User:VZBob/Marketing and sponsorship

Marketing campaigns
Since its inception, Verizon Communications has run several noteworthy marketing campaigns.

Can you hear me now?
The "Can you hear me now?" campaign, which was created for the newly formed Verizon Wireless, started running in 2001 and featured actor Paul Marcarelli in the role of "Test Man," a character based on a Verizon network tester who travels the country asking "Can you hear me now?" The campaign, originally conceived by the agency Bozell in New York, ran from early 2001 to September 2010. Data from the technology tracking firm The Yankee Group shows that, in the early years of the campaign, net customers grew 10% to 32.5 million in 2002 and 15% more to 37.5 million in 2003. In addition, customer turnover dropped to 1.8% in 2001, down from 2.5% in 2000.

There's a map for that
The "There's a map for that" campaign was launched in late 2009. It was designed as a parody of AT&T's "There's an app for that" adverts. The ads depicted a side-by-side comparison of Verizon and AT&T network coverage maps. AT&T filed a lawsuit in Atlanta federal court early in November 2009, claiming that the coverage maps being used in the ads were misleading. The suit was dropped later that month in conjunction with Verizon dropping a similar suit against AT&T.

That's not cool
In 2009, Verizon joined with the Ad Council, in partnership with the Family Violence Prevention Fund and the Office on Violence Against Women, to create the "That's not cool" campaign. This public service advertising campaign was designed to help teens recognize and prevent digital dating abuse. Verizon ran the ads on its Wireless' Mobile Web service, Verizon FiOS Internet, and Verizon FiOS TV.

Powerful Answers
In January 2013 Verizon launched the "Powerful Answers" campaign designed by agency McGarryBowen. The campaign centered around a contest in which $10 million in prizes was offered to individuals for finding solutions to "the world's biggest challenges" by making use of Verizon's cloud, broadband, and wireless networks. Winners of the inaugural competition were announced by Verizon Chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show. Israel-based TinyTap won the education category, Smart Vision Labs of Newport, Rhode Island won in the healthcare category, and Mosaic Inc. of Oakland, California won in the sustainability category.

Sponsorships and venues
Verizon is the title sponsor for a number of large performance and sports venues as well as a sponsor for several major sporting organizations.

National Hockey League
In January 2007 Verizon secured exclusive marketing and promotional rights with the National Hockey League. The deal was extended for another three years in 2012 and included new provisions for the league to provide exclusive content through Verizon's GameCenter app.

IndyCar Series
In 2010 Verizon chose to opt out of a two-year-old NASCAR team sponsorship with Penske Racing in order to pursue an expanded presence with the Izod IndyCar Series. In March 2014 Verizon signed a multiyear deal making them the title sponsor of the IndyCar Series, now called the Verizon IndyCar Series.

National Football League
In late 2010 Verizon Communications joined with Vodafone Group in a joint partnership to replace Sprint as the official wireless telecommunications partner of the National Football League. The four year deal was estimated at $720 million. In June 2013, Verizon announced a four-year extension with the NFL in a deal reportedly valued at $1 billion. The new agreement gives Verizon the right to stream every NFL regular-season and playoff game.

Venues
Verizon is the title sponsor for a number of sporting and entertainment arenas including the Verizon Center in Washington, DC; the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire; the Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas; and the Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato, Minnesota. Verizon is also the title sponsor for several entertainment amphitheaters in locations throughout the United States, individually referred to as the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, including: Irvine, California; Maryland Heights, Missouri; Selma, Texas; Grand Prairie, Texas; and Alpharetta, Georgia.