Their call for corporate aide is also matched with a desire to support the companies that utilize sponsorship to benefit the community!

Support what matters and do good for the public; Your brand will reap the benefits!

The sponsorship signing by Rogers is a smart move for the communications company to make for several reasons. First, the association with the Canucks will help to expand their influence in western Canada, as Rogers is not as well known compared to other communications competitors such as Telus, which is based out of British Columbia. Second, through their additional sponsorship of telecommunications and broadcast rights, as well as their desire to seek radio broadcast rights when those become available, Rogers has ensured their name will be affiliated with the Canucks brand in every possible way. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the availability of exclusive Canucks information through Rogers Wireless will ensure continued customer loyalty as well as the possibility of attracting new local customers. With this sponsorship deal, Rogers adds another Canadian sports landmark to an already impressive list, including the Rogers Centre where the Toronto Blue Jays play. Hopefully their actions will encourage other Canadian telecom companies to seek stadium sponsorships to compete with Rogers.

An important point for sponsors to be wary of, however, is that changing the name of a stadium may do more harm than good if the feelings of the fans are not taken into consideration. A study by Performance Research in the U.S. and U.K. revealed one in five fans did not agree that sponsors have the right to change the name of the stadium because of their sponsorship. While a move from GM Place to Rogers Arena may not have as large an impact as the change is from sponsor name to sponsor name, companies should be aware of the possibility of backlash should they try to change a more traditionally-named stadium.

On Monday, July 5^th, the 34^th annual Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships kicked off in Newport, RI with 32 singles players and 16 sets of doubles competing for the Van Alen Cup. This event, which has been hosted during the week following Wimbledon since 1976, is the only grass court ATP tournament in the U.S. and is a top attraction for the Newport summer crowd. As Performance Research is based in Newport, this event hits particularly close to home. Although the event is an official part of the ATP tour, its low-key nature allows for smaller and/or local businesses to provide sponsorship. This enables companies to gain official recognition without having to shell out a much larger sum for sponsorship of a more internationally-known event, such as a Grand Slam tournament.

One such company that has taken advantage of the tournament is Angela Moore, a locally based fashion designer with retail stores in both Palm Beach and Newport. As part of their sponsorship deal, Angela Moore is hosting a fashion show and champagne breakfast this Thursday, July 8^th. In addition, a full day of courtside tennis and an Angela Moore gift certificate are included, which will incentivize those who participate to shop at the local store. Clearly Angela Moore is taking full advantage of their sponsorship through these activations and is making a point to stand out from the list of sponsors. This is a very smart move by Angela Moore to attach their name to a prestigious event and take advantage of a golden opportunity in their market. Hopefully their actions will encourage more local businesses to not only sponsor, but fully utilize local events when considering their marketing objectives.

Below are a couple of pictures and you can check out more coverage at www.sailnewport.org.

The trophy was on display as part of a national tour from boat sponsors BMW and Oracle.

Speaking of sponsorship, click the link below to a Performance Research Independent Study highlighting the potential benefits of sponsoring an America’s Cup boat!

http://www.performanceresearch.com/americas-cup-sponsorship.htm

This is a poor move by the city announcing the cancellation only a week before the holiday weekend. The decision by the city reflects a trend that seems to occur too often, where sponsors feel they are able to change the outcome of events without considering the effect on the people planning to attend the events. As there were surely people who had planned far in advance to attend the celebration this coming weekend, the result will be a strong outpouring of negative emotion for the city of Myrtle Beach. The city has also failed to capitalize on this opportunity in two other ways: 1) by not seeking sponsorship from local business to keep the event alive and stimulating the local economy and 2) forcing people to seek an alternative to a holiday that the city could have owned. Hopefully this will cause the city to think twice before springing something this significant on such short notice again.

It is plain to see that this fan truly appreciates sponsorship (and a good candy bar)!

Congrats everyone!

Here is a picture of the crew back in Newport before departure (post arrival pics coming soon):

Our thoughts are with the crew as they tackle the completion of this grueling race!

Check out the pic below for Jed’s locations as of 14:20 EDT.

You can find additional info and tracking details here:

http://cloud.iboattrack.com/r/start.php?&r=2010_newport_bermuda&view_zoomto=0&view_class=ALL&mm=false

TOP LINE RESULTS:

PERFORMANCE RESEARCH-SURVEY SAMPLING STUDY OF GULF OIL TRAGEDY

New poll suggest Americans hold a dim view of BP and it is getting worse.

In a two country poll conducted June 12^th and 13^th, 2010, by Performance Research, in conjunction with Survey Sampling International, of over 600 respondents, (half in the US and half in the UK), the overall consensus was that BP’s credibility as a whole, as well as a sponsor of major sports and arts properties, is taking a hit, and getting worse.  Yet there are stark contrasts in views between Americans and the Brits on a variety of topics, especially when it comes to the future of BP’s support of their favorite pastimes.

When asked to identify the single most important issue today, from a list of major world news and events, nearly half of Americans (47%) identified the gulf oil spill as most important, over the global economy failures (28%), health care (10%), or the Afghan war, the Iran or Iraq conflicts, national political shifts, or even the World Cup (each receiving less than 5%).  Compare that to the British, who claim the global economy failures as the number one issue (35%), followed by the war in Afghanistan (18%), then the gulf oil spill (17%), the Iran conflict (9%), the World Cup (7%), Health Care (6%), then political shifts and the Iraq conflict (each 5% or less).

