Repucom

Interest in NBA could increase as players choose to play abroad during league lockout

New York (August 5, 2011 )- The threat of the NBA lockout continuing through the upcoming season has encouraged New Jersey Nets star Deron Williams sign an overseas contract in Turkey and spurred rumors of other players considering a move to Europe. If this trend continues to pull NBA players abroad, the league could expect the unintended result of expanded global interest once regular seasons resume.

William's new home in Turkey currently ranks seventh in major foreign markets interested in the NBA, according to the most recent S21 global sponsorship study by Repucom International. European NBA interest is greatest in Spain (20%), the home of the Gasol brothers, Pau and Marc, followed by France and Russia. Germany, home to current NBA Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzski, ranks fourth with NBA interest levels at 11%.

China is the outlier in this study, with the highest NBA interest of all international markets (48%), a result from the Leagues strong push into the Chinese market in recent years with the success of local star Yao Ming. Yao’s career showed the NBA just how much foreign interest can affect sponsorship. In his eight years in the NBA, Yao’s international presence was evident to the Houston Rockets arena, where nearly a third of the Toyota Center’s courtside signage contains brands with Chinese characters, according to data from sponsorship-measurement firm Repucom International. Among the numerous sponsors that sought to garner Chinese attention is Anheuser -Busch, which added Chinese writing to their Budweiser brands.

Repucom's S21 global sport and sponsorship study was conducted in May 2011 across 33 international markets focusing on level of support and avidity in key sporting competitions.

Chart – Respondents Top 2 Box level of interest in NBA across each market. Source: Repucom S21 Sponsorship Study May 2011

For Further Information contact:

Megan Garcia,
T: +1 203-975-9000
E: mgarcia@repucom.net

REPUCOM – Providing leadership in sports marketing analysis
REPUCOM provides data to the sports sponsorship industry with the objective to bring insights into branded content and best marketing practices. As a full service brand analysis and research agency, REPUCOM strives to supply reliable and repeatable sports sponsorship validation with global reach and local knowledge. The delivery of evidence-based brand analysis is REPUCOM’s exclusive offering in the sports sponsorship marketplace. Since 2004, REPUCOM has established ten offices worldwide and is rapidly growing partnerships and alliances to offer a more complete measurement portfolio for broadcasted sports sponsorships.

RSMG Insights – The leading group for sponsorship research and consultancy
REPUCOM and SPORT+MARKT two of the leading global research and consultancy companies in sports business, formed a strategic alliance in November 2010 by building the RSMG Insights group. While both REPUCOM and SPORT+MARKT will continue to operate under their respective brands, Both companies can offer for the first time a full-service portfolio for sponsorship research and consultancy from a single source hand. The common objective is to provide professionalization and standardization in international sponsorship research. With more than 1000 employees in 20 offices around the globe and the leading technology and facilities for media evaluation and market research, the new RSMG Insights group will follow this goal by providing the global currency in sponsorship analysis, valuation and sports broadcast audits to the worldwide sport business market

Exposure value generated at the MLB All-Star Game shows growth for brands.

New York (July 28, 2011 )- The largest increase in brand exposure from this year’s MLB All-Star Game on FOX comes for the Chevrolet brand, which more than doubled their exposure value over last year to rank second in total value at $4.47 million – according to data from sponsorship-measurement firm Repucom International. The naming rights sponsor of the venue, Chase, received the most brand exposure value during this year’s All-Star Game and seven of the ten highest valued brands are official MLB league partners.

FOX's broadcast of the 2011 MLB All-Star Game delivered $33.5 million in total value to over 100 different brands. The most valuable location within the broadcast was the virtual signage position behind home plate, which provided $9.4 million in exposure.

For Further Information contact:

Megan Garcia,
T: +1 203-975-9000
E: mgarcia@repucom.net

REPUCOM – Providing leadership in sports marketing analysis
REPUCOM provides data to the sports sponsorship industry with the objective to bring insights into branded content and best marketing practices. As a full service brand analysis and research agency, REPUCOM strives to supply reliable and repeatable sports sponsorship validation with global reach and local knowledge. The delivery of evidence-based brand analysis is REPUCOM’s exclusive offering in the sports sponsorship marketplace. Since 2004, REPUCOM has established ten offices worldwide and is rapidly growing partnerships and alliances to offer a more complete measurement portfolio for broadcasted sports sponsorships.

RSMG Insights – The leading group for sponsorship research and consultancy
REPUCOM and SPORT+MARKT two of the leading global research and consultancy companies in sports business, formed a strategic alliance in November 2010 by building the RSMG Insights group. While both REPUCOM and SPORT+MARKT will continue to operate under their respective brands, Both companies can offer for the first time a full-service portfolio for sponsorship research and consultancy from a single source hand. The common objective is to provide professionalization and standardization in international sponsorship research. With more than 1000 employees in 20 offices around the globe and the leading technology and facilities for media evaluation and market research, the new RSMG Insights group will follow this goal by providing the global currency in sponsorship analysis, valuation and sports broadcast audits to the worldwide sport business market

MLB mid-season shows brands with best exposure within major categories.

