnership with Pharrell Williams that will see Lotus and Williams pursuing an integrated marketing strategy across a number of media platforms. Williams started working with Lotus at last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, where Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado ran with branding for Williams on their cars, including his brands i am Other and the film "Dope," for which Williams is the exec producer (Lotus F1).
