Telus is going long with the CFL this summer, inking a sponsorship deal with the league that includes exclusive content for a new mobile app.
The new two-year partnership names Telus as the league’s ‘official national wireless provider’ and, as such, Telus will sponsor exclusive content on the league’s new app, some of which will be available only to Telus subscribers.
The partnership, which was handled directly between Telus and the CFL, was announced yesterday at a media event surrounding the upcoming (and confidential) release of the telco’s new handsets. The app will be released later this season and will be available through the iTunes App Store. Telus branding will be integrated into many of the app’s special features, which will include live video streaming of all CFL games, in-game on-demand features and a live-stats scoreboard. TheTelus-CFL mobile partnership will also be promoted with a contest for the chance to win tickets to the Grey Cup in Edmonton.
Right now, the app will primarily be promoted through the CFL’s website, says Jamie Dykstra, director, communications, CFL, which gets an average of 750,000 to one million unique visitors per month on average when the league is in season.
The partnership with Telus has allowed the league to move into the mobile space and provide the kind of robust content experience it feels its fans want, Dykstra says.
“Fans devour sports content, so our goal is just to provide as much as we can,” he explains. “The CFL is a very accessible league, so we always try to look for ways to ensure that we’re being as accessible as possible.”
There are big things in store for Telus media and marketing this fall, Anne-Marie Laberge, Telus’ VP customer solutions, hinted in a conversation at the event. A Facebook-oriented back-to-school campaign will launch in August, and a new mass-media campaign in support of the new devices – featuring new brand positioning – will be launching later this summer as well.
The event was held at Telus’s swanky new office space at 25 York St. in Toronto.
Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning poses for a photo while providing tunes for the event.