New York (July 27, 2011) – At the halfway point in the MLB season, REPUCOM has tracked and analyzed the television broadcasts from every MLB game and the 2011 All-Star game, including every brand generating exposure within the broadcast. Sports Apparel generated the greatest brand visibility of all brand categories at mid-season. Out of all non-sports related brands, Banking/Finance was the most visible, followed by automotives and car insurance providers.

Chart 1: Share of Voice by Brand Category at Half Season including All-Star Game

The Automobile Manufacturer category shows the Chevrolet brand, the official sponsor of MLB, has the biggest share of voice in the industry, generating more than $3.3 million in value over the next closest brand.

Chart 2: Share of Voice by Automotive Category at Half Season, including the All-Star game

The Cellular Provider category is dominated by AT&T, who recorded over double the exposure than the nearest Cellular brand. Verizon ranks second in share of voice, but is the only brand of the top four, that does not have naming rights for a ballpark.

Chart 3: Share of Voice by Cellular Provider at Half Season, including the All-Star game

In the Quick Service Restaurant category, Taco Bell has generated over 3 times the exposure as the nearest competitor brand.

Chart 4: Share of Voice by QSR Brand at Half Season, including the All-Star game

*The above analysis was based on the 1,367 games played prior to the All-Star break, nearly 4,500 hours of broadcast footage has been captured and analyzed by REPUCOM. Source: Repucom RBA media exposure database.

For Further Information contact:

Megan Garcia,
T: +1 203-975-9000
E: mgarcia@repucom.net

REPUCOM – Providing leadership in sports marketing analysis
REPUCOM provides data to the sports sponsorship industry with the objective to bring insights into branded content and best marketing practices. As a full service brand analysis and research agency, REPUCOM strives to supply reliable and repeatable sports sponsorship validation with global reach and local knowledge. The delivery of evidence-based brand analysis is REPUCOM’s exclusive offering in the sports sponsorship marketplace. Since 2004, REPUCOM has established ten offices worldwide and is rapidly growing partnerships and alliances to offer a more complete measurement portfolio for broadcasted sports sponsorships.

RSMG Insights – The leading group for sponsorship research and consultancy
REPUCOM and SPORT+MARKT two of the leading global research and consultancy companies in sports business, formed a strategic alliance in November 2010 by building the RSMG Insights group. While both REPUCOM and SPORT+MARKT will continue to operate under their respective brands, Both companies can offer for the first time a full-service portfolio for sponsorship research and consultancy from a single source hand. The common objective is to provide professionalization and standardization in international sponsorship research. With more than 1000 employees in 20 offices around the globe and the leading technology and facilities for media evaluation and market research, the new RSMG Insights group will follow this goal by providing the global currency in sponsorship analysis, valuation and sports broadcast audits to the worldwide sport business market

Sports Marketing Analysis Company Adds Motorsport Headquarters

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (August 5, 2011 )- With logos adhered to the front doors, the finishing touches are complete and REPUCOM's Motorsport Headquarters is open for business. Establishing the headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, the heart of the motorsport marketplace, was essential to the expansion of REPUCOM’s Motorsports division.

With more than 15 years experience in marketing and sponsorship, REPUCOM's Vice President of Motorsports, Peter Laatz, has a keen understanding for the need to measure motorsport sponsorships.

"The business of auto racing is different than any other sport" said Laatz "Sponsorship is what runs this business and we have the measurement tools to correlate sponsorship placement with audience exposure, based on our relationship with Nielsen."

"Our company is growing rapidly, especially in the motorsport industry" Said Paul Smith, CEO & Founder of REPUCOM. "We recognized early on that we needed to establish our global-motorsport headquarters in Charlotte, N.C. – the heartland of NASCAR."

The Charlotte motorsport office is just one on a list of newly expanded REPUCOM offices in North America. This expansion includes a state-of-the-art footage capture center in Columbia, South Carolina, which will capture more than 91,000 hours of television footage per year. These additions bring a total of four offices to REPUCOM Americas platform, including the original office in Stamford, Connecticut and Kansas City.

For Further Information contact:

Megan Garcia,
T: +1 203-975-9000
E: mgarcia@repucom.net

REPUCOM – Providing leadership in sports marketing analysis
REPUCOM provides data to the sports sponsorship industry with the objective to bring insights into branded content and best marketing practices. As a full service brand analysis and research agency, REPUCOM strives to supply reliable and repeatable sports sponsorship validation with global reach and local knowledge. The delivery of evidence-based brand analysis is REPUCOM’s exclusive offering in the sports sponsorship marketplace. Since 2004, REPUCOM has established ten offices worldwide and is rapidly growing partnerships and alliances to offer a more complete measurement portfolio for broadcasted sports sponsorships.

