2004 NBA Champion Detroit Pistons Announce That Rock Financial, a Quicken Loans Company, Will Be Presenting Sponsor
Livonia, Mich. – June 22, 2004 – The 2004 NBA Champion Detroit Pistons announced today that Rock Financial, a Quicken Loans company, will extend its presenting sponsorship agreement for the 2004-05 NBA season. The agreement last year marked only the second time in NBA history, and the first time in Detroit Pistons’ history, that a franchise would have a “presenting sponsor.”
“We are very pleased to have Rock Financial back as the presenting sponsor for the 2004-05 season,” said Detroit Pistons’ CEO Tom Wilson. “We built a great partnership throughout the last season and during the playoffs and look forward to doing even more next year. This has been one of the most successful sponsorships in professional sports history based on the fact it is a partnership between two organizations that share a common goal of creating a great experience for the fans.”
“Certainly there’s inherent brand value in aligning ourselves with the Pistons, but there’s much more to this partnership,” said David Hall, Senior Vice President, Rock Financial. “That’s what this is – a partnership. Anytime you can create greater overall awareness of your brand and at the same time make it fun for the fans, and contribute to the community, everybody wins. And the 2004-05 program will be even larger in scope.”
“Attending a Pistons game has become a total entertainment experience for the fans,” said Wilson. “Rock Financial has helped to create an atmosphere, with things like pre-game tailgate parties, ticket giveaways, contests to win trips to away games, in-arena premium giveaways and parachute drops, that contribute to the overall entertainment experience.”
The 2004-05 presenting sponsorship agreement involves a number of marketing elements. Rock Financial will be featured in all Pistons broadcasts; all television, radio and print ads, and a variety of other printed materials. In addition to prominent in-arena advertising, several players from the NBA championship team will be featured in Rock’s metro-Detroit area advertising campaigns throughout the year. Rock Financial also will give Pistons fans the opportunity to win trips to four away games during the regular season with packages that include tickets, air fare and hotel accommodations for two.
“By any measurement, our brand awareness has gone up,” said Hall. “Rock Financial has become synonymous with the Detroit Pistons in this market and the Pistons also reinforce a lot of positive brand attributes like working hard and going the extra mile, whether we’re talking about our clients or their fans.”
Similar to the first year of the sponsorship, the Detroit Pistons and Rock Financial will place a great deal of emphasis on contributing to the community. In the first year, Rock gave away more than 6,000 tickets to area youth organizations. For the 2004-05 season, Rock will double the number of tickets given to these groups. Many of these youth might not otherwise have an opportunity to attend a professional basketball game.
“We took 15-18 kids to every home game,” said Larry Lunsford, Director of Community Enrichment Programs at Don Bosco Hall. “It was a wonderful experience for them. It was more than the opportunity to attend a great sporting event – it also exposed them to the treats that can come in life as a result of hard work.”
Rock Financial also will continue to be heavily involved in the Pistons “Read to Achieve” program, one of the most successful in the NBA. Rock also will host basketball clinics and the Honorary Captain program in which selected kids are able to be a part of the pre-game player captain’s meeting at center court.
“We believe this type of broad-based, community-driven partnership is a new way of making the presenting sponsorship deal work for the team, the company and the fans,” said Hall. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
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