American Express Co. has signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the National Basketball Association, reuniting with the sports organization after a five-year hiatus, AmEx announced Dec. 20.
AmEx previously was an NBA sponsor from 1995 to 2005; there was no official NBA credit card sponsor during the interim.
The new deal grants AmEx status as the official credit card partner of the NBA, WNBA and USA Basketball, including the opportunity to market its brand at all NBA games and the NBA Games-London 2011, the league's first-ever regular season games in Europe.
As with its other sports sponsorships, AmEx will use the sponsorship to provide customers with access to tickets and “unique” NBA experiences, Courtney Kelso, AmEx vice president of global sponsorship marketing, said in a press release. AmEx also plans to expand its marketing presence with other NBA teams to complement its existing sponsorships of the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Washington Wizards.
AmEx will back the sponsorship with advertising on NBA TV and NBA.com, the company said.
