| EVENT REPORT 07.23.09 1:25 PM |
|
Sponsor Lounges, Activations Fill Glen Abbey Golf Club for RBC Canadian Open
|
 | Corporate skyboxes surround the 18th green at Glen Abbey.
Photo: BizBash |
|
Despite the current economic challenges, corporate sponsorships are on the rise at the 2009 RBC Canadian Open, which began Monday and continues until Sunday at Oakville's Glen Abbey Golf Club. "This year we’ve got more sponsors than ever," said James Laidlaw, director of business development for the Royal Canadian Golf Association, which produces the P.G.A. Tour event. "We’re actually up about 20 per cent, which is spectacular." (Twenty companies supported the tournament this year.)
"I think that the smart marketing companies are still spending money," said Laidlaw, who credits the Royal Bank of Canada's title sponsorship with taking the event to the next level. "The economy impacted hospitality sales; that seems to be the one area that was affected. Ticket sales were down. But of course now that Michael Jordan is playing [in the Mike Weir Charity Classic pro-am], ticket sales have gone through the roof."
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
RBC Canadian Open, RBC, Bell, Pengrowth, Royal Canadian Golf Association, BMW Canada, Corona Extra, TaylorMade, Wolf Blass, The Globe & Mail, Pepsi, LG Electronics Canada, Transitions, Glenlivet, Reader's Digest, Sunoco, Q107, Toronto Sun |
 |
| NEWS 07.25.08 1:58 PM |
|
Rogers Cup Secures Record Sponsorships
|
 | The Yoplait booth at the Rogers Cup
Photo: BizBash |
|
Creating new partnerships and retaining sponsors like Rogers Communications—which just announced a three-year extension of its title sponsorship—is important for a sporting event like the Rogers Cup, according to Greg Wood, Tennis Canada's vice president of corporate sponsorships. “The key to our success this year is, number one, keeping our sponsors," Wood said this week. “We have been growing our sponsorship revenue for a long time. Since 2003 we’ve taken off. We’ve had 150 per cent growth in the last five years." According to Wood, the Toronto and Montreal tournaments will generate in excess of $17 million in sponsorship revenue this year. This year's Rogers cup wraps up at the Rexall Centre this weekend.
"Our biggest new pick up this year was the Dairy Farmers of Canada. They are a platinum partner at both [men's and women's] events," Wood said. The organization is also working with Tennis Canada on a grassroots program and national public service campaign called Everyday Champions. "It’s a marketing partnership where we’re promoting the healthy lifestyle of tennis and the health benefits of [dairy products]…there is a print campaign celebrating everyday tennis champions around the country and all of it culminates at the Rogers Cup with the Dairy Farmers of Canada Activity Centre at the event," he said. The centre includes smash tennis, mini tennis, sampling, and branding.
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
Rogers Cup, Tennis Canada, Rogers Communications, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Mercedes-Benz, Emirates Airlines, State Farm Insurance, Desjardins, Aeroplan, Adidas, Rexall, UPS, Miele, 407 ETR, California Wines, Corona, Iris, PricewaterhouseCoopers, The Merchant of Tennis, American Express, Haagen-Dazs, Yoplait, Fiji Water, L'Oréal Paris Men Expert, Sunoco |
|
|