RSMG Insights – The leading group for sponsorship research and consultancy
REPUCOM and SPORT+MARKT two of the leading global research and consultancy companies in sports business, formed a strategic alliance in November 2010 by building the RSMG Insights group. While both REPUCOM and SPORT+MARKT will continue to operate under their respective brands, Both companies can offer for the first time a full-service portfolio for sponsorship research and consultancy from a single source hand. The common objective is to provide professionalization and standardization in international sponsorship research. With more than 1000 employees in 20 offices around the globe and the leading technology and facilities for media evaluation and market research, the new RSMG Insights group will follow this goal by providing the global currency in sponsorship analysis, valuation and sports broadcast audits to the worldwide sport business market

Two of the world’s leading sponsorship research and consultancy agencies, REPUCOM INTERNATIONAL and SPORT+MARKT AG, have today announced a strategic alliance

New York, Cologne (November 16, 2010) - The Australian-American company, REPUCOM INTERNATIONAL and SPORT+MARKT AG, headquartered in Cologne, have formed a strategic alliance with the assistance of GF Capital, an investment group from New York.

Both REPUCOM and SPORT+MARKT will continue to operate under their respective brands, as will other companies that may join the group.

"This cooperation really is about bringing a truly consolidated offering to the global sports market", said REPUCOM CEO Paul Smith. Founded in Australia in 2004, REPUCOM has offices in ten countries around the world with its major office in the United States.

Hartmut Zastrow, one of the founders of SPORT+MARKT summed up the mood of both companies by stating "after 25 years creating leadership in Europe, we felt it was time to explore a truly global offering. REPUCOM was the perfect fit for us; between the two businesses we now have offices in 14 markets globally and our philosophies are completely aligned."

The deal was funded by the GF Capital Private Equity Fund, LP, a New York-based private equity firm focused on investments in the media and branded consumer products sectors.

The global sports business market continues to be a beacon in difficult economic times and like any large global market, reliable and trustworthy analytics are required to support its pricing and investment rationale. With SPORT+MARKT and REPUCOM delivering the highest quality services to their now even more extensive client base, the global market will have the benefit of the best global practice available.

About SPORT+MARKT

As the leading research and consultancy company in international sport business, SPORT+MARKT has been analyzing the developments and factors for success on the sponsorship and advertising markets for over 20 years. In addition to expertise in market, media research and strategic consultancy, our clients have access to one of the most extensive global databases for sport, sponsorship and communications. As an independent reference on the market, SPORT+MARKT develops customized solutions for the planning, evaluation and optimization of engagements in sport business. We are currently active in over 120 global markets with over 500 employees. In addition to our headquarters in Cologne, we have branches in the U.K., Spain, Italy, France, the Netherlands and Singapore. www.sportundmarkt.com

For Further Information contact:

Michael Tange,
T: +1 203-975-9000
E: mtange@repucom.net

Comprehensive Sponsorship ROI Database Captures Every Second of Televised Brand Exposure in Major U.S. Sports

New York (September 9, 2009) – Repucom International announced its newest innovation in the field of sponsorship and broadcast return on investment measurement -- Repucom Sport24 -- establishing the first broad scale syndicated data base of brand exposure for brands, rights holders (leagues/teams/events), broadcasters and marketing agencies. 
Specifically, Repucom Sport24 will analyze every brand exposed in every second of every major league televised in the country including: NFL, NASCAR, NHL, NBA, PGA Tour, NCAA Football, NCAA Basketball and many others.  MLB will be included from Post Season 2009 forward.
Additionally, Repucom Sport24 will include major daily peripheral media programming and highlights shows such as ESPN SportsCenter.     
Through a category exclusive relationship with The Nielsen Company, Repucom Sport24 will utilize Nielsen ratings and audience data on local and national levels to establish media equivalencies on a media-based Cost per Thousand model for actual audiences and specific demographic segmentations.
“For a number of years the market has called for a reliable source of complete exposure data across all the major sports in the US.  Covering over 19,000 hours of sport annually, Sport24 will deliver on all counts,” said Paul Smith, CEO and Founder of Repucom International.  “To have the Nielsen ratings blended in the data creates an unparalleled source of information of this type,” he added.
In addition to Sport24 in the United States, Repucom has launched a similar sport-specific global product, Football24, (covering all English Premier League and UEFA Champions League matches plus highlights programming).
Referring to the multi-billion dollar sports market Mr. Smith concluded that “The sports industry is ideally positioned to capitalize on its ability to deliver brands “DVR-proof” media value within its content.  Repucom Sport24 will provide stakeholders on all sides of this equation with a robust tool to measure the performance of this prime media real estate in a media context.”

