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Tue, 05 Oct 2010 09:43:00 GMT

Swiss-based Formula One team Sauber has announced a sponsorship agreement with Telmex, the Mexican telecommunications company, from next season. The deal will also see Sauber race with Mexican driver Sergio Perez.

Perez, 20, has been backed by Telmex for several years. He finished second in the GP2 series this season, winning four races including at the Monaco Grand Prix.

“Sauber has been not only a very successful racing team but also a strong talent developer of some of the most recognized names in racing since their early stages as well as one of the most respected people in the sport,” said Carlos Slim, chairman of Telmex.

“Their decision of having Sergio with them is very significant on his career to become a top driver representing Mexico. For Telmex and our racing project Escuderia Telmex, it’s a great step forward, and we feel very proud to be able to consolidate these years of work for having a Mexican driver in F1 with Sauber Motorsport.”

Allianz continues with F1

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 09:40:00 GMT

German insurance company Allianz SE has announced a renewal of its sponsorship agreement with Formula One.

An emphasis on road safety issues will remain at the heart of the long-term deal. As part of the agreement, the Formula One safety car and the medical car will be Allianz-branded. The renewed sponsorship agreement will see the joint forces of Allianz and Formula One endeavouring to improving safety for Formula One pilots and for drivers on the road.

An Allianz-branded Formula One safety car was unveiled in honour of the deal in the presence of Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One Group chief executive officer, Dr Christian Deuringer, vice president and head of global brand management of Allianz SE, and safety car driver Bernd Maylander.

Ecclestone said of the successful co-operation: "We are looking forward to the continued involvement with a credible and reliable partner who shares our focus on safety issues."
For over 70 years, the Allianz Centre for Technology has provided successful risk management, along with accident and damage research. Allianz will continue to utilise its engagement in Formula One to place these issues firmly on the agenda at all Grand Prix Events and to take them well beyond the world of Formula One.

Deuringer also elaborated on the new deal: "We are providing coverage for more than 50 million cars globally. Reinforcing safe driving is not only a very important message for everyone participating in road traffic. It is essential for the well-being of Allianz, one of the strongest financial communities. And ultimately, Formula One is the ideal platform to communicate safe driving."

Lotus confirms name for 2011

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 09:41:00 GMT

Lotus set to become Team Lotus in 2011

Lotus have announced on Friday that the team will be known as Team Lotus from 2011. Lotus team principal Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun’s Tune Group have acquired Team Lotus Ventures Ltd, the company led by David Hunt since Team Lotus was last on track.

“We are absolutely delighted to have completed this transaction - It’s difficult to express just what it means to us to now be able to say we are Team Lotus, one of the most iconic names in any form of sport worldwide, but we have been working very hard to make this dream come true, and today it has,” said Fernandes.

“My thanks go to David for looking after the Team Lotus brand so well over the period of his stewardship, and keeping the integrity of Team Lotus together. We are very excited about now taking over the brand and after our first year in Formula One, we believe we are ready to do justice to the legacy we have inherited. These are heady days for Team Lotus, and it will be a very exciting process for the team we have in place to help us achieve our goals, on and off track.

“It was always important to us that Lotus Racing and Team Lotus could be brought together to unite the past and the present, and now we have done so. We have enjoyed a successful first year as Lotus Racing, and our thanks go to Proton, Group Lotus and all our partners for the parts they have played in our year as Lotus Racing.

Dell renews with MTV Europe

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 11:57:00 GMT

Dell is renewing its pan-European sponsorship of the 2010 MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) for the third consecutive year.

The IT corporation will be fully integrated in the awards' pan-European, multi-platform marketing campaigns and the MTV EMA website as well as out of home activity.

The joint partnership will feature logo branding across all on-air promos and billboards, incorporation into marketing, PR, web and WAP activity and on-the ground at the event itself. The choice of Dell products to be advertised in the sponsorship are yet to be confirmed.

Charlie Tebbs, Dell director of consumer marketing, said: "Music and technology go hand and hand, especially for today’s highly mobile and always-online Generation Y.

"The days when a laptop was just for email, internet and school work are long gone, now it’s also about fun, entertainment and increased mobility."

Liz Nunn, vice-president of Viacom Brand Solutions International, said: "Music and technology are central to our audiences and our insight tells us that Dell has been instrumental in making an impact on our viewers as they combine the two."

The awards will be broadcast live from Madrid on 7 November and will reach a potential 214 million homes in over 40 territories.

