Category: Brand Spotlight

With spring in full swing and summer on the horizon, let’s take a look at the brands that were most searched by sponsorship executives on our platform in April. 

Frontdoor, a newly launched, one-stop app for home repair and maintenance, took the top spot last month. As presenting sponsor for MLB Opening Week, the brand launched a national advertising campaign across all U.S.-based regional sports networks (RSN) in early April, featuring Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. using the app to address his home repair dilemmas.

In the 2nd spot is RTIC Coolers, a rotomolded cooler brand that became “The Official Cooler” and “The Official Drinkware of NASCAR” in a multiyear deal announced on April 6, when the company also debuted officially licensed NASCAR coolers and drinkware on its website. The Houston, TX-based brand boasts more than 20 endorsement deals–7 of which are within U.S. motorsports–and also serves as the Official Drinkware and Cooler Provider of Major League Rugby.

Caktus, an AI-powered education platform, lands at #5 on the list, after inking an endorsement deal in mid-April with LSU basketball superstar Angel Reese, who has more NIL deals (19) than any other college basketball player. The company is banking big on the NIL space, having previously partnered with LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne, former Miami Hurricanes basketball standouts the Cavinder Twins (who joined forces with Jake Paul’s BETR Gambling last month), and San Diego State‘s basketball player Matt Bradley.

Kaseya takes 6th place, having made headlines with the April 4 announcement that the software company had struck a $117 million, 17-year naming rights deal with the Miami Heat to rename the team’s arena the Kaseya Center. The deal–which follows FTX’s inglorious exit from the stadium in January, thanks to the crypto meltdown–marks the first time a Miami-based company has partnered with the venue for naming rights, and the fourth name for the arena since its 1998 opening. Kaseya also became the team’s Official IT Solutions Partner as part of the agreement. 

Enterprise software brand Sprinklr, which signed a three-year extension with the Alpine F1 Team on April 11, earned the #10 spot. The company, which first partnered with the French team in March ‘22, will remain an official partner and customer experience management platform provider of Alpine F1. The team will leverage all four Sprinklr product suites as part of its strategy to maximize engagement with its loyal fanbase, and the brand will provide AI-powered listening and fan engagement on more than 30 digital and social channels. 

Check out the rest of April’s list in the following graphic:

February marked a high-flying month for the sponsorship industry, as deep-pocketed brands capitalized on Super Bowl LVII’s 113M viewership. Of the 30 most searched brands on the SponsorUnited platform, 30% of them had a Super Bowl commercial. In addition, some very big deals made headlines including the six-year extension of MLS’s league-wide kit supplier partnership with adidas, worth a reported $830M.

After making its Super Bowl debut with a commercial encouraging consumers to “shop like a billionaire,” new online superstore Temu ranked #1 in our February rankings. The Boston-based startup then surpassed Amazon and Walmart to become the most downloaded shopping app in the U.S. one week ago–not bad for a month’s work. 

In the 6th spot is Jersey Mike’s, which on February 2nd announced a multiyear US partnership that names the sub shop the “Official Sub Sandwich of the NHL”–the chain’s first partnership with a professional sports league. Besides other exclusive marketing rights, Jersey Mike’s will receive broadcast exposure through Digitally Enhanced Dasherboards–the NHL’s advanced approach to dynamic dasherboard advertising–during the regular season and the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

American personal finance company, NerdWallet, lands at #7, after signing its first-ever MLS partnership last week with the Philadelphia Union, just three days before the season’s start. 

Prime Hydration–a sports drink founded by Youtubers Logan Paul and KSI–follows at #8. On January 31st, the beverage brand announced a global marketing partnership designating Prime as the “Official Global Sports Drink of UFC.” The deal encompasses a wide range of activations into key UFC assets, including every UFC Pay-Per-View and Fight Night, highlighted by broadcast features and never-before-seen branding inside the world-famous Octagon.

With 2023 already off to a fast start as February kicks off, let’s take a look at the most searched brands by sponsorship executives on the SponsorUnited platform last month. 

Peraton–a national Security and IT Services provider and sponsor of the Military Bowl since 2021—made its list debut at #1. In early January, the company was again selected by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) to provide background investigation field work services for the federal government–bringing nearly two decades of experience as the incumbent to the job. The contract is worth up to $2.25B over five years.

7th on the list is BuzzRx, which announced a multi-year partnership with the Phoenix Suns at the beginning of January–making it the first prescription savings company to sponsor an NBA team. BuzzRx had previously partnered with the Phoenix Suns Charities, which resulted in a $150K donation to nonprofits in the Phoenix metro area.

At #8, Dunkin’ was named the first-ever title sponsor of TD Garden’s annual college ice hockey tournament, The Dunkin’ Beanpot. The multi-year sponsorship will see the company included in all Beanpot promotions, and builds on the strong partnership between Dunkin’, TD Garden, and regional broadcaster NESN. Dunkin’ also recently signed Hollywood star Ben Affleck to a multimillion-dollar deal that includes both a donation to his nonprofit and reportedly a Super Bowl ad directed by Affleck. 

Energy drink brand Celsius lands at 15th on the list, after the company inked a deal last month with Spire Motorsports to become primary sponsor of Corey LaJoie’s No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at the Daytona 500. Celsius also announced that Logan Misuraca will be driving the No. 63 Spraker/PCW Racing CELSIUS Essential Energy Chevrolet in the 2023 ARCA Menards Series.