Archive for: sponsorship
There are so many players signing some great sponsorship deals lately and Agnieszka Radwanska has now joined the crowd. Radwanska who is now the world number 12 signed a sponsorship deal with Longines the Swiss watch manufacturer.
“It’s a privilege to be a Longines Ambassador of Elegance,” said Radwanska, who has joined legendary tennis couple, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, in the family of Longines partners.
Sponsorship deals like this really make me wonder who is running companies like Longines and deciding that providing tennis players with sponsorships is really going to help them sell more watches. I can see that providing one of the top 5 players in the world with sponsorships might be a good idea, but only if you can get this is some advertising campaigns in return, thus providing a top quality brand image. However, im sure Radwanska by herself wont help Longines to sell any more of their world famous watches!
Andy Murray and his brother Jamie have signed to CAA and 19 Entertainment. CAA is a top Hollywood talent agency in which will help manage the Murray’s ratings as they both try to climb the tennis ladder. This simply just amazes me, because Andy Murray is not the best looking guy in the world and even has a personality to match. It is going to be tough work for both of these agencies, maybe they will get Andy to relax a bit more because then he might have a chance of making them some big bucks.
19 Entertainment is best know for managing David Beckham, so at least they signed with a top agency!
Shanghai, China – LACOSTE, renowned lifestyle brand of relaxed Elegance, and the ATP, governing body for the men’s professional tennis circuit, today announced that they have extended their partnership. LACOSTE will continue as the official apparel and footwear partner of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals until 2013. As the exclusive provider of apparel and footwear on the court of the tournament, LACOSTE will also continue to dress the linesmen and ball kids.
As part of the restructuring of men’s tennis in 2009, the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals will replace the Tennis Masters Cup, currently held in Shanghai, as the year ending finale of the ATP World Tour. With only the year’s top 8 singles players and doubles teams in the world, including the Grand Slam champions, qualifying to compete, it is the year’s climactic final event that determines the official year-end South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings.
This partnership includes a sales area dedicated to the brand that will offer the next LACOSTE collection, including outfits worn by the LACOSTE champions.
With a strong and unique heritage in the world of sports due to its origins and founder, the famous “Crocodile” tennis champion René Lacoste, LACOSTE today implements an active sponsorship policy. LACOSTE’s values of integrity, performance and elegance are exemplified by a number of ambassadors, including tennis players such as Andy Roddick, Richard Gasquet, Alizé Cornet and Tatiana Golovin. LACOSTE also has a presence at prestigious international tennis tournaments such as the US Open, Roland Garros and the Australian Open; these last two together add up to a cumulative 3.19 billion TV spectators a year worldwide.
“I am delighted that LACOSTE have decided to extend their partnership with the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals,” said Etienne de Villiers, Executive Chairman of ATP. “LACOSTE are one of the world’s most inspiring brands and we have had a hugely exciting and successful partnership over the last six years. I am delighted that LACOSTE share in our excitement and vision for our new end-of-season finale.”
“After signing with the Australian Open, renewing the partnership with an event that symbolizes our values of tenacity, performance and excellence such as the finals of the ATP World Tour season is a further demonstration of LACOSTE’s attachment to tennis as well as the voluntary and active policy of our brand in this sport,” said Christophe Chenut, CEO of LACOSTE.
As one of the world’s leading sporting occasions, television coverage of the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup was distributed to over 166 countries and watched by a cumulative worldwide audience of 50 million people. The 2009 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals will be held in late November at London’s O2 Arena.
Article courtesy atptennis.com
Maria Sharapova seems to be doing a lot of work lately with Canon, and this time it is to promote the affects of breast cancer.
To help raise breast cancer awareness, Canon U.S.A and Maria Sharapova have announced the digital imaging company’s new “Pink” campaign.
It is great to see Canon putting together a package to support the American Cancer Society. For the month of October, Canon U.S.A. will contribute $150,000 to the American Cancer Society.
“Breast cancer is an important issue that affects too many women and it is critical to generate awareness, educate people about this disease and the importance of early detection and yearly mammograms,” said Maria Sharapova. “I am proud to partner with Canon on this cause.”
Health and beauty brand Garnier, associate sponsor of the Australian Open, this week broadened its support of tennis to a rising star of the game, signing Bernard Tomic as a brand ambassador.
The two-year deal will see Tomic appear in both print and TV advertising for Garnier and make personal appearances at the hugely popular Garnier World during the Australian Open.
I have seen Tomic grow up as a player when he was training back at school on the Gold Coast. He used to get coached by the same academy as myself. Bernard has grown up as a player and a person a huge amount in the last 3 or so years, and this new sponsorship is a great stepping stone for him to reach his goals on the ATP Tour. Plus it helps to have IMG on your side!
In 2008, Tomic became the youngest player in the Open era to win the Australian Open Junior Championships, and reached the finals of the Wimbledon boys’ doubles.
In 2007, Tomic led the Optus Australian Junior Davis Cup team to victory at the world final and hoisted his third Orange Bowl trophy. In 2006, at just fourteen, he announced his presence on the international scene by winning four International Junior Tennis Federation (ITF) 18/u titles in just two months, and was recognised with the Garnier Rising Star Award, a $10,000 tennis scholarship in January 2007.
Announcing the signing, General Manager of Garnier, Mark O’Keefe said, “Garnier is excited to announce a partnership with Bernard Tomic. We believe Bernard reflects perfectly the youthful energy and passion that lies at the heart of the Garnier brand.
AIG will not be renewing their U.S. Davis Cup sponsorship. The American International Group Inc. said they wont be renewing their contract which expires at year’s end.
With AIG serving as the U.S. Tennis Association’s only year-round national sponsor for Davis Cup, the relationship has been worth millions of dollars since it began in 1999.
The sponsorship included promotional rights attached to the U.S. team, including an AIG patch on players’ warmup suits and TV advertising time.
It has been reported that Gael Monfils is having some sponsorship problems. The flaboyant Frenchman is said to be having problems with his sponsor Nike. It has been noticed that Monfils has been wearing Nike clothing from several years ago.
Monfils signed a four year deal with Nike in 2005 for $2 million guaranteed ($500,000 annually). Thus, is he wearing the old clothes to possibly make a statement and get a new contract, or did he just not have any new Nike clothes washed?
There seems to be a new brand on the block. Peter Luczak was wearing this new brand against Fernando Gonzalez at the recent Davis Cup tie between Australia and Chile.
Does anyone have any idea on what this new brand is called? Maybe they might even be a little interested in sponsoring a new tennis site. 
Its good to see him supporting someone new and not just going to old favourites. Im guessing they must of offered him a very nice deal.
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has joined forces with AEGON in a relationship that will bring much-needed investment into the sport over the next five years. The deal is worth over £30 million for British tennis.
AEGON, the pensions and life assurance company, has signed a five-year deal that will run from 2009 through to 2013 and will see them not only invest in grass-roots tennis but also take on the naming rights to the international grass court events at Queen’s Club, Eastbourne and Edgbaston.
The Women’s Tennis Association is fighting a losing battle to keep Sony Ericsson as its title sponsor after the mobile-telephone company issued a profits warning last month.
The joint-venture company made the WTA the richest property in women’s sport in 2005 when it signed a £47m deal. With two years to run, sources say negotiations would ordinarily be in progress with regard to extending the contract but the WTA has privately conceded that it has almost no chance of persuading Sony Ericsson to renew.
This could make for a good sponsorship opportunity for another major global brand, possibly Nokia, Motorola, or even LG. Im interested to see what happens in this battle and who ends up taking control of the naming rights to the professional womens tennis tour.
