WNBA scores big with lucrative partnership deals

What does Adidas, EA Sports, T-Mobile, and Pitney Bowes have in common?

They’re all providing marketing support for the 2008 WNBA championship series, which tips off next week.

As cited by Barry Janoff from Brandweek, marketing initiatives for the playoffs and the finals are the highest in terms of active partners and dollars in the leagues [WNBA] 11-year history. 

Each brand has agreed to sponsor one aspect of the game coverage. Adidas will be the leagues presenting sponsor earlier this year, the sports brand presented the WNBA draft. On the other hand, EA Sports will select a player of the game after every game in the championship series, and during halftime, the game developer will conduct fan activities. T-Mobile will sponsor the leagues MVP trophy, which will be advertised through TV, print, and courtside signage. Finally, Pitney Bowes will help the league through charity work with the Reading & Learning Center program. WNBA also has deals with McDonalds, Nike, AOL, Discover Card, Toyota, and Gatorade.