Figure Skaters' 'Crown' Adds Competitive Edge

Brandweek, June 7, 1999 by Terry Lefton

The problem with figure skating as a sports property is that there is no real competitive circuit. That takes away the edge that draws so many viewers to Olympic skating. Looking to change that, Edge Marketing, Charlotte, N.C., is selling what it has billed as the "Triple Crown of Professional Figure Skating," which links three events: the World Professional Open, the Millennium Figure Skating Challenge and The Pro Skaters Championship later this year and early next year, with TV commitments in place from FAX and CBS. Skaters would compete with an overall point system, a la the Winston Cup, in four disciplines: men's, women's, dance and pairs.

"It's a radical notion for figure skating, but bringing the notion of competitiveness to this sport should be appealing to fans and sponsors," said Edge's Marc Bookmiller. Edge is selling title sponsorship for $1.28 million, which includes four commercial units per hour, tickets and hospitality, and camera-visible signage. Brian Boitano is all but confirmed for the event, and Surya Bonaly and Tara Lapinski, both of whom are managed by Edge, are likely participants. To be eligible, skaters must have won an Olympic or World medal or national championship.

Sprint is out after this year as title sponsor of the PGA Tour's Sprint International, a golf tourney in Castle Rock, Cob., it has held entitlement to since 1994. The event is asking $5.8 million from whomever wants to buy title; the price includes eight club memberships and rental of a house on-site. The decision to drop the golf sponsorship follows Sprint's non-renewal of its three-year NFL sponsorship. Earlier this year, Sprint had every major sports property in to present, but it has inked nothing, prompting people to speculate on whether it is withdrawing from the sponsorship game altogether.

T.J. Nelligan, sales chief for NCAA sponsorship agency Host Communications, has left after eight years, likely to start his own sports marketing practice, NCAA sponsor sources report. The move follows the layoff of about 10 employees from Host's Rutherford, N.J., office, part of the reorg following Host's integration with Universal Sport America and the merger of both with Bull Run Corp. Still unclear is who within the new Host will sell the firm's NCAA Corporate Partner packages, although NCAA sponsor sources said that with Host having rejected an earlier notion to outsource selling to Corporate Marketing Associates, its Marc Kidd is the likely point man for national sales. Nelligan did not return phone calls.

Pepsi's presence marketing around the July 13 All-Star Game in Boston is understandably constrained by the fact the Red Sox not only pour the competition, but have a giant Coke icon on Fenway Park's famed Green Monster. Still, Major League Baseball's official soft drink will get on-premise programs as well as pass-through rights for a sweeps with Shaw's Supermarkets that will give away game tickets, a bit of an assault on local rival Stop 'n Shop, which paid to be the official supermarket of the midsummer classic.

Foote Cone Belding, N.Y., has produced its first pro bono TV work for the Yogi Berra Museum in Montclair, N.J., along with some new print ads, all of which break later this month. Print work and the four TV spots reflect the famously idiosyncratic Yankees great. Sample print copy: "The Yogi Berra Museum: 90% of it is half Yogi." Tagline: "It all makes sense here."

EXTRA INNINGS: Nascent telecommunications brand Qwest continues a push into sports marketing, inking a sponsorship deal for the rest of the year with ESPN Interactive Ventures that buys it ad presence on ESPN.com's coverage of major sports, including MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, tennis, golf and the Tour de France. It's slated to start concomitant with the Stanley Cup finals... Kansas City-area McDonald's restaurants are leveraging former Royal George Brett's entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame via a purchase-with-purchase offer of a three-ball souvenir baseball set in August. Fotoball, San Diego, handles. TV and POP support... Some clothing changes among NCAA basketball programs: Temple University, De Paul and Oklahoma switch from And I uniforms to Nike, Adidas and Nike togs, respectively. . . Mike McNeil is back for his second tour of duty with the National Basketball Association as senior director for new business in the marketing partnerships unit. Before departing for Sports Illustrated a few years back, he was in the NBA's consumer products division.