Partnership Activation 2.0 Newsletter - August 2008

Are You Looking to Expand Your Network?

Top 10 Ways to Connect with Other

Industry Professionals

1. National Sports Forum

2. Linked In

3. Sports Marketing 2.0

4. NACDA

5. Partnership Activation — Linked In Users Connect Group

6. Sports Business Graduate Programs (Alumni, Students)

7. Relay Sports Sponsor-ship Symposium

8. National Sports Marketing Network

9. Youth Sports Professionals Network

10. World Congress of Sports

“Build partnerships, not

sponsorships.”

– Brian Corcoran,

Fenway Sports Group

this issue Partnership Activation 2.0 P.1

Fans Live in the Fast Lane P.2

The Next Wave of Signage P.3

In-Game Promos are a Hit P.4

AUGUST 2008 ISSUE I

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INDUSTRY WATCH LUCAS OIL STADIUM • 63,000 seat home of the Indianapolis Colts

(expandable to 70,000 for football/basketball)

• Cost: $720MM

• Unique Elements Include: • The Colts “Main Stage” featuring top performers on game day

• Bud Light Blue Zone (11,520 sq. foot gathering space for fans)

• The Quarterback Suite ($375/game all-inclusive ticket section (includes game ticket, buffet meal, beer, and wine)

• Moving Windows (six operable windows that can be opened to provide a view of the Downtown skyline)

• Two (2) 97’x53’ High Definition Scoreboards

• Corporate Partners Include: Lucas Oil, Air Tran, Sprint, Meijer, ProLiance, Huntington Bank, HH Gregg, DEEM, Coca-Cola, Clarion Health, Chevrolet, Anheuser-Busch, Advantage Health, and Baker & Daniels

• End zone section branded with the Indianapolis Colts logo

Partnership Activation 2.0 Welcome to the first edition of Partnership 2.0, a newsletter that provides sports business professionals with industry insights, crea-tive activation tactics, and new ways to generate incremental reve-nue for their organizations.

To subscribe to the newsletter, or to unsubscribe, simply send the request (with “subscribe” or “unsubscribe” in the subject line) to [email protected]. Please include your full name, company affiliation, and contact information when subscribing.

If you have a link, tip, or best practice that you would like to share, please also send them to: [email protected]. I would love to include your insights in the next newsletter!

If you like what you see, please pass this newsletter along to all of your friends and colleagues in the industry!

CREATIVE ACTIVATION

IDEAS Creative Ideation

The New York Mets collabo-rated with Topps to create a unique “Game Day Starting

Lineup” display at the team’s ticket box office

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MetLife teamed up with the New York Yankees to spon-

sor the Yankee Stadium Countdown Clock

Minute Maid and the Hous-ton Astros Offer the Minute Maid Squeeze Play area for

young Astros fans

Are You Living in the Fast Lane? In recent weeks, numerous professional sports teams have signed partnership agreements with companies that provide fast admis-sion/discounts for fans. Clear and FLO Corporation, two (2) compa-nies that provide expedited airport security lanes for all consumers who purchase a $100 annual pass, have recently begun transferring their services to the sports marketplace:

• Denver Broncos - Clear (www.flyclear.com)

• San Francisco 49ers - Clear

• Baltimore Ravens - FLO Corp. (www.flocard.com)

• Washington Redskins - FLO Corp.

The Denver Broncos “Clear Card” will also provide fans with special offer coupons (e.g. 15% off non-game day purchases at the Broncos Team Store) and exclusive ad-mission to a pre-game tailgate party. Broncos fans can purchase a one year team Clear Card membership for $128.

Have you considered incorporating “Olympic Fever” into your game entertainment? The Washington Nationals staged an Olympics-inspired Presi-dents Race during the 4th inning of one of the team’s recent home games. The team tasked its 10-foot President mascots with jumping over hurdles during the team’s traditional Racing Presidents in-game feature. The team even outfitted Abe Lincoln with gold running shoes (ala Michael Johnson) during the contest.

The Baltimore Ravens aired Michael Phelps’ final race at the Bei-jing Olympics live at M&T Bank Stadium after the team’s preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on August 16th. The team re-ceived permission from NBC to broadcast the event on the sta-dium’s SmartVision scoreboards and promoted the event by sending out press releases prior to the game and encouraged fans through-out the game to stay. The Ravens supported Phelps by sending him an autographed No. 08 jersey, distributed “Ravens for Phelps post-ers to all in attendance, and provided Ravens fans the opportunity to record Good Luck messages to the U.S. Olympian.

This Month’s Activation Tip - Capitalize on Concurrent Events

AUGUST 2008 ISSUE I

Are You Looking to Expand Your

Sports Business Knowledge?

