Lexus and MSG keep deal rolling

Toyota’s Lexus luxury brand has renewed its Madison Square Garden corporate sponsorship, adding arena displays and rights to Radio City Music Hall to a broad package that already included MSG along with the Knicks, Rangers, Liberty and MSG TV.

Lexus has been an MSG sponsor since 2012, entering as a “signature-level” corporate patron, MSG’s top level, just before the arena’s $1 billion renovation in 2013. Since then, brand metrics have risen and Lexus has increased its MSG footprint to include title rights to the arena’s suite and terrace levels, along with an additional car display. Lexus also now has Radio City sponsorship rights, including the Rockettes’ holiday and spring spectaculars.

Lexus has its name on the Madison Square Garden suite level and has added arena displays as part of its renewed sponsorship. Photos by: MSG

Kia has the general-market auto category with MSG.

Anheuser-Busch is another signature sponsor that has renewed since the arena’s billion-dollar facelift. At a lesser level, Northwell Health, Foot Locker and Harman’s JBL brand have all renewed.

Ron Skotarczak, MSG executive vice president, attributes that success to a more service-oriented culture, which began when he changed the name of the department from “ad sales” to “marketing partnerships” eight years ago. As testimony, he notes that now there are twice as many client service people at MSG as sales people. When he arrived, the reverse was true, causing sponsors to feel that their business was taken for granted, Skotarczak said.

“We said to ourselves, ‘Imagine if we were a pleasure to do business with?’” he said. “So we went back to market with a more consolidated sales group across sports, entertainment and TV. And now we have the results to show that was the right approach.”