Ryan Lochte being dropped by four of his major sponsors makes him the latest in a string of high profile athletes and bodies that have seen premature ends to their sponsorship agreements. Today’s post analyzes some of the incidents from the recent past and looks at some strategies that brands can employ in order to mitigate the damage arising from transgressions from their endorsers.
Drilling for Oil….
Rolling the Dice in 2006, Lucas Oil purchased the naming rights to Colts Stadium in Indianapolis, Illinois. The Naming rights cost Lucas $122 million over a 20 year span. 6 years into this contract Lucas Oil “struck oil” as the Colts had made it to Super Bowl, to top it off Illinois won the bid the same year to host the event that then in turn catapulted Lucas Oil onto an invaluable yet unexpected Global Marketing platform. Lucas estimates this single event alone has increased revenue by $10 million and Lucas Oil hasn’t looked back since.
