Mentholatum Co. brand Oxy Acne Solutions this week signed on as an associate sponsor of the Dew Action Sports Tour, the first-ever, season-long multi-sport professional tour in action sports. The tour, co-owned by NBC Universal and Clear Channel Entertainment-Motor Sports, kicks off its five event schedule June 9 in Louisville.
Panasonic, Right Guard Xtreme, Vans, Toyota and PlayStation are founding sponsors of the tour, and Mountain Dew is the title sponsor. Oxy joins Pacific Cycle and Just Born, Inc., maker of Chew-ets Peanut Chews and Marshmallow Peeps, as an associate sponsor.
As part of the deal, Oxy will receive tour-wide category exclusivity and fully integrated marketing benefits, including television ads, print promotion, event signage and branding, online assets, grassroots marketing elements, hospitality, and inclusion in the tour’s multi-million dollar marketing campaign.
The Orchard Park, NY, manufacturer chose to partner with Dew Action Sports Tour as part of its rebranding efforts. The tour will allow the brand to directly interact with its primary target audience and develop innovative cross promotions with other Dew Action Sports Tour partners, said Mentholatum VP-marketing and sales Mark Cieslinski in a statement.
Mentholatum acquired the Oxy brand from GlaxoSmithKline in December 2004. Cenergy Communications, East Aurora, NY, is the Oxy brand’s marketing AOR.
“We evaluated a number of sports properties to help re-launch the Oxy brand, and the Dew Action Sports Tour provided the best combination of national television exposure and on-site activation elements,” said John Cimperman, principal, Cenergy Communications, in a statement.
In addition to the new Oxy deal, Dew Action Sports Tour has also signed sponsors for online, print and radio partnerships.
Napster is the official digital music provider of the tour. Napster will be integrated into the Tour’s Web site, where fans can sample and purchase “Dew Tour Playlists,” featuring music that athletes competing on the tour are currently listening to. The tour and Napster will also partner to distribute cards at tour stops, other events, and through Internet promotions that give consumers free tracks and trial subscriptions to Napster’s digital music service.
Fox Sports Radio Network is the official radio network of the tour. FSRN will broadcast live from tour sites for three hours on Friday nights and four hours on Saturday afternoons on up to 240 stations. FSRN will also promote the tour and the NBC broadcast from May to October.
TransWorld Media’s TransWorld SKATEboarding, TransWorld Motocross and Ride BMX are the official skateboarding, motocross and BMX publications of the tour. TransWorld will promote the tour and its partners across all three magazine titles, with combined audience of more than 2 million. The tour will also partner with TransWorld on consumer promotions.
MAD Magazine is the official comic magazine partner of the tour. MAD Magazine will promote the Tour and its partners throughout the season. The tour will also play a prominent role in MAD’s “Back to School Bragging Rights ’05” national promotion, which will include prizes such as a trip to a Dew Action Sports Tour event and unique fan experiences. Complete details of the promotion have not been announced.
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