Outdoor footwear stalwart Teva is withdrawing as title sponsor of the Vail, CO-based outdoor games created in 2002.
Teva has withdrawn its sponsorship of both the summer and winter editions of the games so it can focus on supporting its team of athletes and focus on digital marketing. Teva president Joel Heath created the Teva Mountain Games in 2002, but sold rights to the games to The Vail Valley Foundation in 2008.
Heath told The SportsOneSource Group the move will allow Teva to increase its spending on digital marketing by 40 percent over the next three years. Teva brand sales increased 22.1 percent to $17.9 million in the third quarter. Heath said Teva still sees “great value in the Mountain Games,” while also noting that as the founder of the games before taking over at Teva, he “personally and professionally” has long invested in and appreciated the event.
The summer games have drawn as many as 40,000 spectators to Vail for the last several years for a weekend of adventure sports, films and music. “Marketing has really changed from when we started the Games,” Heath said in an interview with PaddlingLife.net. “Back when we started, events were the way to get and create communities. Today’s digital mediums can come together to do the same thing.”
Heath stressed to SportsOneSource Group that the shift represents an “incremental investment and refocus and not a reduction in expenditures” as implied in some coverage of its decision to end its sponsorship. Indeed, he noted that with the 40 percent increased marketing spend over the next three years, the brand will “close to double” its advertising spend versus a few years ago. Added Heath, “We're excited about what’s ahead of us.”
Eddie Bauer announced last week it is returning as presenting sponsor of the Winter Mountain Games Feb. 8-10, 2013, as part of a multi-year deal. Vail Valley Foundation is seeking a title sponsor for both the winter and summer editions of the games.
“We will continue to be athlete-driven as we have always been in our marketing,” Heath said. The focus in the near term will be on its TevaSphere outdoors cross-trainer collection as well as the brand’s upcoming 30th anniversary.
