General Motors Co. cut its sponsorship budget by 60% compared to pre-bankruptcy levels. This may signal the end of multimillion-dollar rights deals as GM seeks to connect more effectively with consumers.
In an interview last Wednesday, Steve Tihanyi, GM’s general director of marketing services, including sports sponsorships, said that we shouldn’t expect GM to do “eight or nine mega-rights deals any longer.” GM reportedly wants “more bang for [its] buck.” Last June, GM filed for bankruptcy and emerged the next month after it received a $50 billion funding from the US government, which now owns a 61% stake in the company.
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