Haddonfield, NJ.   Turnkey Intelligence today announced a stunning series of contractual relationships with industry leaders, all of whom have signed on to support and use ACTIVATOR, Turnkey’s coming system for the management, measurement & reporting of multi-faceted, cross-media marketing partnerships:

• Arbitron: the market leader for measuring radio
• Nielsen: the market leader for measuring television*
• Repucom: the market leader for valuing brand exposures on screen
• Critical Media: the market leader for capturing, indexing and valuing media clippings
• TNS / ESPN Sports Poll: the market leader for national syndicated research in sports
• SlideRocket:  the market leader for presentations in a hosted, online environment
• RazorGator: the market leader for tracking & reporting ticket and hospitality utilization

“Marketers are migrating toward sponsorships, not only because they engage consumers across multiple media platforms, but also because they immerse brands and consumers into the experience of the event, show or sport,” said Len Perna, President & CEO of Turnkey.  “ACTIVATOR gives marketing partners a 24/7 interactive two-way Channel to better communicate, coordinate & activate marketing partnerships, and then these industry leading tools to measure the media and non-media assets,” said Perna.

“In a time where sports marketing investments are scrutinized more than ever, ACTIVATOR is an industry wide game changer,” said Chris Hibbs, Senior Director of Sales & Marketing for the NFL’s Chicago Bears, who made a long-term commitment to Turnkey as ACTIVATOR’S development partner.   “This type of tool is sorely needed in the sports business and the Chicago Bears are thrilled to be industry leaders in this space.  ACTIVATOR will help us better service and activate our partners, and demonstrate return on investment (ROI) every day,” said Hibbs.

One of the Bears’ marketing partners is MillerCoors, which sponsors more than fifty professional and collegiate sports teams.   Samira Zebian, Brand Manager, Sports & Entertainment Sponsorship Marketing at MillerCoors, said: “We applaud the Bears for pioneering this tool.   There is a need for a sophisticated platform to organize, track and archive sponsorship activation.  The real innovation lies in ACTIVATOR’S partnership with the leading measurement companies, who can help monetize alliance benefits and inform ROI analysis.”

SlideRocket, based in San Francisco, CA, will integrate its online presentation application with ACTIVATOR, enabling users to assemble results from many sources and to easily interpret and communicate them.   SlideRocket CEO Chuck Dietrich said:  “Look at the iPod, with all the key music companies coming together, supporting a platform.   Turnkey is using the same playbook with ACTIVATOR.   And then SlideRocket pulls all the data together in a hosted and informative, multi-media environment – it’s the ‘cloud’ coming to sponsorships and other cross-media deals.”

Over the next six months, Turnkey will be working with a number of Beta clients, sponsors and properties across the industry, to help perfect and customize the system.   Today Turnkey is announcing the first six (6) Beta clients, including the National Basketball Association (NBA), which has been working with Turnkey and will be the first league to try ACTIVATOR.   In addition to the NBA, Turnkey has selected one team Beta client in each major league to launch ACTIVATOR this summer.  Each is a current client of Turnkey, using Turnkey’s SURVEYOR consumer research platform, and each is recognized as a pioneer in partner activation:

NFL: Chicago Bears
NBA: Phoenix Suns
MLB: Boston Red Sox
NHL: Colorado Avalanche
MLS: Seattle Sounders FC

“We have 8 full time partner activation specialists here at the Suns and treat partner ROI very seriously.   ACTIVATOR is spectacular in how it ensures that we stay on top of every detail, driving every ounce of return for key partners,” said Rick Welts, President & CEO of the NBA Phoenix Suns.

“It’s a brave new world - our partners expect more than they did a year ago,” said Tod Leiweke, Chief Executive Officer of Vulcan Sports & Entertainment, the company that owns and operates the MLS Seattle Sounders FC, the NBA Portland Trail Blazers and the NFL Seattle Seahawks.   “The two-way openness and accountability fostered by ACTIVATOR is unique and extremely valuable to us and our marketing partners,” said Leiweke.

“Everyone has been hit hard by the economy.   ACTIVATOR enables us to continually demonstrate to our sponsors the tremendous value and return coming from their Red Sox partnership,” said Joe Januszewski, Vice President Corporate Partnerships for the MLB Boston Red Sox.

“At Kroenke Sports we have a large roster of properties and sponsors.   ACTIVATOR will give us and our partners a real-time, 24/7 place to meet, share, create and maximize,” said Paul Andrews, Executive Vice President of the NHL Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets and Kroenke Sports.

Turnkey Intelligence is a wholly owned subsidiary of Turnkey Sports & Entertainment, the holding company that also owns and operates Turnkey Search, the industry's leading executive search firm.   Turnkey Intelligence is the sports and entertainment industry’s leader in custom consumer research (SURVEYOR) and sales automation (PROSPECTOR).   Clients utilize Turnkey’s software and services to make better-informed business moves involving sponsorship, marketing and sales.

Copyright © 1996-2010 Turnkey Sports & Entertainment | Privacy Policy