Pizza Hut takes on its first NFL Draft as the Official Pizza Sponsor of the NFL with a sponsorship activation plan that includes dancing, prizes, fan activities, and more. The brand is bringing in NFL wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster as ambassador of the Pizza Hut “Doorbell Dance” campaign, as well as appearing as a social media correspondent on the Red Carpet. In addition, Pizza Hut will also recognize the 78th pick in the Draft – the 14th pick in the third round or “Pi Pick” – with free pizza for one year and an invitation to a pizza party in his honor in the new hometown that selects him. The Pi Pick will receive other additional perks from Pizza Hut, including retro brand swag, gift cards for teammates, and more. Meanwhile, Pizza Hut will offer a special “NFL Draft Box” promotion featuring two medium pizzas, wings and breadsticks starting at $19.99 throughout the 2018 NFL Draft.
Charles Schwab & Co. will expand its golf presence next year by assuming title sponsorship of the PGA TOUR’s Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial Country Club. The four-year agreement spans 2019-2022 and the new tournament name and logo will be announced at a later date, as will the 2019 dates.
Tough Mudder and Jack Link’s are teaming up in a move that will see Jack Link’s Beef Steak Strips serve as Tough Mudder’s Official Performance Protein and Recovery Fuel partner. As part of the rollout, Jack Link’s and Tough Mudder are launching the #RaisetheSteaks campaign where Mudders will be able to “Raise the Steaks” at select Tough Mudder events by tackling Jack Link’s course enhancements including a start line challenge that will dare participants to wear a weighted backpack along the course. Jack Link’s also will sponsor a Pop ‘N’ Lock obstacle in Mudder Village at nearly 20 events.
Doosan unveiled a multi-year partnership with the New York Yankees in a move that will provide Doosan with branding and marketing benefits including permanent branding at the visiting team’s on-deck location, exclusive VIP hospitality experiences throughout the season, and other experiences with players at Yankee Stadium.
In other team news, Califia Farms, a local plant-based beverage company – inked its first sports-marketing partnership with the LAFC, making Califia Farms the Preferred Coffee of the Los Angeles Football Club and provide soccer fans at the new Banc of California Stadium with a selection of dairy-free coffee beverages. In addition to retail, Califia Farms branding will be featured throughout the new stadium via LED signage.
STATS entered a two-year contract to become the official data provider for the BIG3. STATS will collect and distribute BIG3 data throughout the 10-week season from June 22-Aug. 24. “We look forward to working with STATS during the 2018 BIG3 season,” said BIG3 Co-Founder and Co-CEO Jeff Kwatinetz. “The league is built of elite basketball superstars with record-breaking careers, and STATS will produce high-quality data enabling our fans to track those players as they continue to evolve their game and excel in this new professional three-on-three format.”
Sports news streamer CBS Sports HQ dives into the 2018 NFL Draft with live reports from Dallas, as well as real-time reactions and commentary from a team of pro football insiders, grades for every pick, and fantasy football projections. Anchor Nick Kostos will be joined by analysts Danny Kanell and Bryant McFadden in the Sports HQ studio in Fort Lauderdale, FL. CBS Sports Digital writers Pete Prisco and Chris Trapasso will join the coverage from Dallas, and anchor Hakem Dermish and analyst Brady Quinn will join from Cleveland.
PUBG Corporation announced the PUBG Global Invitational 2018, a new esports tournament with the game where 20 top professional PUBG teams – selected via regional qualifying tournaments hosted in North America, Europe and Asia through the beginning of July – who will face off for a total of $2 million prize pool. The event will take place in Berlin from July 25-29 and marks the first major PUBG esports tournament officially hosted by PUBG Corp. “The PUBG Global Invitational 2018 is a landmark moment for PUBG Corp. as a showcase of the potential of PUBG esports,” said Changhan Kim, CEO, PUBG Corp. “The team at PUBG Corp. is working tirelessly to ensure that the PGI 2018 exemplifies the pinnacle of PUBG competition and brings to life all of the excitement, tension and exhilaration of the highest level of PUBG play, not only to the fans attending the PGI 2018, but also those watching at home.”
The 2018 Call of Duty World League Championship, Presented by PlayStation4, is now slated to hit Columbus, Ohio, on Aug. 15-19, with the Nationwide Arena playing host from Aug. 17-19 and $4.2 million in total prizing. The first two days of competition will be streamed live from the MLG Arena.
Don’t forget that today is the first-ever Esports Upfront! Breakfast starts at 8:30am at Yale Club, with presentations at 9a. See you then.
Derek Chang has been appointed CEO of NBA China. Chang, who begins with the NBA on June 1, will be based in the league’s Beijing office and oversee the league’s basketball and business development in China. He was most recently the Head of International Lifestyle Channels at Scripps Networks Interactive.
Bucks/Celtics battle for the series lead on NBA TV at 7p.
