{"id":11281,"date":"2019-11-22T08:26:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-22T08:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailycbd.com\/en\/?p=11281"},"modified":"2020-11-19T22:11:30","modified_gmt":"2020-11-19T22:11:30","slug":"cbd-professional-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailycbd.com\/en\/cbd-professional-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Are CBD Companies Sponsoring Professional Sports?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The CBD industry is booming. The market is\nexpected to reach $22 billion<\/a> in annual profits by the year\n2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With so much cash floating around it\u2019s no surprise CBD companies are looking for a way to invest in it. One popular avenue is in the professional sports arena \u2014 gaining rich CBD brands a ton of attention and millions of new followers in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aurora\nCannabis <\/strong>\u2014 one of the leading growers and cannabis\ndistributors in North America \u2014 recently signed a partnership agreement with\nthe UFC to conduct research involving the use of CBD for muscle recovery and\nathletic performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alexey\nOleynik<\/strong>, a top UFC fighter, recently won sponsorship\nby TFMG Alternative Harvest ETF MJ<\/strong> \u2014\none of the largest investment funds focusing on the marijuana marketplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s not just cannabis growers and\ninvestment funds focusing on major sports sponsorships \u2014 CBD brands\nthemselves have stitched their branding into the uniforms of baseball players,\npainted logos on the sides of racecars, and printed their branding into the\ncanvas of the UFC octagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll explore some of the\ncompanies leading realm of professional sponsorship. We’ll discuss who they\u2019re\nsponsoring and what this means for the industry at large. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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First of All, Why Are CBD\nCompanies Sponsoring Sporting Events and Athletes? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Companies have been sponsoring sporting events\nfor decades. There are hundreds of companies currently sponsoring sporting\nevents \u2014 spanning all categories of business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everything from insurance and banking, to shoe and clothing manufacturers, are sponsoring athletes, teams, or leagues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do they do it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies\nchoose to sponsor sporting events for two reasons \u2014 to drive brand awareness\nand simply because it\u2019s fun. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s cover the first one more closely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Large sporting events can draw millions of\nviewers. Participating in athletic sponsorships allows brands to reach a wider\naudience that normally wouldn\u2019t come across their products or services.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sponsorship allows fans to become familiar\nwith the brand while watching their chosen sporting event. Humans are creatures\nof comfort.  When we\u2019re faced with a\nchoice between a brand we\u2019re used to seeing on our team’s jersey or something\nnew \u2014 we\u2019ll likely go with what we\u2019re familiar with. It\u2019s one of the simplest\nmarketing tactics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sponsoring international sporting events is\nalso a bonus to the company\u2019s reputation on the world stage \u2014 which in itself\ndrives more sales by solidifying the brands\u2019 credibility in the eyes of\npotential customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent report published in the Harvard\nBusiness Review titled \u201cHow Global Brands Compete<\/a>\u201d, pointed out that\nmost people believe large companies provide a higher quality product. So if a\ncompany can position themselves as a global brand, it gives them the added\nillusion of being higher quality than competitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the CBD market continues to grow and drive\never-increasing profits, it\u2019s no surprise these companies are stepping up their\nmarketing strategies by spending millions on sponsorship agreements \u2014 if only\nto compete with other global CBD brands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Much Do Professional\nSponsorships Cost? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s\nno limit to what can be spent on a sponsorship agreement.<\/strong> It all comes down to the art of negotiation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some companies sponsor local sports and\nathletes by simply sending them free gear, while others spend tens, even\nhundreds of millions of dollars per year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PepsiCo, Inc. for example, spent over $360\nmillion in 2016 on various sponsorships in the NFL, MLB, and NBA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here Are Some of the Top Spenders<\/a> in the Professional Sports\nSponsorship Arena:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
  1. PepsiCo\n Inc \u2014<\/strong> $360 Million <\/li>
  2. Anheuser-Busch \u2014<\/strong> $350 Million<\/li>
  3. Coca-Cola Co. \u2014<\/strong> $265 Million<\/li>
  4. Nike Inc. \u2014<\/strong> $260 Million <\/li>
  5. Adidas North America Inc. \u2014<\/strong> $195\n Million<\/li>
  6. AT&T \u2014<\/strong> $195 Million<\/li>
  7. Ford Motor Co. \u2014<\/strong> $175 Million<\/li>
  8. Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A, Inc. \u2014<\/strong> $165\n Million<\/li>
  9. MillerCoors LLC \u2014<\/strong> $120 Million<\/li>
  10. Microsoft Corp. \u2014<\/strong> $90 Million<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The list goes on and on. Companies are\nspending truckloads to get their names associated with top-performing athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    CBD Companies Are Sponsoring Professional Athletes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    As CBD supplements continue to gather interest, businesses operating in this space are competing with other well-established companies for the global market. In order to compete, companies like this will need to step into bigger arenas to reach ever-larger audiences \u2014 spending hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars in the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here are some of the top CBD companies\nsponsoring professional sporting events:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. cbdMD <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    cbdMD<\/a> is one of the bigger names in the CBD\nspace. They produce a variety of products made for athletes like their CBD\nFreeze line of topicals. These roll-on or squeeze bottle topicals are designed\nto ease muscle and joint pain, and speed recovery after an injury or rigorous\nworkout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The company also makes tinctures, capsules,\ngummies, bath bombs, and even CBD products for pets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Recently, cbdMD signed a partnership agreement\nwith the MMA organization, Bellator, which is one of the leading MMA leagues in\nthe world. Bellator is owned and operated by Viacom\nInc. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The president of cbdMD \u2014 Caryn Dunayer \u2014 was recorded during a press release saying that the goal of the partnership is to “educate athletes and fans about the multiple benefits of CBD.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This new agreement will give cbdMD advertising\nrights inside the ring and provides fighters with CBD-infused products to\nsupport recovery after a fight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On a related note, cbdMD sponsors other\nathletes like Bubba Watson \u2014 a professional golfer playing on the PGA Tour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It seems this international CBD brand will be\nexpanding into more athlete-inspired CBD products in the near future, so stay\ntuned. <\/p>\n\n\n

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