Corporate Sponsorship Examples

[Mac the Knife]

For reasons that defy common sense, I'm trying to put a list of different ways professional sports teams of all stripes have sold themselves out to corporate sponsors.  I've come up with what I think is a somewhat extensive list, but I know it's not exhaustive:

 

-- On ice/field/court advertising.  Direct ads (e.g., CFL, NFL)

-- Player uniform advertising.  (e.g., NBA, European and minor leagues)

-- Official Product categories.  (e.g., "Massengill, The Official Douche of the NFL")

-- Official team sponsorship.  (I remember the Chicago Bears did this one year; I'm not sure it went anywhere beyond that)

-- Sideline/end line/goal area videoboards/dasherboards.  (e.g., NBA, NHL)

-- Shot Clock sponsorship.  (NBA)

-- Special event presentation sponsorships.  (e.g., the "State Farm NBA Rookie Game" or whatever)

-- League title sponsorship (e.g., Barclay's Premier League)

-- Internet website advertising (ubiquitous at league and team levels)

-- Dance/cheerleading team sponsorship.  (mostly in minor leagues)

-- Complimentary item giveaways.  ("Pirates Batting Helmet Day sponsored by Heinz;" first 10,000 fans get a helmet)

-- In-game "break in action" announcements.  (ubiquitous)

-- Game programs/media guides/schedules (ubiquitous)

-- Scoreboard/videoboard advertising.  (ubiquitous)

-- T-shirt tosses/cannon (ubiquitous)

-- Video "ad landscaping."  (NBA/NHL - the practice of darkening the arena and using the court/ice as a giant projection screen for video ads)

 

and my personal favorite...

-- Legal disclaimer advertising.  ("Any rebroadcast, retransmission, or account of this game, without the express written consent of the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, is prohibited.  This legal disclaimer is brought to you by the Nelson Law Firm, with 17 offices throughout southern New Jersey and representing your civil or criminal case needs.")

 

What types am I missing?  What types of sponsorship tie-ins have you come across that you've found that, for some reason (good or bad) stuck out in your mind?

 

[AnPheitseog]

2 minutes ago, Mac the Knife said:

For reasons that defy common sense, I'm trying to put a list of different ways professional sports teams of all stripes have sold themselves out to corporate sponsors.  I've come up with what I think is a somewhat extensive list, but I know it's not exhaustive:

 

-- On ice/field/court advertising.  Direct ads (e.g., CFL, NFL)

-- Player uniform advertising.  (e.g., NBA, European and minor leagues)

-- Official Product categories.  (e.g., "Massengill, The Official Douche of the NFL")

-- Official team sponsorship.  (I remember the Chicago Bears did this one year; I'm not sure it went anywhere beyond that)

-- Sideline/end line/goal area videoboards/dasherboards.  (e.g., NBA, NHL)

-- Shot Clock sponsorship.  (NBA)

-- Special event presentation sponsorships.  (e.g., the "State Farm NBA Rookie Game" or whatever)

-- League title sponsorship (e.g., Barclay's Premier League)

-- Internet website advertising (ubiquitous at league and team levels)

-- Dance/cheerleading team sponsorship.  (mostly in minor leagues)

-- Complimentary item giveaways.  ("Pirates Batting Helmet Day sponsored by Heinz;" first 10,000 fans get a helmet)

-- In-game "break in action" announcements.  (ubiquitous)

-- Game programs/media guides/schedules (ubiquitous)

-- Scoreboard/videoboard advertising.  (ubiquitous)

-- T-shirt tosses/cannon (ubiquitous)

-- Video "ad landscaping."  (NBA/NHL - the practice of darkening the arena and using the court/ice as a giant projection screen for video ads)

 

and my personal favorite...

-- Legal disclaimer advertising.  ("Any rebroadcast, retransmission, or account of this game, without the express written consent of the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, is prohibited.  This legal disclaimer is brought to you by the Nelson Law Firm, with 17 offices throughout southern New Jersey and representing your civil or criminal case needs.")

 

What types am I missing?  What types of sponsorship tie-ins have you come across that you've found that, for some reason (good or bad) stuck out in your mind?

 

Arena naming rights

team naming rights( DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls in rugby union)

[officeglenn]

Not sure if it would fall under one of the categories you've already posted, but the biggest one I can think of is stadium naming rights. Some even do field naming rights within the stadium, though usually not both at once. e.g. The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton); Sports Authority Field at Mile High (Denver)

 

I've also seen teams have social media posts that are sponsored. e.g.: On their Facebook page, the Calgary Flames have Vision Travel Solutions #TravelTuesday (where they ask a player about his favourite vacation destination); Flames TV Punjabi presented by Mattamy Homes Calgary; and the Cortex Business Solutions Transaction Alert.

[goalieboy82]

8 minutes ago, Mac the Knife said:

 

-- Official Product categories.  (e.g., "Massengill, The Official Douche of the NFL")

 

is that one real or did i miss something.