When asked who should be paying for the clean-up, Americans are holding BP nearly fully accountable, with 90% claiming they should pay for all (52%) or most (39%), while only 77% of Brits feel the same.  As for the US Government’s role, only about a quarter of the citizens in both countries (24% US / 28% UK) feel they should be contributing all or most of the payments to help with the cleanup.

Trust.

It is what’s at stake for both BP and the Obama administration.  Among citizens in both countries, it seems that BP is taking the hardest hit in the US, while the Brits seem to be giving BP a little leeway.  When asked how much they agree with these statements, only 19% of Americans feel “BP has been open and honest about developments with the oil spill,” while double that number in the UK (40%) seem to believe in BP.  Similarly, when asked if they “Trust BP when they say, ‘We will make it right,’” only 20% of Americans seem to buy it, while over a third (34%) of the Brits agree.  Probably most telling is that a majority of American (66%) and Brits (51%) believe that “BP is more worried about saving its profits than the spill’s impact on the environment.”

When asked to rate their overall opinion of BP prior to the oil rig disaster, and today, ratings among Americans dropped from 40% positive opinions to 15% positive, and from 49% positive opinions in the UK to only 29% positive today.  Inversely, negative impressions grew from 13% to 63% in the US, and 10% to 32% in the UK.

For the Obama administration, it isn’t quite as bad, but signs still point to skepticism.  Only 26% in both countries agreed that “The US Government is handling its response to the oil spill appropriately.”

Future of business for BP.

So what happens next?  The oil spill will someday be contained, and hopefully, the clean-up will be old news.  How will their business fair?  In the US, it looks like it might be a long road ahead, with nearly half (47%) of American vehicle owners we spoke with claiming they would be less likely to purchase fuel from the company in the future.  Not so tough were the Brits with only 21% drawing a line in the sand.

Now what about all of the marketing partners across the US and the UK who are affiliated with BP in everything from professional sports to modern art galleries?  Are they being chastised because of the supposed bad deeds of their sponsor?  It appears that consumers do have a heart after all, and most are still appreciative of BP’s involvement.  However, when renewal time comes along, it seems consumers here and abroad think those marketing dollars should be diverted to environmental efforts and causes along the Gulf coast  (56% US / 42% UK) and that money currently spent on sponsorships is taking away funds that could be used to help in the clean up (49% US / 35% UK).  Going forward, many (37% US / 15% UK) feel sports events or leagues should not seek or accept new sponsorship alliances or funds from BP.  Some even went so far as to claim that they would not support any sport or cultural institution that received any funds from BP (22% US / 8% UK).  Fortunately for the properties, this was a minority.

For further updates as they become available, log on to http://blog.performanceresearch.com/

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About Methodology:

Performance Research and Survey Sampling International conducted this study online among a national random sample of American consumers, aged 18-65, June 12-13, 2010.  A total of 600 respondents were included in this study, including 300 in the United States and 300 in the United Kingdom.    The margin of error for this sample is no more than +3%.

PowerPoint charts of complete research results are available by request.

About Performance Research:

Performance Research (Newport, Rhode Island) is the world’s leader in consumer research and evaluation for the sponsorship industry. Founded in 1985, the company has taken the leading role in understanding the marketing impact of sponsorship, as well as the phenomenon of emotional triggers and passion points among sports and arts enthusiasts.

Performance Research’s consulting and evaluation work affects nearly $800 million worth of corporate sponsorship investments each year. Custom studies include on-site event surveys, telephone interviews, online surveys, and in-depth qualitative focus groups that explore the marketing impact of sponsorship / advertising from the consumer perspective.

About Survey Sampling International:

Survey Sampling International is the premier global provider of sampling solutions for survey research. SSI offers access to more than 6 million consumer and business-to-business research respondents in 72 countries via Internet, telephone, and mobile. Additional client services include custom profiling, survey programming and hosting, data processing, sampling consulting, and survey optimization.

SSI serves more than 1,800 clients worldwide, including 48 of the top 50 research organizations. Founded in 1977, SSI has an international staff of 400 people representing 50 countries and 36 languages. The company has 17 offices in 15 countries to locally support your global sampling needs.

For more information:

Contact:  Jed Pearsall

Tel: 401- 848-0111

Fax: 401-848-0110

Email: jed@performanceresearch.com

www.performanceresearch.com

Bell Mobility President Wade Oosterman highlighted the uniqueness of the deal as it will give Whitecaps fans access to the latest Bell technology. Bell mobile clients will be able to view unique Whitecaps content on their smartphones next year – including live matches and behind-the-scenes access to players and coaches. The use of smartphone technology is an intelligent move by Bell as it provides an important service to connect with younger fans and to increase their fan base.

An important facet of the deal has Bell paying $100,000 a year to the Whitecaps Foundation which supports healthy living initiatives for youth across British Columbia. This aspect will provide additional positive spin for Bell, as attaching themselves to a cause helps to increase their brand image and develops an emotional connection with the community.

This is an interesting move by Bell as the company looks to expand their influence in home territory and ride the momentum of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.