Battling for brand recognition, or more particularly, connecting a brand with a certain image, is more than apropos in the wireless industry-it very often defines the success of each company’s marketing scheme.
Ever since the entertainment and sports worlds opened their arms to brand sponsors-in an effort to offset costs and infuse cities with otherwise nonexistent cash-wireless companies (and their telecommunication parent companies) have clamored for their spot in a storied venue’s name. League of Nations, an organization founded by Ralph Nader, claims that as of 2003, naming rights deals across all four major professional sports totaled more than $3.5 billion, with the average professional sports stadium pulling in approximately $3 million per year in naming rights.
A number of venues across the country sport names commonplace in the wireless industry, including Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, which is in the midst of a 20-year agreement that average nearly $1 million per year; and U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, which costs the regional wireless carriers approximately $3 million per year.
While a number of companies have recently let their sponsorship agreements expire-Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., and Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.,-others are jumping in.
Finnish flair
The Nokia Theatre is set to open Oct. 18 in the fast-growing sports and entertainment district of Los Angeles called L.A. Live. Located next to the Staples Center, the 7,000-seat venue is already tapped to host a flurry of starstudded events for years to come. The development will also include a stand-alone Club Nokia for live music and cultural events for up to 2,400 patrons and a 40,000 square-foot open-air Nokia Plaza smack dab in the middle of it all, providing a venue for the red carpet and other special events.
This will mark the third theater Nokia Corp. sponsors in the United States. The first was developed in Grand Prairie, Texas, in 2004, followed by a second theater that opened in New York City’s Times Square in 2005. The handset manufacturer doesn’t have any similar sponsorship deals outside the United States.
Nokia has been able to negotiate the deals rather seamlessly because all three Nokia Theatres are owned and operated by AEG, an entertainment company with dozens of venues and events. The one-on-one partnership doesn’t require Nokia to hash out multiple deals with different owners.
The company has targeted mid-sized venues for their added intimacy, spokesman Keith Nowak said.
“It all comes down to tying the Nokia brand to entertainment and music as our devices become more adept to those kinds of applications,” he said.
Nokia has stocked each of the theaters with all its latest equipment for fans to check out while at the venue. Going forward, Nokia is looking to promote new offerings that would tie in fans’ cellphones with their entertainment experiences at the venue.
“It really comes down to making those positive one-on-one interactions with consumers,” Nowak said.
The Nokia Theatre is scheduled to host the Latin Grammy Awards, the ESPY Awards and numerous productions from VH1, MTV and BET. The Nokia venues will all be part of the “Nokia Unwired” marketing program.
Nokia didn’t disclose any details about the financial terms of its deals or how the sponsorships were hatched.
AT&T Park
Further north and at a much bigger venue, AT&T Inc. is still reaping the benefits of its sponsorship with AT&T Park in San Francisco, home of the San Francisco Giants. The company is extremely pleased with the brandname recognition the deal has helped it earn and stands to get much more for decades to come.
Back in the late ’90s, the San Francisco Giants came to Pacific Bell with an offer that would help the team build a new stadium and remain in the city it’s called home since 1958.
“Our company looked at it and we thought it was a great opportunity to step up to the plate and keep the Giants right where they belong,” AT&T spokesman John Britton said. “It’s proved to be magnificent branding for us.”
Ground broke on the stadium’s development in 1997. It was the first privately financed stadium to be built since Dodgers Stadium, Britton said. The park was first dubbed Pacific Bell Park before changing to SBC Park following SBC Communications Inc.’s acquisition of Pacific Bell, and finally to AT&T Park following SBC’s purchase of AT&T Corp. and name change to AT&T.
The $51 million naming rights deal runs through 2019. It has given the company a perfect venue to entertain clients while also reaching out to the community by donating game tickets to underprivileged youth.
It’s also enabled the company to promote its products and services in a new light.
When the park opened in 2000, it was billed as the world’s largest Wi-Fi hot spot with more than 121 different Wi-Fi access points blanketing wireless Internet coverage throughout the park, nearby parking lots and McCovey Cove.
“We stepped up to the plate and we think we hit a home run. We’ve been very happy with the relationship with the San Francisco Giants,” Britton said. “We were really happy to keep the team here. It’s been very good for us.”
