Among those big names is commercial and residential security company ADT Security Services, Boca Raton, Fla., which builds good will and name recognition from sponsoring various sporting events throughout the year, noted Jay Stuck, ADT’s vice president residential marketing and corporate communications.
ADT’s philosophy is to obtain more exposure from sponsoring an event than from being a sponsor of a sports broadcast, Stuck declared. Although he would not reveal the figures involved, he suggested that the sponsorships of the events are more economical and effective than broadcast advertising.
For that reason, the company sponsors unique events where it stands out, such as arena football, the Golf Skills Challenge, world team tennis, the NASDAQ-100 tennis open, the football Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and U.S. speed skating.
For example, in the ADT Golf Skills Challenge, leading athletes in other sports who are non-professional golfers compete against top PGA tour pros. Baseball legend Mark McGwire and Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway have competed in the event against PGA pros Greg Norman, Mark O’Meara, Nick Faldo and Craig Stadler. The event is broadcast on network television.
The BCS ADT national championship trophy, a distinctive cut crystal football trophy, appears on the sidelines of games that lead up to the championship game, which this year was held in January at the Orange Bowl.
Arena football has been gaining in importance, Stuck pointed out, and ADT’s partnership with the sport extends through 2007. ADT sponsors all AFL defensive honors, including the Defensive Player of the Year award.
A top-viewed golf event that ADT sponsors is called simply the International. The company also is the presenting sponsor of the International Youth Golf Series.
Additionally, ADT sponsors a championship that invites only the top 30 professionals in the LPGA to compete for a $1 million prize at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. ADT also has obtained multiyear global name, likeness and image rights for its logo on professional golfer Annika Sorenstam’s golf bag.
Team ADT Champion Racing set an American LeMans Series record in 2004 by winning four consecutive races. The team has produced 10 overall victories in the last two years.
ADT also has been a corporate sponsor of the U.S. speed skating team since 1998. In 2002, the team won the most medals at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and had the highest number of medal-winners in U.S. history.
Victories like these keep awareness of ADT upfront with its commercial and residential accounts, and the triumphs build company spirit, Stuck pointed out.
