Terry Lefton

23 hours ago | sportsbusinessjournal.com | Terry Lefton

Across the experiential and sports agency space this week, there was an absolute cacophony of reaction to Nick Kelly departing the top sponsorship job at Verizon after 27 months to establish his own brand-side shop: Encore Sports & Entertainment. Reaction in the agency buzzosphere varied from surprise to bewilderment, with many questioning why he would leave what they termed “the top job in sponsorship.” Certainly, it’s one of the biggest on the brand side.

23 hours ago | sportsbusinessjournal.com | Terry Lefton

Fresh pet food brand The Farmer’s Dog has renewed its year-old MLB sponsorship rights, under which it was designated as the league’s official pet food and pet treat. Activation will largely be restricted to creative on league rights holders and MLB-controlled media, including digital and podcasts. The Farmer’s Dog has also sponsored the Mets and Rangers within MLB.

2 days ago | sportsbusinessjournal.com | Terry Lefton

Opella’s Allegra brand of OTC antihistamine medication is mounting an ambitious Indy 500 marketing effort that includes a sponsorship with Andretti Global Racing and a paint out of Marcus Ericsson‘s No. 28 Honda in the brand’s signature purple for the “Great American Race.” Through a complementary deal with race rightsholder Fox, Ericsson’s pit crew will wear QR codes during his initial stop directing consumers to a “Pit Shop” site with an associated game, and information on the...

1 week ago | sportsbusinessjournal.com | Terry Lefton

Premium sports hospitality firm Real SLX is getting prominent brand placement in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, through deals with several prominent jockeys in the race. The jockeys riding American Promise (Nik Juarez) and Luxor Cafe’ (Joao Moreira) will have Real SLX branding on the legs and backs of their jockey pants, and branded caps will be worn in the winner’s circle, if either horse triumphs. Both horses were sired by Triple Crown winners: American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018).

2 weeks ago | sportsbusinessjournal.com | Terry Lefton

A favorite moment from our recent CAA World Congress of Sports in Nashville came when a longtime co-worker asked the bartender in a Broadway tavern if they had any “nice” wine. “Nope,” the bartender replied quickly, “we have red wine in a can.” That never happened in L.A. Words of wisdom: “If all the year were playing holidays, to sport would be as tedious as to work” -- Shakespeare. More than 40,000 people attended Verizon's Super Bowl FanFest activations across 30 NFL markets.