Golden Boy Promotions has revamped its sponsorship offerings in the past few years, adding more multifight and multiyear options to increase its sponsor roster to four new companies in 2010, including McDonald’s, Powerade, StubHub and Ustream.
The promoter has crafted multifight and
multiyear deals with about a dozen sponsors,
contrasting the usual boxing model of selling
on an event-by-event basis.
Chief Marketing Officer Bruce Binkow said the company has been more flexible and diverse in its offerings, unlike the traditional model in boxing of selling on an event-by-event basis. The company typically promotes 50-plus events a year.
“We now have so much programming that we are able to customize a plan for [the sponsors] that is multiyear,” Binkow said. “Whether that is activating in a certain market that they want to be in, or we also have the flexibility to create events because we move our fights around. Or whether they are looking for big, giant branding opportunities where they can get their brand seen by as many people as possible.”
For the May 1 fight between Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley, Golden Boy had several sponsors activate heavily, not only at the event but through retail. One of them was DeWalt Tools, which also sponsors events in NASCAR and Major League Baseball.
| Golden Boy Promotions sponsors |
| Company | Category | Sponsor since |
| AT&T | Telecommunications | 2009 |
| Budweiser | Beer | 2009 |
| DeWalt Tools | Home improvement | 2008 |
| Full Throttle | Energy drink | 2007 |
| McDonald’s | Quick-service restaurant | 2010 |
| Powerade | Beverage | 2010 |
| Rockstar Energy Drink | Energy drink | 2006 |
| Southwest Airlines | Airline | 2006 |
| StubHub | Ticket marketplace | 2010 |
| Tecate | Beer | 2006 |
| Ustream | Live interactive platform | 2010 |
| Vitaminwater | Beverage | 2008 |
| Source: Golden Boy Promotions |
DeWalt signed a one-year, high-six-figure sponsorship in February that includes a monthly Fight Night Club series in Los Angeles and activation around two premium cable shows and two pay-per-view shows, including the Mayweather fight in May. Along with integration into the fight broadcast and logo signage, DeWalt activated through promotions with fighter appearances, and 1,200 Home Depot in-store displays that offered a full rebate on the pay-per-view fight with the purchase of $250 or more in tools.
Hector Vallejo, DeWalt’s multicultural marketing manager, said the company’s goal is to reach its target customer who uses power tools to make a living.
“A lot of our marketing efforts go toward in-store activation,” Vallejo said. “We created a merchandising strategy with them [Home Depot] in the stores where we build boxing rings and displays with our product on it. It allows us to promote the fight but also attract the customers to our displays.”
Another Golden Boy sponsor that had a strong brand presence around the Mayweather fight is Mexican beer Tecate. The beverage is one of Golden Boy’s oldest sponsors, dating to 2006, and currently has a two-year contract worth seven figures annually that ends in 2011. The deal stipulates the company will participate in all Golden Boy fights including pay-per-view, premium and basic cable, and over-the-air broadcast fights for the rest of the calendar year.
Carlos Boughton, Tecate’s brand director, said that the Mayweather event was the most extensive activation they have produced to date, including a $30 rebate for pay-per-view available on select packaging at more than 6,000 retail locations, trip giveaways, and a traveling boxing museum.
Tecate’s activation with Golden Boy has included a traveling
boxing museum.
Both DeWalt and Tecate witnessed measurable value from their relationship with Golden Boy for the Mayweather fight. DeWalt Tools saw an increase of 25 percent on sales in week-to-week comparisons. Tecate saw an increase in the redemption of the rebates it offered toward the pay-per-view. From when it first offered the option on packaging to the latest offer for the May 1 telecast, the company has seen a 10 percent increase on the rebate redemption promotion.
“We’ve been doing rebates for the purchase of the pay-per-view for three years,” Boughton said. “It is something that people not only look for, but even expect. It has become a very valuable offer for not only the people who want to see the fight, but also for retailers.”