Top 10 Daily Sports Business Reads

1. Sports Business Daily

2. IEG Sponsorship Report

3. PartnershipActivation.com

4. The Migala Report

5. Youth Markets Alert

6. CNBC’s Sports Biz

7. Sports Marketing & PR Roundup (Joe Favorito)

8. Veritix Sports Marketing Newsletter

9. Marketing Daily

10. Deadspin / The Big Lead / WithLeather.com

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Searching For a New Way to Distinguish Your Brand In-Venue? The next wave of signage inventory waiting to hit the United States

is 3D signage. Logo Paint, a company that specializes in creating 3D signage and field boards for a variety of sports, has emerged as the industry leader in producing this signage.

Logo Paint (www.logopaint.com) currently delivers its patented 3D signage and technology to sports arenas and organizations in 30+ countries. The company has developed innovative signage pieces for the likes of Siemens, Toyota, Kia, KPMG, Nippon TV, JBS, Victoria, and Bayer worldwide.

Logo Paint specializes in creating 3D signage and field boards for a variety of sports, including:

• Soccer (Ajax Amsterdam, FC Schalke ‘04, Hertha BSC)

• Motorsports (DTM)

• Basketball (BBL, Bayer, 17th Gulf Cup 2004)

• Hockey (Danish Ice Hockey League)

• Tennis (ATP Challenger 2005)

• Volleyball (Mens World Grand Champions Cup)

• Handball (Womens European Cup)

It is only a matter of time before this signage piece becomes a branding piece that will serve as a new revenue stream for profes-sional organizations in the United States. For more information, check out www.logopaint.com and/or send an email to: [email protected].

Have You Seen This? HC Slavia Praha of the Czech Extraliga hockey league currently sell glass signage to their corporate partners (as seen on the right). The team currently features Skoda Auto and Nokia branding on their rink glass - a piece of inventory that is yet to be sold in the United States.

While the glass signage is semi-obstructive, it does provide a new outlet for sponsors looking to differentiate their brands in-venue and serves as a branding piece that can be picked up on television.

AUGUST 2008 ISSUE I

Looking to Advertise to Thousands of Sports Business Professionals?

For Consulting Assistance, Please Contact:

Brian Gainor

Partnership Activation, Inc.

3649 Warp St.

Charlotte, NC 28205

P: 305.302.7861

E: [email protected]

Partnership Activation, Inc. provides sports business pro-fessionals with creative ideation insights, unique activation tac-tics, and innovative ways to drive incremental revenue for their business.

Founded in February 2008, PartnershipActivation.com has rap-idly become one of the industry’s most valuable resources for sports business professionals to obtain unique partnership ideas and industry updates.

EYE ON IT Top 10 Current Industry Trends

1. Shifting Dollars to 2.0

(Advertising, Activation,

Promotions, Measurement)

2. Maximizing Dollars During

Economical Woes

3. Social Networking

4. Global Penetration

5. Teams Going Green

6. The Rise of Fantasy Sports

7. Technological Advances in

Ticketing and Mobile

8. Measuring Levels of

Consumer Engagement

9. Leagues Streaming Media

in Regional Markets

10. Licensing

Very Affordable Opportunities

For More Information Please Contact Brian Gainor at [email protected]

INSERT YOUR BANNER AD HERE

Gila River Casinos and the Arizona Diamondbacks Hit and Win with Their New Promotion...

The Arizona Diamondbacks recently collaborated with Gila River Casinos to create an in-game "Gila River Casinos Million Dollar Hit & Win" promotion. During each Diamondbacks home game (from July 18th through the remainder of the season) randomly se-lected section(s) will be deemed the "Gila River Casi-nos Million Dollar Hit & Win Section".

If a Diamondbacks player hits a home run off the Gila River Casinos target in left-center/right-center field during the 4th, 5th, or 6th inning, eligible fans in the selected section(s) will win Circle K gift cards worth a combined total of $1MM. The Diamondbacks have also opened the promotion up to fans everywhere - five (5) fans not in attendance will be selected from mail-in entries to participate in each game pro-motion.

The actual amount of the gas cards distributed is dependent upon the number of eligible fans in the winning sections that are 21+and have a valid ticket for that section. The targets are located 425 feet from home plate, making a HR off the target a feat in itself. The team selects the "lucky sections" when it lowers the targets from the LED boards during the bottom-half of the fourth inning. To claim their prize, fans just have to fill out a completed affidavit form and submit it with their ticket stub to Dia-mondbacks representatives located at the Hit & Win Headquarters in Section 300.

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AUGUST 2008 ISSUE I