About Repucom

Repucom International has rapidly grown into the world’s foremost authority in measuring the value and effectiveness of brand exposure within all forms of sports and entertainment media.  Utilizing proprietary biometric image detection software, industry leading media metrics and reporting tools, market exclusive access to U.S. Nielsen ratings for sports broadcast exposure and a deep understanding of how brand exposures are delivered inside of broadcast content, Repucom services over 500 major consumer brands, content rights holders, broadcasters and marketing agencies around the world.  Founded in 2004, this privately held company has a global network of 10 wholly owned and operated offices and nearly 300 employees.

For Further Information contact:

Kaitlin Rosenberg,
T: 203-975-9000
E: sport24@repucom.net

Repucom America announces exclusive agreement with Nielsen; Addition of Nielsen ratings creates the leading analysis service for measuring content in televised sports in the United States

New York, NY – [January 12, 2009] Repucom International, a global leader in the measurement of sports broadcast content, today announced the establishment of an exclusive long-term agreement with The Nielsen Company.

The announcement coincides with a recent decision by Nielsen to refocus its sports sponsorship measurement practice in the United States.

The groundbreaking partnership will cover three key initiatives:

• Existing Nielsen Scorecard clients will be offered the preferential opportunity to transition to and become clients of Repucom.
• Nielsen will exclusively use Repucom services where it requires such information for its broader research products.
• Repucom will have exclusive access to local and national television ratings data in its area of business in the United States.

“We are delighted to be entering into this exclusive agreement with Nielsen” said Paul Smith, President and Founder of Repucom. “To be chosen by the leading research agency in the world through this arrangement speaks volumes about Repucom’s ability to deliver best in class results to clients seeking to effectively measure their return on investment in sports and entertainment media.”

Using its proprietary image detection technology, Radiuss, Repucom currently analyses and reports exposure of brands in major sports and entertainment broadcast programming. With the addition of ratings and associated demographics to the Repucom product and services this partnership establishes Repucom as the preeminent measurement and valuation platform of its kind in the United States.

“Sport as a marketing medium grows in the importance every year but increasingly the resources and methodologies required to deliver the highest standard of information in the space are becoming specialised. At Nielsen we recognise that we have an obligation to deliver global best practice to our clients and in this instance Repucom represents such standards” said Tom Ziangas, Senior Vice President of Nielsen Sports.

Today’s announcement represents yet another exciting milestone for Repucom International. From its inception in Australia in late 2004, the group has grown rapidly with operations in Australia, Singapore, USA, Korea, Japan, India, UK and Canada. Repucom’s continuing focus on research and development has helped establish its technology and products as best practice in the research and analysis of sports and entertainment media. With an increasing scrutiny of media spend in 2009, Repucom’s services are helping companies to optimise their marketing investments, as well as deliver return on investment intelligence necessary for senior management and boards.

About Repucom

Repucom is a full service brand and broadcast analysis provider. Repucom provides it clients with the most accurate and evidence-based brand analysis information available in the global marketplace today. Utilising leading media metrics, cutting-edge image detection technology and specific brand recognition software, Repucom analyses the brand exposure generated across all forms of media. For more information please visit www.repucom.net.

Ben Heyhoe Flint has accepted the role of Regional Director for Repucom International – Asia and will be leaving OgilvyAction Sports & Entertainment at the end of the year. Repucom International is one of the fastest growing sponsorship research companies worldwide and Ben will oversee operations in Singapore (covering ASEAN & Greater China), Japan and Korea, reporting in to the company’s headquarters in Australia.

Ben is taking over from Danny Townsend who is relocating to Europe to run Repucom International - Europe, Middle East, Africa and South Asia, having set up the Asian business in 2006.

Flint says: "I'm thrilled to be joining the team at Repucom International, especially at a time when accountability is becoming paramount. Brands, rights holders, governments and broadcasters all want to know the effectiveness of their sponsorship dollars and Repucom International represents the gold standard for providing this information."

Danny Townsend states “It is an exciting time for our business in Asia and Ben’s appointment will facilitate our progression to the next growth stage. Ben shares our entrepreneurial spirit, is a well respected industry expert and is perfectly placed to maintain the momentum we have built up over the last three years.

Bill Pulver, Repucom International’s Executive Chairman agrees, “We are delighted to have Ben joining our team. He has the right credentials to take our business forward, in what could be a challenging year for the sports and media industry. With his industry knowledge and expertise and Repucom International’s market-leading tools, we look forward to further expansion of our Asian market leadership in 2009 and beyond.”

Ben will be based in Repucom International’s Singapore office and officially take up the position on January 12th 2009. Danny Townsend will be relocating to the company’s London office in February 2009.

Notes to Editor: