Slazenger sells cricket bat ads

Sports goods manufacturer Dunlop Slazenger is to sell advertising space on its cricket bats, in a deal worth over £500,000 a year.

The deal will see one company’s logo and advertising message placed on each of the 60,000 cricket bats manufactured by Slazenger each year. The bats are used at all levels of competition, from school to county and international games.

A Slazenger spokesman says that talks are at an early stage with a number of companies, including Pepsico, Coca-Cola, Orange, Vodafone and several airlines.Last year, the International Cricket Council ruled that space for a single non-cricket brand could be sold on bats. This is the first time a manufacturer has exploited the ruling.

The Slazenger spokesman adds: “This is a unique opportunity to get a brand name in a position to be seen by everyone who is interested in cricket across the world.”

The deal will be completed before the end of the summer. Slazenger hopes to introduce the sponsor’s logo on the bats of England cricket players such as Alec Stewart and Mark Butcher for international games in August, with a general roll-out on the Slazenger bat range in September. The sponsor will also have access to Slazenger’s “Team Slazenger” sponsored list of 20 international players for use in promotions.