Gaelic Players on verge of major deal
The Gaelic Players Association and the GAA are reported to be on the point of signing a headline sponsorship deal with PriceWaterhouse Coopers.
The agreement which will be the first since the two organisations formally came together, and which will replace the previous relationship between the players and Carphone Warehouse, is expected to be announced early next week in Dublin.
PwC are already involved in Irish sport as sponsors of the Ireland U20 rugby team and completed a major survey of the benefits and continued popularity of sports marketing last month.
Irish Team to compete in celebrity Sport Relief challenge
A team of Irish celebrities including former rugby international Shane Byrne and TV presenter Craig Doyle are to compete in a 1,000 mile round Britain and Ireland challenge to raise money for Sport Relief.
Other teams from England, Scotland and Wales will start from London Cardiff and Edinburgh as the Irish team sets off from St Stephens Green.
The challenge will be covered nightly on BBC throughout the week leading up to its conclusion on St Patrick’s Day.
Sports marketing continues to rise
Over two thirds (67%) of marketing officers anticipate their increasing or maintaining their spend on sponsorship in 2012.  The figures are contained in research from IFM Sports Marketing Surveys which also found that 41% of brands increased their investment in sponsorship over the past twelve months.  This compares to a decline in many other forms of marketing spend.
In Issue Two of Sport for Business Weekly we covered the research from PriceWaterhouse Coopers which also gave a clear indication that sponsorhip in sport was increasing strongly and would soon overtake ticket sales as the primary driver of revenue in the sector.
Investec who sponsor the Epsom Derby, Tottenham Hotspur and the English Cricket team look to the emotion of sport as the main reason for its expanding portfolio. “Sport offers a heightened positive emotional engagement with fans, particularly in cricket and football,” said Chief Marketing Officer Raymond van Niekerk.  “Other marketing mediums do not quite have this”.
Beckham signs with LA Galaxy again
David Beckham has re-signed for LA Galaxy on a contract worth a reported US$15 million a year.  The initial contract is for twelve months with a mutual option to extend that for another year.
Beckham is reported to have turned down a €1 million a month offer from Paris St Germain as well as interest from a number of Barclays Premier League clubs.  He also hopes to captain Team GB at the London Olympic Games.
The LA Galaxy defence of last season’s Major league Soccer title begins on March 10th
Nike unveils FuelBand to measure effort
Nike has unveiled a small black wristband, titled the Nike Fuelband, which it claims will measure the effort expended on training across a vast range of sports and activities.  The device is expected to retail at well over €100 and syncs with other popular Nike Apps such as Nike+.
Nike FuelBand Advertisement (36′ video)
The device sold out its initial pre-order on Thursday and will first be seen in retail stores on February 22nd.  Another pre-order phase is to be announced in the coming weeks on twitter, linking in the company’s different social media channels.
The appeal for Nike of the wristband is to create a positive experience around the brand,” said company President Charlie Denson, president of the Nike brand. “A positive experience using the FuelBand and Nike+ may make customers more likely to buy Nike apparel.”
“Brands that believe the relationship with their customer ends when the transaction takes place, aren’t going to be around very long. The consumer expectation has moved up considerably around this idea that there’s a relationship there. They expect it to be a one-on-one relationship, a one-on-one dialogue.”
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