Sports Marketing Veteran Launches Aquarius Sports Group, Partners with Havit Advertising

Fulton, MD, April 12, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Havit Advertising (www.havitad.com), based in Fulton, MD, announces that it has partnered with the newly-launched Aquarius Sports Group, the founder of which is industry veteran Marc Bluestein. Bluestein, who has worked with multiple major sports properties, including the Washington Capitals and the Washington Nationals, as well as with Sports Illustrated and with such brands as Coca-Cola, General Motors and Philips-Norelco, has 15 plus years experience in the industry.

The partnership is being forged in a time when sports marketing and sponsorship is experiencing a surge, with $15 billion dollars spent on it last year in the US alone. According to Bluestein, this figure represents a 12 percent jump over the previous year, and a further increase is expected for 2008.

Speaking to this trend, Bluestein said that the scope of what sports marketing and sponsorship is able to offer organizations continues to broaden. “It’s becoming more influential as the market becomes increasingly fragmented, and companies search for more creative means to interact with consumers in their leisure time,” he said.

“By partnering with Havit, we are responding to what we are seeing and hearing first-hand is a growing demand in the market for a turnkey solution that encompasses both sponsorship and creative execution.”

Havit president Jeffrey Goldscher and Bluestein are confident about the potential of their partnership.

“Marketers have learned in recent years that it’s not enough to simply run a traditional ad campaign. An increasingly segmented marketplace and shrinking advertising budgets are driving a demand for precision marketing,” said Goldscher. “This alone is making sports marketing and sponsorship a very attractive alternative for organizations that may not have considered it a potential channel in the past.”

For Havit, which is quickly growing and diversifying, the move to partner with Aquarius was a natural one, according to Goldscher. “We are an agency whose core business has been in the cable industry where sports marketing and sponsorship is already heavily involved in the marketing mix. Taking this step with Aquarius positions us more strongly with existing and potential clients,” he said.

Already, the companies are working jointly on a project related to the Philadelphia Eagles, and are in talks with other regional professional and collegiate sports teams.

“Blending Havit’s knowledge of branding, marketing and campaign execution with our deep understanding of sports-related sponsorships, we’re excited by the innovative ideas we are already developing together,” said Bluestein. “This industry is growing and developing; and today, it’s about much more than a strategically placed logo at a sporting event.

“It’s about finding subtle, non-intrusive ways to connect with and engage consumers, while tapping into their passion for sports.”

About Havit Advertising
Havit Advertising (www.havitad.com) is a full-service marketing agency based in Howard County, Maryland. Within the agency’s core areas of expertise: strategy, marketing/communications planning, research and analysis, and creative execution. Havit’s roster of clients includes Comcast, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable and the Ulman Cancer Fund.

About Aquarius Sports Group
Aquarius Sports Group is a sports and entertainment sponsorship and event marketing company. The company provides a one-stop option for a corporate client’s sports and entertainment sponsorship, hospitality, event marketing, business to business, and promotional marketing platforms. Aquarius’ currently serves as a Sports & Entertainment Sponsorship Agency for AAA Mid-Atlantic and PaySourceUSA.

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