• August 31, 2011

Cooper Tire has signed on to be "Proud Sponsor of Saturday Afternoon Halftime Reports on ABC" for the fifth consecutive year.

According to the NCAA, college football set a record for the number of people attending games, with close to 50 million fans watching college players boot the pigskin. The league says viewership increased by 1.3 million fans, or nearly 3% from the prior year.

Julie Smalstig, Cooper Tire's consumer and channel marketing director, said the program "offers a meaningful opportunity for Cooper to continue enhancing its marketing support for our dealer network. It is an extremely effective marketing vehicle for the Cooper brand."

Cooper will support the deal with a "Take the Money & Ride" national rebate event that runs until Nov. 7 and national advertising campaign that supports the company's updated brand message "connecting tires with families and their everyday journeys."

The ABC/ESPN media schedule begins Sept. 1 and runs through late October. Cooper says it will support the sponsorship with an integrated marketing plan including national advertising, consumer marketing programs and promotions, and social activation. The sponsorship also extends to ESPN.com and ESPN mobile.