Casual footwear brand Crocs has purchased an associate level sponsorship to the Sony Ericsson Open tournament in Key Biscayne, Fla., next month, adding to a sponsorship roster that now covers almost every major spectator sport.
Under the deal, Crocs gets signage, on-site retail rights and TV inventory on the Fox Sports Net and CBS Sports telecasts of the event, which runs from March 26 to April 6. Crocs also will make customized Sony Ericsson Jibbitz shoe charms for the event. Fila is the tournament’s official footwear, but Crocs slips in as its official after-sport shoe of choice.
Crocs says the Key Biscayne, Fla., event is just
a first step into the sport.
“That’s a warm-weather tourney and it is one of the biggest, so it was a no-brainer for this to be our first step into tennis,” said Crocs sponsorship marketing manager Tim Gray. “We just want to tap in to the passion of sports fans and participants and keep positioning Crocs as the ultimate after-sport shoes.”
Gray would not be specific about plans for other tennis sponsorships, but he acknowledged that the Sony Ericsson deal is the first of a larger move into the sport by the brand.
As its resin footwear continues to be knocked off daily, Crocs has tried to differentiate itself by using a bevy of sports sponsorships and licenses. Beginning with title rights to the AVP tour in 2006, Crocs has added sponsorships to marathons, PGA Tour caddies, NFL and NHL team deals, NASCAR drivers, and colleges and universities to complement a boatload of sports licensing rights
“We’ve done a decent job building the brand. Most people know the name now,” Gray said. “Now, we have to make people aware that we also make shoes for beyond the beach.”
IMG handled the sponsorship sale for the Sony Ericsson event. Kevin Adler’s Engage Marketing, Chicago, is Crocs’ sports sponsorship agency.
