In January, I wrote about how I believe that Levi’s is one of the top brands when it comes not only to marketing effectively, but to protecting the brand and its trademarks. And then it was announced this month that Levi’s negotiated the name rights for the new football stadium that will be home of the San Francisco 49ers.
And the branding – and protection – is phenomenal.
- they filed trademark applications before or immediately following the public announcement (see below)
- they bought the relevant domain name(s) (see levisstadium.com)
- they planned a social media strategy and relevant user names (https://twitter.com/levistadium)
- the logo for the stadium incorporates the Levi’s logo
- the scoreboard at the stadium could be in the shape of the Levi’s logo?
- new, catchy and suggestive slogans (see below)
According to press reports, Levi’s paid $220M for the 20-yr naming rights deal. That could be a bargain given the potential exposure of the logo and brand. The Super Bowl® will be played at the stadium in 2016 and the exposure from that event, if done well and tied into other promotions, is certainly worth a lot.
As I noted above, the brand filed to protect its trademarks for stadium services before the announcement, and also filed for a few catchy slogans [click marks for USPTO records]:
- WIN ONE FOR THE ZIPPER – Providing stadium facilities for sporting and entertainment events; providing information relating to sporting and entertainment events via the internet
- FIELD OF JEANS – Providing stadium facilities for sporting and entertainment events; providing information relating to sporting and entertainment events via the internet
- LEVI’S STADIUM – Providing stadium facilities for sporting and entertainment events; providing information relating to sporting and entertainment events via the internet
- LEVI’S – Providing stadium facilities for sporting and entertainment events; providing information relating to sporting and entertainment events via the internet
– Providing stadium facilities for sporting and entertainment events; providing information relating to sporting and entertainment events via the internet
– Providing stadium facilities for sporting and entertainment events; providing information relating to sporting and entertainment events via the internet
– Providing stadium facilities for sporting and entertainment events; providing information relating to sporting and entertainment events via the internet
