Sponsor Spotlight - Bank of America Defends Sponsorships; Visit London Chooses Edelman

On Thursday, Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis defended his company's sports marketing, saying the deals help generate more sales for companies. Critics say sports sponsorships are wasteful in today's economic climate.

The company is currently discussing renewing its relationship with the USOC. At present they sponsor the Boston Red Sox, the New England Patriots as well as own naming rights for the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston.

Speaking at Boston College, Lewis admitted that he was skeptical at first – that is until he saw the bottom line.

"In general terms, for every dollar we spend on sports marketing, we get $10 in revenue and $3 in earnings. This is not wasted money."

A recent Performance Research study, however, found 68 percent of U.S. consumers disagree. They think companies accepting federal bailout funds should use less money on sponsorships.

According to IEG, a company that tracks sponsorship spending, Bank of America spent between $120 and $125 million in 2007 on U.S. deals. Revenue from these arrangements will come from sports-related banking products as well as financial services for sports leagues and teams.

Visit London Selects Edelman for 2012 PR

Visit London, the official visitor organization for London, announced Thursday that it selected Edelman as its sole PR agency. A key role for the agency will be promoting London as Olympic host city in the U.S., France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

Working with a $700,000 budget, Edelman will promote London as a top visitor destination through local efforts, press trips and media relations.

“London is the most visited city in the world and it is crucial that we maintain a constant presence in our most important markets,” Visit London Communication Director Ken Kelling said.

“Working with Edelman we have the opportunity to have a cohesive and integrated campaign to drive visitors to the capital.”

Edelman will begin work in April from its U.K. office.

Dow Jones Announces Changes to Summer/Winter Games Index

Full-service index provider, Dow Jones Indexes, announced regular quarterly review results of the Dow Jones Summer/Winter Games Index Thursday.

The Dow Jones Summer/Winter Games index analyzes how publicly traded securities of official sponsors, suppliers and partners of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games are performing.

No companies will be removed from the group, but, Acer Inc, Molson Coors Brewing Co. and CV Technologies Inc. will be added. This brings the total from 33 to 36. The fund's value rose from $258.27 to $267 billion.

The Dow Jones Summer/Winter Games Index will next be reviewed in June.

Cadbury Extends Sponsorship for London 2012

LOCOG announced Wednesday that Cadbury is extending its tier two sponsorship for London 2012. The confectioner will extend its estimated $40 million commitment to include all confectionary and packaged ice cream for the Games. Cadbury is the world's largest candy company.

London 2012 CEO Paul Deighton said about the expansion, "This deal is a great opportunity for Cadbury to extend its partnership with the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, and for us to continue to develop our commercial program and raise more private finance to host and stage the Games. Cadbury has a long tradition of sports sponsorship, both in this country, and of supporting major international events, and are proving a strong addition to our team of world-class commercial partners."

The extension of the Cadbury deal includes adding sugar-free gum Trident as a third tier sponsor.

"This is great news for Trident because it links with our recently-announced Cadbury support, allowing us to sell our total confectionery range to everyone visiting each London 2012 venue. It's a further demonstration of our leadership of the confectionery market," Cadbury U.K. Managing Director Trevor Bond said.

British Gas Invests $20 Million in British Swimming

British Swimming announced today that they have inked a sponsorship deal worth $20 million that will last until 2015. It will support athletes at all levels and includes other water sports such as water polo and diving.

"We’re very proud to be partnering with British Swimming and working together to get more people in Britain reaching their potential in the pool," commented Rick Vlemmiks, marketing director at British Gas. "From paddling pool to the podium, we are committed to getting people from all walks of life and all standards involved in, and enjoying, swimming."

This sponsorship comes at an opportune time for U.K. water sports whose funding was cut following the Beijing Games. As reported by Around the Rings in January, water polo had 50 percent of its funding slashed.

The six-year sponsorship includes the London 2012 Olympics and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The British Gas announcement comes days after British Swimming announced they would be continuing their relationship with Speedo. The swimwear manufacturer provides swimwear, apparel and equipment to athletes at all levels and encompasses all aquatic disciplines.

Toyota to Sponsor JOC

Toyota is set to agree to an official sponsorship contract with the Japan Olympic Committee to become a gold partner and would contribute over $6 million through 2012, according to Kyodo News.

“We are studying the matter with an eye to signing a contract as a gold (partner),” a Toyota spokesman said.

“As a company based in Japan, it is important to back members of Japanese teams for the Olympics, which generates much interest among the public. We hope it will enhance the company’s favorableness rating and provide high exposure,” the spokesman said.

Toyota began partnering with the JOC in 1989 and would become its first gold partner.

Briefs...

... HD Entertainment and Sportel Organization announced it will sponsor the official opening cocktail at SportelAmerica 2009. SportelAmerica is an assembly of sports journalists, marketing agencies and sports executives and will be held March 16-18 in Miami Beach, Florida.

... OC Events announced that Omega will renew its agreement to be the Official Timekeeper for their iShares Cup Extreme 40 Sailing Series for three more years. “We are looking forward to continuing our association with the iShares Cup,” Omega President Stephen Urquhart said.

Omega has served as the Official Timekeeper for the Olympics since 1932.

... Conviva has announced it will help NBC Universal enhance the quality of its online digital distribution. The real-time media control platform will help NBC Universal optimize, organize and distribute their digital media resources across its online properties. NBC Universal streamed the 2008 Summer Olympics online.

Written by Isia Reaves and Trista McGlamery.