April 21, 2010: In what could be the most impactful marketing deal in recent U.S. sports history, the WNBA has signed a multi-year pact with Microsoft that includes putting the Bing search engine logo on the jersey front of the Seattle Storm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Although LifeLock with the Phoenix Mercury and Farmers Insurance with the Los Angeles Sparks already have logos on WNBA team jersey fronts, the deal with the Seattle-based company that had $58 billion in revenue in 2009 will by far have more repercussions on the future of the WNBA and future alliances in other pro sports. Concurrently, Microsoft will use the alliance to continue its efforts to cut into search engine territory controlled by rival Google.
"It was critically important that we not only secure a marquee partner but secure a marquee partner that aligned with both our values and our business objectives. Bing absolutely fits those criteria," Storm CEO Karen Bryant said on StormBasketball.com. "It's a real indicator of the health of the business, a real reflection of Microsoft's commitment to our community and the beginning of what I know will be a long and very productive partnership. To have a company the caliber of Bing make a strategic decision to invest in a local, independently owned WNBA franchise is a significant milestone."
More such WNBA jersey deals are expected although it was not indicated by the WNBA if that would happen by the time the 2010 WNBA season begins in May. As with the other WNBA deals, the logo of team uniform supplier adidas and the team's own logo will remain on the jersey front, although much smaller than the Bing logo.
No comments:
Post a Comment