Asia-Pacific

Diageo-owned whisky brand Johnnie Walker extended its presence in Formula One by signing a four-year deal, which began this month, to become the Official Whisky of Formula One.

Raising global brand awareness and technology showcasing is key to Swiss luxury watchmaker Hublot’s sponsorship strategy.

Sporting goods manufacturer Umbro is hoping to support a global brand revival by driving revenue through a number of football kit deals.

Omega president Stephen Urquhart told Sports Sponsorship Insider that there will be no change to the luxury watch brand’s sponsorship strategy or targeted sports over the next 24 months.

Japanese carmaker Nissan is looking to enforce a cohesive marketing strategy across all of its sporting properties in order to push the same message across its key markets.

Stephen Urquhart, president of the luxury watch brand Omega, provided Sports Sponsorship Insider with a great marketing insight when he said that the only sponsorship that clearly moved sales of its watches was Omega’s James Bond deal.

The chance to create multinational marketing campaigns using teams with multinational players is central to car rental company Europcar’s sponsorship decision-making.

The IOC does not expect every upcoming TOP Partner deal to hit its new price point, but the latest deals with consumer electronics brand Panasonic and tyre and rubber company Bridgestone had given it confidence, the organisation told Sports Sponsorship Insider this month.

Performance bicycle manufacturer Bianchi is targeting a set demographic through its sponsorship deals with the UCI WorldTour Belkin Pro Cycling Team and UCI Continental Circuits Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela Team.

Internet company Yahoo’s acquisition of Chelsea manager José Mourinho to write expert blogs for the duration of the 2014 Fifa World Cup has opened the door to future investment in football.

Kit manufacturers spent $396m (€289m) on deals with the 32 national teams competing at the 2014 Fifa World Cup in the year covering the tournament, Sports Sponsorship Insider can exclusively reveal.

Diageo-owned vodka brand Smirnoff has committed the lion’s share of its global sponsorship budget for this year to a one-year major partner deal with the Force India F1 team. The deal was announced on May 1, ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, the fifth race of the Formula One season.

The global appeal of football is central to payment services company Western Union’s deal with the Uefa Europa League but the brand is considering refining its portfolio to reach more consumers in North America and Asia, Marc Audrit, vice president, global brand for Western Union told Sports Sponsorship Insider.

The International Triathlon Union, triathlon’s world governing body, has seen a moderate rise in sponsorship revenue associated with its flagship ITU World Triathlon Series, despite a decline in revenue from its global partnership deals.

Active engagement with its products in order to create authenticity and improve the brand’s reputation in sport is the key driver behind nutrition company Herbalife’s sponsorship programme, Brian McKinley, senior director of corporate alliances at Herbalife, told Sports Sponsorship Insider.