The Professional Bull Riders Association (PBR) is the latest to sign up for Nielsen Media Research's Sponsorship Scorecard.
The service, which was launched July 2004, tracks in-program sponsorship placements for clients including the PGA, ESPN, and Arizona Diamondbacks, and more than a dozen other players--including ad agencies--that Nielsen says it will name later..
In addition to in-ring signage, Nielsen's Web-based service will be tracking plugs on riders' chest protectors, chaps, gloves, shirts, chutes, gates, slats, fencing, barrels, clown clothing, scoreboards, and just about anything else you can slap a logo on, not to mention announcer mentions of sponsors.
The PBR has TV deals with NBC, Telemundo and the Outdoor Life Network.
In its first high-profile outing, Sponsorship Scorecard found that Taco Bell was the big ad winner in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in July 2004.
In addition to sponsoring an in-game pitching accuracy contest that employed a Taco Bell branded target, the fast food chain was the first-inning sponsor, with an electronic sign behind home plate. It benefited big time from six-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens' troubles.
The Houston Astros pitcher was tagged for a record 6 runs in a l-o-n-g first inning, helping Taco Bell achieve a 9 minute, 30 second duration for 83 unique exposures of its sponsored visuals, or a total of 1,200,084 viewers 18-plus.
