Sponsor Spotlight -- Samsung Mobile Apps; 2010 Hopes for Hudson's Bay

Samsung to Launch Mobile App Store

Samsung plans to launch an app store for Symbian and Windows Mobile devices at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month.

Samsung provides wireless telecommunications equipment to the Olympic Family that supports Games’ operations. It has been a TOP sponsor since 1997.

The online store will give Samsung phone owners a way to browse, download, buy and install apps over-the-air, according to InformationWeek. It will begin with 1,100 apps and be available to consumers in Great Britain at first before opening up other regions.

Content creators will be able to deliver freeware and commercial content through the store, but how payments will be handled and the percentage of sales that Samsung will get has yet to be determined.

Hudson's Bay Co. Hopes to Get Boost from 2010 Games

Hudson’s Bay Co., the official outfitter of the Canadian Olympic team, hopes the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver will give it a boost as it struggles in the midst of the economic downturn, according to a report in the Toronto Globe & Mail.

This week, the Toronto-based outfitting company will unveil a new corporate logo highlighting its heritage as Canada’s oldest company as well as an Olympics strategy to link the company to the Winter Games.

"The Olympics is an opportunity to communicate a rebranding of the strategy of the Hudson's Bay Co." Jeff Sherman, chief executive officer of parent entity Hudson's Bay Trading Co. said in an interview.

"It's an opportunity to recommunicate and reconnect to the marketplace. We are looking backwards to our heritage and combining both our heritage and our future."

The newspaper said Hudson's Bay "taking advantage of the Olympics would be a turnaround from the company's experience after last year's Summer Games, when its stores were left with unsold Olympics clothing that they had to sell off at heavy markdowns."

Olympic Sprinter Gets Deal for Skin Care Product

U.S. Olympic sprinter Mechelle Lewis has signed a sponsorship deal with skin care product Skin Care for Athletes.

"What an honor it is to be selected to care for the skin of such an elite athlete. This line is especially ideal for those athletes that are looking for more green and organic products and those that are vegetarian as our products do not contain any animal-by-products," Skin Care For Athletes founder Taylor Sparks said.

Lewis will use and promote the organic skin care line produced by the company, including the Tri-Facial Serum, Tri-Body Spray and the 3-in-1 Tri-Body Wash.

Lewis competed at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and was a gold medalist at the 2007 IAAF World Track and Field Championships in Tokyo.

Vietnam Seeks Sponsors for Asian Indoor Games

Vietnam's Ministry of Finance will hire a professional marketing company to raise $8.5 million from sponsorship deals, according to an agreement with organizers of the 2009 Asian Indoor Games. Some $2.5 million of those funds would go to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

Organizers will have eight months to raise the money for the third edition of the Games, which will be held in the capital of Hanoi in December.

Vietnam Olympic Committee secretary general Hoang Vinh Giang said the board is inviting local and foreign companies to submit fundraising plans. Giang acknowledges the current economic situation could make it difficult to attract sponsorship.

Written by Greg Oshust.