Fenway Sports Group Rocks on With the Verizon Wireless Campus Tour

Fenway Sports Group Rocks on With the Verizon Wireless Campus Tour

Premier Sports and Entertainment Marketing Firm Launches Northeast Concert Tour that Will Hit 15 College Campuses

BOSTON, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Alternative hip-hop group Gym Class Heroes opened the 2007 Verizon Wireless Campus Tour with a bang at the University of Massachusetts' Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass. The popular concert series, which visits 15 college campuses within Verizon Wireless' Northeast Area, is managed by Fenway Sports Group (FSG), a premier sports and entertainment marketing organization that specializes in representation, sponsorship sales, event marketing and strategic marketing consulting. This is the third year that FSG is working with Verizon Wireless to produce this concert series for college students. Previous tours have featured artists Howie Day and the All American Rejects.

The program was created by FSG in collaboration with Verizon Wireless to introduce students to its mobile technologies and services through experiential on-campus and in-venue promotional activities. FSG designed this unique event marketing and sponsorship program, coordinating all logistics for the concert tour including securing the Gym Class Heroes, venue selection and development of the promotional campaign for Verizon Wireless. The program provides college-age concert goers with the opportunity to experience Verizon Wireless' portfolio of next generation, interactive wireless services. Participants can also enter special contests including "meet-and-greets" with the Gym Class Heroes and the opportunity to win a grand prize that will award one student a trip to meet the band at one of their national tour stops with the well-known alternative rock group Fall Out Boy.

"Music has become an important component to the wireless handset product offerings, so it was a natural fit to create an experiential marketing platform around a concert tour," said FSG Executive Vice President Mark Lev. "This campaign provides Verizon Wireless with the ability to connect first- hand with the undergraduate college market. We are excited to work with Verizon Wireless to build and execute this entertainment marketing platform."

The tour, which ends Oct. 13 at the University of Connecticut, makes stops at Clark University (Sept. 25), Hofstra University (Sept. 26), Pace University (Sept. 27), Lehigh University (Sept. 28), Kutztown University (Sept. 30), James Madison University (Oct. 3), Virginia Tech University (Oct. 4), St. John's University (Oct. 5), Temple University (Oct. 6), SUNY Binghamton (Oct. 7), University of Buffalo (Oct. 8), Towson State (Oct. 11) and Syracuse University (Oct. 12).

Working in the music industry is familiar territory for FSG. The company produces the Verizon Wireless Post Game Concert Series for the Boston Celtics which this season includes Celtics post-game concerts with Elliott Yamin and Plain White Ts. The concerts create substantial increases in ticket sales and greater exposure for Verizon Wireless, the artists and the sports franchises. FSG creates a unique relationship between the sports team and the performer as the artists receive extensive exposure through team-controlled assets including radio, television and fan club e-mails. The teams deliver an added- value experience for its fans while also boosting their bottom line through increased ticket sales and both receive brand exposure they could not generate on their own.

ABOUT FENWAY SPORTS GROUP

Fenway Sports Group (FSG) is a wholly owned subsidiary of New England Sports Ventures (NESV). In addition to Fenway Sports Group, NESV owns the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, and 80 percent of New England Sports Network. A premier sports marketing organization headquartered in Boston, FSG specializes in representation, sponsorship sales, event marketing and strategic marketing consulting for corporations who conduct business in sports and entertainment. For more information please visit http://www.fenwaysportsgroup.com/.

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FCMN Contact:

Source: Fenway Sports Group

CONTACT: Dana Hackett of Fenway Sports Group, +1-617-226-6339,
dhackett@fenwaysportsgroup.com; or Keith Gainsboro of Elevate Communications,
+1-857-234-1481, keith@elevatecom.com, for Fenway Sports Group

Web site: http://www.fenwaysportsgroup.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment