ATLANTA, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ --
Host Communications, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bull Run
Corporation (Nasdaq: BULL), recently signed Bass Hotels & Resorts, Inc. and
its Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts brand as the newest NCAA Corporate Partner.
As an official NCAA Corporate Partner, Holiday Inn becomes the "Official Hotel
for the NCAA" and will receive promotional benefits, including tournament
promotional rights, access to NCAA licensing opportunities, corporate
identification in all NCAA tournament publications, as well as on NCAA
tournament radio broadcasts.
Concurrent with this new partnership, Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts
announced the details supporting its "Your Ticket to March Madness"
promotional program that gives its 10 million Priority Club Worldwide members
an opportunity to secure tickets to the 2001 NCAA Men's and Women's Final
Four* Tournaments. The program allows Priority Club members to request
Priority Club point redemption for Final Four ticket packages. In addition,
Holiday Inn has created a random drawing that gives everyone an opportunity to
secure trips to the Final Four.
"Holiday Inn is the first hotel company to offer Final Four tickets
through a hotel loyalty program," said Dan Sweiger, director of marketing,
Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts. "Market research shows Holiday Inn guests are
interested in watching and following NCAA sports, especially basketball.
Our partnership with the NCAA has many benefits, including the opportunity to
reward our guests with the hard-to-get Final Four tickets they desire."
Host Communications has had a contractual relationship with the National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) since 1975 and developed the NCAA's
Corporate Partner Program in 1984. Under the Program, select corporations
link their target markets to, and implement promotions around, NCAA
Championships through a variety of advertising and promotional opportunities.
Host Communications' initial agreement in 1975 to administer radio rights and
form a national NCAA Radio Network for the men's Final Four has since expanded
to publishing, Internet and corporate marketing representation, including the
exclusive licensing of various NCAA trademarks.
"We are very pleased with this new relationship," commented Robert S.
Prather, Jr., Bull Run's President and CEO. "Holiday Inn joins an exclusive
group of companies, such as General Motors, Gillette, American Express, Sears
and Pepsico, for which Host Communications has had a long history of providing
quality services on behalf of the NCAA."
Bull Run, through Host Communications, provides affinity, multimedia,
promotional and event management services to universities, high schools,
athletics conferences, associations and corporations. Bull Run also has
significant investments in Gray Communications Systems, Inc., an owner and
operator of 13 television stations and four newspapers; Rawlings Sporting
Goods Company, Inc., a leading supplier of team sports equipment in North
America; iHigh Inc., a company developing a high school marketing network
focused on high school sports and activities; and Sarkes Tarzian, Inc., an
owner and operator of two television stations and four radio stations.
SOURCE Bull Run Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.bullruncorp.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/232438.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 232438
CONTACT:
Robert S. Prather, Jr., President & CEO of
Bull Run Corporation, at 404-266-8333, or W. James Host, CEO of
Host Communications, Inc. at 859-226-4202
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