Marketing & Sponsorship

Written in consultation with Bank of America's sponsorship marketing team, this case places students directly in the position of an agency partner tasked with activating a complex national MLB sponsorship contract. Armed with a typical agency brief and a set of compelling sport marketing assets, students are tasked with activating Bank of America's MLB sponsorship via the brand's #MLBMemoryBank campaign. Integrating insights about baseball, the banking category, and sponsorship best practices is a complex task, one that fosters a rich understanding of brand sponsorship pulled directly from the front lines of the sports industry.

Michael Phelps’ long time endorsement deal with Speedo has expired. For the first time in his career, and with the 2016 Rio Games approaching, Phelps is a “free agent” in the swimwear category. This case study challenges students to critically analyze Phelps’ options in light of his desire to become an “iconic” sport brand transcending the sport of swimming. Should he renew with Speedo … or create his own swimwear brand? Potential courses: marketing, branding, sport marketing.

This case study places the student in the role of a Coca-Cola Classic marketing executive challenged with determining if the brand should engage in ambush marketing around the 2015 Super Bowl, based on the critical analysis of the legal, ethical and practical business environment. The second component of the case study challenges the student to recommend an ambush marketing plan using the range of tactics provided.

After closing an exclusive sponsorship deal with the National Basketball Association, and their affiliated brands, Coinbase is keen to leverage this new opportunity to grow their base of customer and further legitimize cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. Coinbase faces competition from other digital assets trading platforms that have also pursued sports sponsorship opportunities. Coinbase is looking to build their business by attracting new users but are particularly interested in those that are apt to be active crypto traders. The case challenges students to craft a creative marketing plan and tactics that leverages consumer data insights. Additionally, the case provides students with an opportunity to learn about cryptocurrencies. Written in collaboration with Mastercard's VP and Head of Sponsorships for North America Michael Goldstein, this case examines Mastercard's overarching sponsorship strategy, summarizes notable athlete endorsement theory and models for endorser selection, and ultimately tasks students with the assignment of working through a hypothetical, but applied, endorser selection process featuring eight (8) prominent soccer athletes and their adjoining E-Poll endorser scores.

A long time sponsor of FIFA, National American Brewing Company (NABC) is fresh off a wildly successful 2014 Men’s World Cup activation when scandal rocks FIFA’s leadership group and casts a shadow on all involved. As the optics get worse and pressure mounts from media, fans, and internal stakeholders, NABC has a decision to make, one that may shape the future of their sponsorship portfolio and directly impact their business for better or worse. Students are tasked with conducting a cost benefit analysis on both sides of the issue, and creating a management recommendation to senior leadership outlining both the company’s path forward, and a communication plan to execute it. Learning opportunities abound from this real world case touching business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and sponsorship management.

In 2010, Dow Chemical signed on for 10 years as the Official Chemical Company and Worldwide Olympic Partner of the IOC. With a controversial past regarding environmental sustainability, corporate citizenship, and sport sponsorship impact, Dow implemented ambitious sustainability goals in 2014 in order to better align with the brand image of the Olympics. This case illustrates the environmental points of friction both Dow Chemical and the Olympic Games have been involved with, acknowledges their recent sustainability goals and objectives, and evaluates the successes and failures of policy implementation. The case is designed to addresses the theory of brand fit, and the challenges and key decisions a brand like Dow must confront as it reconciles its business model with its status as the IOC's "Official Carbon Partner" prior to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.