Ronaldo chairs news Brazilian sports marketing firm

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:48:00 GMT

Brazil striker Ronaldo is to become chairman and partner of a sports marketing consultancy to be launched by London-based, global communications group WPP.

The company, which will be created in 2011, is to be called 9ine, after the number Ronaldo wears as a player. 9ine will have offices in London and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The company plans to take advantage of the predicted boom in Brazil's sports market ahead of the 2014 Fifa World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. It will offer advice to corporations willing to invest in the country and management services for high profile athletes.

Ronaldo said: "We want to be leaders in the sports marketing industry. This is something I thought to build a post-football career. We’ve already been approached by major brands."

Ronaldo says he will be fully committed to the new business once he retires from football next year. He currently plays for Sao Paulo club Corinthians.

How to Manage a One-Person Sales Force

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:22:00 GMT

Entrepreneurs wear many hats, and that of director of sales is very often one of them. In fact, if you're a CEO and your company's sole salesperson, then welcome to the club — many small companies operate this way. But just beacuse a practice is commonplace does not mean it's easy. We put the word out that we were looking for advice on how to manage and balance the dual roles of CEO and salesperson and guess what? It took a whole train ride from New York City to Boston to wade through the responses. Here are the best of them:

1. Manage your time religiously. Jen Sterling, the CEO of the marketing company Red Thinking, has played the CEO/sole salesperson role in three companies and says she is now "much more militant about how I block time in my calendar. If I've scheduled a prospect meeting, I have already scheduled an hour to write their proposal." And she also blocks in fixed period of time to focus on CEO duties such as charting her South Riding, Virginia, firm's long-term strategy and marketing messages.

2. Sell your product or service, not your company. It's your company and you're proud of it, so of course you're inclined to tell your story to potential clients. But that's not always an efficient use of your time. "I slip into selling our business instead of our product all the time," says Keith Chung, the CEO of Amobius Group, a Toronto company that publishes Veribook, a web application for booking appointments. But the pitch you would make to potential partners or investors should not be the same as the pitch you make to potential customers. "Selling," Chung says he realized, "is about convincing people that they want to use your services, not that your services are cool, innovative, or otherwise interest-worthy. Prove that you provide a solution to a problem, and the users will come."

3. Don't neglect existing clients. Your current clients are your best source of additional revenue, so don't get so wrapped up in pursuing new leads that you neglect their needs. "I firmly believe that your current clients should come first," says Rebecca Andino, CEO of Highlight Technologies, an IT government contractor in Arlington, Virginia. "If I have a meeting conflict, I would re-schedule a business development meeting to make a client meeting."

4. Leverage a simplified feedback loop. One of the great advantages of CEO selling is consistent, direct contact with your customers, so don't squander the opportunity to get honest feedback on your product or service. "There are no bureaucratic layers in our organization and the customer's voice is never lost," says Marc Zawel, the CEO of EqualApp, a Research Triangle start-up that offers online college admissions resources. Customers can "tell me what they love about EqualApp, and what additional features they would like to see, and I'm in a position to take action." As CEO, you're not just selling a product; you're selling access to yourself.

5. Reduce your travel. Until cloning technology becomes more advanced, you can only be in one place at time, and traveling is a huge time suck. Some potential clients will always demand your presence for an initial pitch, but you'll find that many others will gladly settle for alternatives. "When I conduct an initial presentation with  a new client, I set-up WebEx meetings," says Joe Sriver, the CEO of DoAPP, a mobile-technology developer in Minneapolis. "People are becoming accustomed to this type of computer-based, virtual communication. It  helps me contact and present to more clients in a day."

6. Delegate, delegate, and then delegate more. If you're spending the bulk of your time selling, then other day-to-day responsibilities are very likely to fall by the wayside. Don't let that happen. Outsource administrative tasks to a virtual assistant, and take advantage of a huge pool of unemployed professionals for part time or temporarily help with marketing, PR, and bookkeeping. Hire interns for the grunt work and to help you with lead generation. You should also realize that you don't need to handle every aspect of sales on your own. "We spread responsibility for prospecting, scheduling, and demonstrations among the team, says T.A. McCann, the CEO of Gist, on Seattle-based Web start-up that manages e-mail and social networking contacts. "It's okay to let others help you qualify and manage accounts, but view yourself as an essential part of the closing process and hold yourself personally responsible for getting the order," he says.

7. Find a mentor. Some CEOs are natural salespeople, and some are not. If you're not, then you need help. Judy Davids, the CEO of PostEgram knows that she is the best salesperson for her business because "nobody is more passionate or understands our product better." But she concedes that the pitfall is that "I have no idea what I am doing." Her Detroit company puts Facebook status updates and photos into full-color newsletters for older family members. She has a web design background and is passionate about public relations and marketing, so she relies heavily on a mentor to help coach her on sales. "It's something that I think I have learned to be good at," says Davids. "My mentor has been brutally honest with me."

8. Hold yourself accountable. A salesperson would be accountable to you. So who you are you accountable to? When you're the sole salesperson, says Rebecca Andino of Highlight Technologies (see No. 3), "its easy to slip into an undisciplined, haphazard sales and marketing approach." You'd require a full time salesperson to create a strategic plan and to be diligent about using a CRM system to track leads and results. "As a business owner, I don't always have time to document all leads in our online system, and sometimes I get pulled into operations and human resources issues," says Andino. Nonetheless, you need to work extra-hard to document the sales process so that when and if you a hire a successor, you'll be able to pass that on.

9. Create an "everyone sells" culture. "Make sure your entire team understands that everyone is really in sales, even if it's not on their business card," suggests Barbara O'Connell, CEO of WhereToFindCare.com, a company in Ypsilanti, Michigan, that helps consumers find health care providers. Your employees should be ambassadors for your company, talking up your product or service and on the look-out for potential leads wherever they go.

10. Make the tough choice. It's inevitable. You're going to have to hire a salesperson at some point, so sit down and figure out when that will be. Is there a magic revenue target that will, once hit, allow you to hire a top-notch salesperson? Or perhaps the benchmark is your number of customers, or your headcount of billable employees. Whatever it is, commit to it and start meeting in a casual way with qualified candidates.

Of course, there's another alternative. Jared Orkin, the 22-year old founder of CoupMe, a Groupon-like, deal-a-day website, was both CEO and sole salesperson at his Boston-area company, until he raised a round of seed capital and was persuaded by his new investors to replace himself as CEO. Orkin happily stepped down to focus on what he's best at and loves most—and that would be sales. Different strokes.

thanks to inc.com for great material.

DHL sign to Rugby World Cup 2011

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:13:00 GMT

Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) has confirmed that the international express mail services company DHL will be the official logistics partner of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

RWCL chairman, Bernard Lapasset, said, "Rugby World Cup Limited is delighted to announce that DHL has joined the family of worldwide partners supporting Rugby World Cup 2011. The appointment of a globally renowned brand and a world leader in the logistics industry further underscores Rugby World Cup's considerable global prestige and appeal."

We look forward to working with DHL over the next 12 months to further the promotion of the game around the world as the sporting community looks forward to Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand and a tournament that will write another memorable and successful chapter in the Rugby World Cup success story," Lapasset added.

Sharp and UEFA agree partnership

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:34:00 GMT

UEFA has signed an agreement with Sharp that will see the Japanese electronics manufacturer sponsor the EURO 2012 and become a EUROTOP partner.

The deal, understood to be around $10 million, covers the main UEFA national team competitions until 2013.

Toshishige Hamano, Sharp representative director and executive vice president, stressed that 2012 is the year Sharp celebrates its centennial anniversary.

“I am honoured we will have the opportunity to be a EUROTOP partner for UEFA EURO 2012 in the milestone year of our hundredth anniversary,” he said. “Through this sponsorship, we intend to boost Sharp’s brand value and work to further enhance our business in Europe.”

The announcement brings good news to UEFA only a few days after Ukraine revealed its government budget to co-host EURO 2012 with Poland was cut by more than a fifth to $7 billion.

AT&T......USA 2018 partner

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:11:00 GMT

The United States Soccer Federation has unveiled a new sponsorship deal with AT&T to back their bid for the 2018 Fifa World Cup.

The deal will see AT&T promote the US bid chiefly through its online petition, which has obtained more than 980,000 signatures from supporters.

Sunil Gulati, chairman of the US bid committee and president of the United States Soccer Federation said: "As a major supporter of professional soccer in this country, AT&T is the perfect communications sponsor for the USA Bid Committee's mission to show the world that the United States would be honoured to host the Fifa World Cup in 2018 or 2022. Their global presence as an innovator in communications technology will be a significant asset to our bid and we’re proud to welcome them to our team."

