Volvo to Present "Biggest Fan of the BIG EAST" Promotion
Oct 25 | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK, NY - The BIG EAST Conference and Volvo Cars of North America have agreed to a sponsorship designating Volvo as "The Official Vehicle of the Big East Conference & Championships." As part of the agreement, Volvo will sponsor a season-long promotion surrounding the 2010-2011 basketball season that will culminate with the selection of the "Biggest Fan of The BIG EAST" at this year's conference championship tournament, March 8-12, at Madison Square Garden.
The partnership between Volvo and The BIG EAST will be managed by ISP Sports, the exclusive multimedia rights holder for the conference. Volvo media agencies of record MPG and Media Contacts, and social media agency Cake, all part of Havas Media, are handling traditional, digital and social media responsibilities for the campaign,
The unique sponsorship engages alumni that are "social media influencers" from each of The BIG EAST's 16 member institutions. A selected representative from each university attended BIG EAST Basketball Media Day in New York City on October 20thto officially launch the promotional campaign for his/her school. Following this week's event, each school representative will now be responsible for providing daily posts on a custom micro-site - mybigeastvolvo.com throughout the upcoming basketball season. All 16 alums will also win a weekend trip back to their alma mater where they will be provided an all-new Volvo S60 to drive around campus, take to basketball game and enjoy throughout their stay. Officials of The BIG EAST and ISP will monitor all postings over a four-month period and then select one fan who will win an all-expense paid trip to New York for The BIG EAST Championship Tournament.
"We are excited to have a world-class brand like Volvo on board as a major BIG EAST corporate sponsor," said Commissioner John Marinatto. "We think this unique new promotional campaign will provide Volvo with a creative, innovative and effective way to extend their brand to BIG EAST fans across the country."
"We believe this exciting partnership with The BIG EAST is a perfect way to spotlight our all-new S60, which is a real game changer for Volvo, said Rick Bryant, Vice President, Northeast Region, Volvo Cars of North America." The all-new S60 features a 300-horsepower turbocharged engine, advanced safety features and a stunning design. We are excited to get all 16 alumni behind the wheel over the course of the campaign and experience all the 'official vehicle of The BIG EAST' has to offer."
As the official vehicle of The BIG EAST Conference and Championship, Volvo will additionally receive substantial sponsorship exposure during the regular season and conference tournament.
Prior to the tournament, Volvo will be a featured sponsor of BIG EAST Game of the Week national radio broadcasts and on the official website of the conference (www.BIGEAST.org).
At Madison Square Garden in March, Volvo's presence will include exposure with tower banners outside the building, courtside signage, LED ribbon board and center-hung scoreboard promotions within the "world's most famous arena." Volvo will also be a featured sponsor of the national radio broadcasts of The 2011 BIG EAST Championship on the ISP network.
