FULLERTON, Calif. (April 1, 2010) — Yokohama Tire Corp. (YTC) is adding the Los Angeles Angels to its lineup of professional and college sports team promotions, with an agreement that includes the tire maker's signage on display in the team's ballpark.
The agreement, announced today by Fullerton-based Yokohama, includes a combination of signage behind home plate and in the “Angel Stadium of Anaheim” outfield; pre-game, post-game and in-game spots on the Angels flagship radio station throughout the season; in-stadium displays and in-game announcements on the public address system and LED scoreboard; as well as hospitality opportunities at select games.
Yokohama said that with the Angels' signing of free-agent Hideki Matsui—a Japanese ball player affectionately known as “Godzilla”—the sponsorship deal with the Angels is a good fit.
“Yokohama has had great success the last three years with NFL sponsorships in Baltimore and Cleveland, with the NBA in Boston and San Antonio and with college football teams like USC and UCLA,” said Dan King, Yokohama vice president, sales and marketing.
“Our dealers are able to generate store traffic and create local consumer excitement within the communities. Plus, sports sponsorships offer incredible brand visibility and are a great platform to promote our lineup of tires…. Now we've entered baseball, a perfect fit for us because of its immense popularity in the U.S. and Japan.”
YTC, the North American manufacturing and marketing arm for Tokyo-based Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd., worked with the Angels to create a package focused on raising brand recognition and driving consumer traffic to its dealers in the LA/Orange County region, according to Takao Oishi, YTC president and CEO.
“We partnered with the Angels to develop a deal that is advantageous at various levels,” he said. “YTC is receiving amazing exposure throughout the second largest market in the country and, as we've experienced with our NBA and NFL sponsorships, we expect our dealers to increase their sales through our connection with a sports team that has loyal, dedicated fans like the Angels have.”
The company was considering baseball sponsorship opportunities even before Mr. Matsui signed with the Angels in the offseason, Mr. Oishi continued. “Now it makes even more sense for Yokohama to get involved with the ballclub, which plays less than 10 miles from our U.S. headquarters, and to support the team that's the new home for one of Japan's sports icons.”