Jason Simpson, the executive director of AT&T corporate sponsorships, added: "At AT&T, our goal is to connect people to their passions, as an official sponsor of the USA Bid Committee, AT&T is proud to help support millions of soccer fans in the quest to bring the Fifa World Cup back to the U.S."

The fixed telephony provider also sponsors the Mexican national team, serves as communications services sponsor of US Soccer and Major League Soccer and is also the title sponsor of the annual Major League Soccer All-Star Game.

The US bid committee announced on 28 January 2009, that it would submit bids for both the 2018 and 2022 Cups with 18 official cities as hosts for the bid.

More from Behance....

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:37:00 GMT

Best of Behance's 99% Conference: 13 Tried and True Practices For Making Ideas Happen

The Behance "99%" conference wound up on a high note with Pentagram designer Michael Bierut offering five sane and simple principles for maximum productivity. Given his track record--hundreds of design awards, work at MOMA, a faculty appointment at Yale, a hugely popular blog, and a book or two, (I'm exhausted just listing all his accomplishments!)--his was advice with instant cred.

In typical modest fashion, however, he denied having any particular genius: "I'm not creative. I don't have ideas I want to express. I can't think of any personal projects. I became a designer because I wanted people to come to me with problems to solve. I'm like a doctor who needs patients--the sicker the better--because I can't practice on myself."

A sweet thought, but really, Michael. Would that we were all so un-gifted!

So, if you're only a fraction as 'uncreative' as Bierut, you, too, can profit from his tips:

1. Keep a notebook. Bierut started this practice in 1992, and now has 86 of the things. But they're not some fancy Moleskins full of lush watercolor sketches. They're plain vanilla notebooks, filled with, well, notes and the occasional sketch. They seem to work as well as the high-priced spread.

2. Listen first, then design. Actually, you don't have to be a designer to take this advice. If you're selling office paper at Dunder Mifflin, or pitching an account at Sterling Cooper, listening is still a good way to get a project off on the right foot.

3. Don't avoid the obvious. The obvious can be your best friend. There are few new ideas, folks. Mostly just better iterations of the old ones. Trying to reinvent the wheel too often just results in a lot of wheel spinning.

4. The problem contains the solution. Read the brief or the specs, or actually pay attention to your notes from the client meeting (see #1, above.) Often, the solution is right there.

5. Indulge your obsessions. They're passion made tangible.

6. Love is the answer. There are worse things than leading with your heart. As Bierut has proven, you'll often be successful, do great work, and probably make money. And you'll likely be happy.

Here's a final round-up of other big ideas from the conference that may help you get from inspiration to action:

7. Don't let the urgent demands of today always subvert your plans for tomorrow. In other words, don't let the often trivial demands of an overflowing inbox consistently distract you from the more important items on your to-do list. Along those lines, keep two lists: one of daily tasks, the other of longer term projects with specific action items attached. - Scott Belsky, CEO, Behance

8. Don't underestimate the importance of staying organized. Chaos subverts progress. Creativity x organization = impact - Belsky

9. Hang around people who are passionate about things. Their enthusiasm will rub off on you. Whom you hang out with really matters. - Jason Randal, theorist on developing expertise

10. Hire the best lawyers. "I've met many people who run billion-dollar companies. They aren't that smart. They hire good lawyers. It's one of the things that made this project happen." Robert Hammond, Co-founder, Friends of the High Line.

11. Share ideas liberally. If you share quickly, you'll be more accountable. - Belsky

12. Surround yourself with people who motivate you, and write things down. Something as large as a presidential campaign was done simply by checking items off a to-do list. - Scott Thomas, design director, Obama for America

13. Nothing trumps hard work. "Many successful people don't want to talk about how hard they work. Even when you've made it, you've got to keep working." - Jill Greenberg, photographer

Apple reveals new range

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:09:00 GMT

Fastcompany.com reveals new Apple range..

Apple's new products have one subtle quality that no company can touch: Cohesion.

Just minutes ago, Apple announced a slew of new products, including: an updated Apple TV that will make a play

for cable and Netflix; an entire new line of iPods; and a refreshed version of iTunes.

All of these are geared toward a singular vision of a new Apple, which produces the world's most beautiful boxes

and interfaces for bringing you every type of media content you like, anywhere you want it.

So it's fitting that the products all share a coherent design language: Subtle cues link the devices,

making each one feel like it's part of something greater -- namely, the Apple brand.

[The new iPod Touch]

Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive have been hinting at this for years. Ever since the release of the iMac in the late 1990s,

Apple has been in turns coherent and incoherent. Somewhere around the mid-2000s, which featured the PowerBook, MacBook,

iMacs, and three iPod lines that looked wildly dissimilar, it sort of fell apart.

