COLUMBUS, Ohio—American Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd. has signed three-year sponsorship deals with four college athletic programs.
Columbus-based Kenda Tires will be sponsoring the athletic programs at the University of Georgia, University of Mississippi, Vanderbilt University and Elon University, in addition to its sponsorship of Ohio State University athletics for the past several years.
“We are thrilled to have several new partners. All of these markets have seen continual growth in distribution over the years and it is an exciting time to join these passionate fans,” said Liza Hegemier, Kenda's automotive associate marketing manager. She added that the goal of the sponsorship is to increase brand awareness in the related markets.
Kenda will have sponsorship involvement in both football and basketball at Ohio State and Vanderbilt and will focus on the football programs at Mississippi and Elon and the basketball program at Georgia.
The tire maker's sponsorship program includes: basket pad signage at University of Georgia men's basketball games; courtside LED signage at Vanderbilt's men's and women's basketball games and LED signage at its football games; and LED signage at Mississippi and Elon football games.
Kenda also has partnerships with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association, Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League, and Columbus Clippers minor-league baseball team.
The college deals were brokered by IMG Worldwide Inc., a collegiate marketing agency.
American Kenda is the U.S. sales/distribution subsidiary of Taiwan's Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd.