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Marketing and Sponsorship

Progressive buys title rights to Skate America

U.S. Figure Skating has signed Progressive Corp. as the new title sponsor of the upcoming Skate America competition as well as two online businesses as partners in new categories.

Progressive, a partner since 2009, added naming rights to the Oct. 23-25 event in Milwaukee along with renewing its association with the governing body for another year. The auto insurer replaces the Hilton HHonors program, which did not renew its contract with USFS, leaving the hotel category open.

Progressive has been a U.S. Figure Skating partner since ’09.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
Separately, Realtor.com agreed to a one-year deal to become the official real estate research provider of USFS, CMO Ramsey Baker said. Realtor.com will sponsor its social media board that facilitates digital engagement and works as a second screen during telecasts.

In September, the online home furnishing seller Wayfair.com signed its first sports sponsorship ever, with U.S. Figure Skating.

Despite losing Hilton, the revenue picture for 2016 is strong, Baker said. “We are going to operate in excess of where we were coming out in the last Olympic year in 2014,” he said. The nonprofit reported $17.4 million in revenue in 2014, a 93 percent gain since 2008, the year after ABC ended its longtime media contract that generated $12 million annually. (USFS reported $20 million in revenue in ABC’s last year.)

Heading into the 2015-16 competition season, the governing body has renewed several existing partnerships. Among them:

Procter & Gamble has extended its sponsorship through the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. P&G agreed to merge its corporate sponsorship with its Puffs tissue brand’s sponsorship of the “kiss and cry” area where skaters wait for judges’ scores, said Chris Pearlman, executive vice president of Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment, which advises the governing body on marketing, sales and media strategy. The Puffs deal, valued in the high six figures, originally was negotiated at the brand level.

Viking River Cruises, a new partner in 2015, renewed in a four-year deal that extends its association with USFS through 2019.

Consumer Cellular signed a one-year extension in the wireless telecom category.

Baker said the multiyear deals give more revenue certainty to the governing body. Prudential is locked down in the financial/retirement services category through 2018, and Smucker’s, historically a year-to-year partner, is in a two-year deal that expires in 2016.

“That changing of the relationships with our partners has been a big part of our success,” Baker said, “because it’s also allowed us a little bit of flexibility to not just focus on renewing every year but actually starting dialogues with new companies.”

Progressive Skate America, held at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee, kicks off the International Skating Union’s Grand Prix series. USFS, which owns domestic rights to all ISU events, says its media inventory is sold out for the fourth quarter.

The season runs through the inaugural Team Challenge Cup in April.

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