But since then, the discipline is back (though it's a process that's gone on quietly). The central point of reference, you'll recall,

was the MacBook Air, a brilliant design that introduced the shiny black accents and matte aluminum that you see all over Apple

today, and it recently culminated in the iPhone 4, which is probably Apple's biggest homage yet to the design cues of Dieter Rams.

The new line-up almost fully incorporates that DNA. Take, for instance, the packaging -- a feature of Apple's products that

has always been the brand's first impression on new customers:

The new line-up is simple, and the low-end products don't feel like afterthoughts. Again, they feel like part of the family

-- and even something as tiny as the new iPod nano shares buttons, curves, finishes, and proportions with the mighty iPhone 4:

I don't think it's a stretch to say that feeling you have a foot in the door as a consumer predisposes you to go back for new products (as opposed to say, feeling like you have just a busted little entry-level device).

You'll even notice that the new UI for Apple TV -- a product that Apple always seemed to hold at arm's length -- appears redesigned. It looks unique but of a piece with the layouts and organizing logic of the iPod UI and iTunes:

We've heard from sources close to Apple that in the past couple years, designers there have been moving to a longer and

longer-term view of product design. So instead of one concept per product, each new concept involves designing an entire range

and showing how it might evolve and extend to other devices.

Yet again, Apple raises their game. This time, it's in thinking of their products as paper boats in a steadily flowing river that's

the Apple brand, rather than weighty nuggets of brilliance that just sink to the bottom. The new line proves how successful

they've been at hewing to that vision.

Business thinking according to Behance

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:31:00 GMT

Behance Best Practices--The 7 Principles of Success

After surveying a large number of successful people, Behance found that those who have made things happen share several common principles.

We should know our tendencies--are we dreamers, doers or and know what gets in our way.
Share ideas liberally--if it's a really good idea, can it be replicated? If you share quickly, you'll be more accountable. Chris Anderson--every time he has an idea, he puts it on his blog. GE--have a policy, if you have a best practice--and you don't share, they call it stealing from the company.
Share ownership of ideas--don't be wedded to doing it one way. How to share ownership, but know when to interject. Co-owning an idea may increase likelihood of its happening.
Seek Competition.
Fight your way to breakthroughs. When apathy happens, somebody drops the rope.
Don't become burdened by consensus. Find the sacred extremes, and realize you have to compromise in the middle of the spectrum.
Present yourself (overcome the stigma of self-marketing.

check out behance.com

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:40:00 GMT

Behance Network is an online network for designers and creatives to showcase their projects and others contribute feedback. It has large archive of past creative work to filter through. Try using the search function to narrow down your results.

2011 Rugby World Cup could be in 3D

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:34:00 GMT

Discussions are taking place between the International Rugby Board, New Zealand pay-operator Sky Television and UK commercial broadcaster ITV to determine whether the 2011 Rugby World Cup will be broadcast in 3D.

Sky TV, which is the host broadcaster for the 2011 tournament in New Zealand, said in February it had no plans to broadcast any games in 3D however it is understood UK rights-holder ITV could bring its own 3D cameras to film matches.

ITV beat off competition from four rival broadcasters to win the TV rights for the Rugby World Cups in 2011 and 2015 late last month.

“There is a bit of a comprehensive review going on at the moment,” said Rugby World Cup tournament director Kit McConnell. “We are looking at the potential for any opportunities not just for Britain but other markets and cinemas. We are still on track to make a decision by the end of the year.”

McConnell added that although 3D broadcast of sport is becoming increasingly common, it is “not an accepted or standard part of the normal consumer experience in the broadcast of international sport at the moment”.

3 sponsor Ireland FIA

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:29:00 GMT

Mobile phone operator 3 has signed an agreement with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to become primary sponsor of the national team and support grassroots initiatives across the country.

The four-year deal is worth €7.5 million, starting from next Wednesday’s friendly against Argentina in Dublin.

FAI chief executive John Delaney said “3 is a new and dynamic brand in Ireland and their determination and drive will bring fresh energy and focus to the partnership.

“This is significant sponsorship which is structured to reach out as never before to engage with grassroots football and all the strands of the game that we represent. It is a significant investment in the future of Irish football, particularly in light of the current economic climate.”

The mobile phone operator will offer customers access to match tickets and other football-related initiatives.