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September 4, 2008
Barclays Sees Sponsorships Opening Doors in U.S.
Brand Week
Under [Barclays President Bob] Diamond's tutelage, Barclays—one of the U.K.'s largest consumer banks—has vastly increased it sports sponsorship portfolio, including: purchasing title to soccer's English Premier League in 2004; acquiring title in 2005 to the PGA Tour's The Barclays golf event in the New York area, which is the kickoff for the FedEx Cup playoffs; buying the naming rights to the 18,000-seat Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., (where the NBA's New Jersey Nets plan to relocate) for a reported $400 million, one of the most expensive naming rights deals ever. Diamond sat down with Brandweek's managing editor Chuck Stogel during The Barclays golf event in New Jersey to have a chat.
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BW: Naming rights have become very popular across the entertainment venue landscape. What was the Barclays strategy in signing on with the new arena in Brooklyn, and how will you leverage the cost?BD: We would not have done it if we thought it was expensive. We think it was an outstanding deal both for [real estate developer and Nets owner] Bruce Ratner and his businesses, and for Barclays. The revival of Brooklyn is so important for the greater New York area. It's the hub of transportation, just below the Brooklyn Center. It's the engagement with professional basketball and the 'New York' Nets, who also travel to London to play games. So, again, it's on many, many levels that we found an opportunity to invest in our brand in a major center of operations, the greater New York area.
NoLandGrab: "Brooklyn Center," "THE hub of transportation," "New York Nets"??? LOL, if you've got $400 million to throw around, you don't really have to understand or justify what you're buying.
We were wondering what Nets guard Vince Carter was doing in London this week.
Posted by lumi at September 4, 2008 4:03 AM