North America
Features
Battles from the Bench – SAP & the NHL
At the 2019 NHL All-Star Game Fan Fair, SAP used an immersive VR experience to give ice hockey fans the experience of coaching in the NHL.
Month of May 5G – Verizon & IndyCar
Around the 2019 Indy 500, Verizon leveraged its IndyCar assets to showcase its 5G Ultra-Wideband through a month-long campaign.
72 Hours – Heineken & Formula One
For the 2018 Formula One season, Heineken activated its rights through a four-city media/influencer PR programme linking host city underground culture to F1 lifestyles.
Data Snapshot: MLB 2019
Central and venue naming rights deals in Major League Baseball.
FREE | Sponsorship in Major League Soccer, 2019
In the latest interactive data report SportBusiness Sponsorship analyses the sponsorship landscape in Major League Soccer (MLS)
Soundtracking the NBA – UnitedMasters & the NBA
The NBA teamed up with independent music distributor UnitedMasters to use the league’s 1.6bn fanbase as a source of new music discovery.
Make Believe Happen – Microsoft & the NFL
Make Believe Happen was a multi-channel, multi-phase campaign that ran the length of the 2018-19 NFL season, pushing Microsoft’s Surface products to a wide audience by showing how star player ambassadors use them in their personal lives.
This Bud’s for 3 (Dwyane Wade’s Last Swap) – Budweiser & the NBPA
NBA sponsor Budweiser partnered with the National Basketball Players Association on an initiative commemorating the retirement of 13-time NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade.
Total Health Forum – Kaiser Permanente & the NBA
Presenting the Total Health Forum with the NBA allowed Kaiser Permanente to integrate its brand with the US healthcare community and amplify that integration via digital/social extensions.
Peoria TT track rehab/redesign – American Flat Track & Caterpillar
Two major activations, in 2018 and 2019, showcased the best of the Caterpillar brand through its partnership with the organisers of American Flat Track racing.
You Seeing This? – ESPN & the NBA
After decades of promoting NBA games with TV commercials and years of declining live television audiences, official broadcaster ESPN changed its strategy and switched to using real-time NBA footage social promos to generate FOMO and drive fans to click directly to live game coverage.
The Away Game – Tim Hortons, the NHL & Hockey Canada
The Canadian coffee giant teamed up with the NHL, Hockey Canada and athlete ambassadors Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon to give the Kenya Ice Lions the experience of a lifetime.
Data Snapshot: MLS 2019
Central and club shirt deals in Major League Soccer.
Victory Fridge – Bud Light & the Cleveland Browns
At the start of the 2018-19 NFL season, the Cleveland Browns had gone 635 days without a win, so Bud Light created free beer ‘Victory Fridges’ that would unlock the moment the team broke its losing streak.
Someday is Now – Luna Bar & the United States Women’s National Team Players Association
Nutrition bar Luna Bar took action to resolve the disparity in pay between the US women’s team and their male counterparts before the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France.
NCAA Men’s Final Four Sponsorship – Coca-Cola & the National Collegiate Athletic Association
Coca-Cola’s NCAA Final Four sponsorship laid the groundwork for the launch of Coca-Cola Orange Vanilla, spreading awareness of the product in host city Minneapolis and the wider US.
Official Premier Partner – 76 & Houston Dynamo
MLS club Houston Dynamo helped its partner – re-launched gas station brand 76 – grow awareness in the market and resonate with its core audience in downtown Houston – and beyond.
Missing Children Summer Transfer Initiative – NCMEC, GMCN & AS Roma
AS Roma used new 2019 summer signing social spots to highlight search for missing children.
‘Makers Wanted’ title sponsorship – Elk Grove Village & the Bahamas Bowl
Illinois’ Elk Grove Village, the largest industrial park in the US, used its title sponsorship of the Bahamas Bowl college football game to bring in new business.
MLS teams rise together as jersey sponsorship nets more than $80m in 2019
Major League Soccer clubs earned more than $80m (€72.5m) combined from their main jersey deals in the 2019 season, according to research by SportBusiness Sponsorship.
Major League Soccer taps into youth and ethnic diversity like no other US sport
MLS has become an increasingly attractive platform for brands, enabling it to increase the value of its sponsorships year on year.
Sponsorship trends in Grand Slam tennis
SportBusiness Sponsorship presents extensive research into partnerships at the four tennis Grand Slams – Wimbledon, Roland-Garros, the US Open and the Australian Open.
IHG made ‘aggressive’ move to win US Open hotel category rights
The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) acquired Official Sponsor rights to the US Open tennis championship in a five-year deal with the United States Tennis Association.
MGM makes fourth major US sports league play with MLS deal
MGM Resorts International has wrapped up its fourth US major league deal with a four-year partnership with Major League Soccer.
The deal is understood to be worth between $2m (€1.8