 

[LMU]

You can even have sponsors for specific plays.

 

Dodger Stadium has sponsors for home team doubles (Jeopardy! Daily Double) and tacked on runs when leading in the 8th (Farmers Insurance Runs).

[Jaffa]

9 minutes ago, LMU said:

You can even have sponsors for specific plays.

 

Dodger Stadium has sponsors for home team doubles (Jeopardy! Daily Double) and tacked on runs when leading in the 8th (Farmers Insurance Runs).

 

This will have been around ten years or so ago now, but at Hull City we had our corner kicks sponsored for a couple of seasons. Unfortunately we weren't great at getting the ball past the first defender so I'm not convinced this was the best use of someone's marketing budget.

[Mac the Knife]

Arena/stadium naming rights aren't league or team specific but rather facility, so I excluded them from my list.

 

38 minutes ago, goalieboy82 said:

is that one real or did i miss something.

No, but the fact that you have to ask is telling about the extent to which all pro sports has whored itself, huh?

[LMU]

Now that I think of it the Kings also do this with a sponsored power play (the sponsor has changed but it used to be the Dick’s Sport and Spine Power Play) and the last minute of the second period (the McFlurry Minute - everyone in the building gets a coupon for a free McFlurry if a King scores during that time).

[goalieboy82]

20 minutes ago, Mac the Knife said:

Arena/stadium naming rights aren't league or team specific but rather facility, so I excluded them from my list.

 

No, but the fact that you have to ask is telling about the extent to which all pro sports has whored itself, huh?

i figured it was false with the ad (maybe in the WNBA/NWHL it could work)

[BBTV]

1 hour ago, Mac the Knife said:

Arena/stadium naming rights aren't league or team specific but rather facility, so I excluded them from my list.

 

True, but the Sixers used to refuse to mention Wells Fargo when mentioning the arena, and even camouflaged their logo on the court because they didn't pay the team for the ads, while the Flyers proudly displayed the logo and referred to their arena by its bought-and-paid-for name.

[BBTV]

Doesn't the NHL have projected ads on the glass that's only seen on TV now?  Someone has that, right?

 

Also, MLB used to (still might) have parks that did the green-screen thing to put ads behind home plate.

 

Soccer has ads on the on-screen scorebug, right?

[DG_ThenNowForever]

34 minutes ago, BringBackTheVet said:

 

 

Soccer has ads on the on-screen scorebug, right?

 

Yes, but that and jersey sponsors feel like a small price to pay for no commercial breaks.

 

This will always be my favorite:

 

 

[OnWis97]

38 minutes ago, BringBackTheVet said:

Doesn't the NHL have projected ads on the glass that's only seen on TV now?  Someone has that, right?

 

Also, MLB used to (still might) have parks that did the green-screen thing to put ads behind home plate.

 

Soccer has ads on the on-screen scorebug, right?

MLB has TV-only ads on the batter’s eye, too.

[JerseyJimmy]

There needs to be some sort of limit to how much corporate sponsorship there is in sports leagues. You don't make enough damn money on your own?

[Crabcake]

The Caps' third round schedule was presented by Boeing!

 

https://instagram.com/p/BiiH2Sphg4p/

[McGlinchey23]

This is my least favorite example of all time. It is truly nauseating.

 

[Bmac]

 

6 hours ago, Mac the Knife said:

-- Official Product categories.  (e.g., "Massengill, The Official Douche of the NFL")

 

I thought Rob Gronkowski was the Official Douche of the NFL?

[smzimbabwe]

When I worked for the Alaska (then Anchorage) Aces, the players had individual sponsors listed on the back under their number. Most were car dealerships, fencing companies, construction companies or stuff like that, but there was an argument every year about who would get to be "Mr. Prime Beef".

[BRG75]

Engine naming rights in motorsports is an odd one. In Formula 1, Red Bull Racing sold the name of their Renault engines to their main sponsor Tag Heuer. So in practical terms, everyone on tv, radio, print media will still call it a Renault engine, but in the timing screens, official results, etc, it is always referred as Red Bull Tag Heuer.

 

And would you count Official Timekeeper of certain events? Again, in Formula 1, Rolex is the timekeeper, so in every on screen timing graphic, which are constant throughout the entire Grand Prix weekend, you have a Rolex logo on screen, and Rolex clocks on track.

And virtually the only on screen company name you will see at the Olympics will be by Omega, the official timekeeper who’s red & white logo will pop up at the end of every event!

[LAWeaver]

"One lap to go, sponsored by Credit One Bank!"

 

"Today's winning performance brought to you by Sunoco; Fueling Victories!"

 

"Let's have a look at today's 5-Hour Energy Move of the Race!"

 

Naming rights are everywhere in NASCAR, but the sport would be dead without sponsorship.