Chevrolet Goes Fishing for Brand Exposure

During MLB Home Run Derby Telecast

         ANN ARBOR, MI, July 13, 2006 – Chevrolet continued its MLB All Star trend of unusual sponsorship techniques at this year’s contest in Pittsburgh, as the auto brand anchored several inflatable over-sized baseballs featuring the Chevy logo in the Allegheny River, just beyond the right field stands of PNC Park.  The placement paid off for the auto brand during ESPN’s coverage of the Home Run Derby Monday night, as Chevy’s logos on the inflatable balls led to $215,335 of comparable exposure value. 

          According to research conducted by Joyce Julius and Associates, which specializes in measuring the impact of sponsorships across all forms of media, the Chevrolet baseballs were monitored for one minute, 16 seconds during ESPN’s 2.5-hour telecast.  The majority of the in-broadcast exposure stemmed from coverage of local kayakers battling for balls hit into the river by the likes of David Ortiz, and eventual derby champion Ryan Howard.

         Last year during the MLB All Star game held in Detroit, Chevrolet utilized advertising wrapping around several downtown buildings to showcase its logo in front of the national television audience.

         The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Joyce Julius and Associates — which monitors more than 2,500 nationally televised sports and special event programs annually — has been measuring the impact of corporate sponsorships since 1985.