Hughes Marketing Solutions Retained by UFC
Hughes Marketing Solutions has been retained by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) organization to research, execute and administrate all public relations operations for its international live events and fight weeks.
Estimated to be worth well over a billion dollars, the Las Vegas based UFCis the biggest name, worldwide, in combat sports. The UFC has shattered box office, merchandise, television and Pay-Per-View records all over the world and has been called the fastest growing sports group in history.
In 2012, the UFC touched down to promote hugely successful events in Canada, Japan, China, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia and Sweden and it will continue its aggressive international expansion in the New Year, with more than a dozen international events planned for 2013.
Hughes Marketing Solutions will assume all responsibilities for international fight week promotion initiatives – including but not limited to press conferences, open and public workouts, transportation and logistics and the official weigh-in – as well as the fight night event itself.
The account was inaugurated with the hugely successful UFC: SOTIROPOULOS vs PEARSON event which took place on December 15 in Gold Coast, Australia.
Hughes Marketing Solutions partner Heidi Gerber previously directed all public relations operations for the UFC as a member of staff. She will bring her vast, in-house experience of the UFC to the account.
“I’m excited to continue working for the UFC in this new capacity,” Gerber said. “Obviously, I am very familiar with the UFC’s needs and processes and it is a natural fit for Hughes Marketing Solutions to administrate PR operations for the UFC’s international events.”
About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Universally recognized for its action-packed, can’t-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. In 2011, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which now airs on FX.
In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 149 countries and territories, to nearly one billion homes worldwide, in 30 different languages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and restaurants through Joe Hand Promotions, in English throughout Canada via Premium Sports Broadcasting Inc. and in French throughout Quebec via Interbox. The UFC also connects with tens of millions of fans through its website, UFC.com, as well as social media sites Facebook and Twitter. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with more than two million followers on Twitter. Ancillary UFC businesses include best-selling DVDs, an internationally distributed magazine, UFC.TVoffering live event broadcasts and video on demand around the world, the best-selling UFC Undisputed® video game franchise distributed by THQ, and a new franchise in development with EA, UFC GYM®, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo® festivals, branded apparel and trading cards.
About Hughes Marketing Solutions®
Hughes Marketing Solutions, is a local marketing firm based in Dallas, Texas. Established to help businesses realize their full potential through creative and innovative approaches to marketing, the company specializes in providing companies with comprehensive, industry-specific marketing solutions. Through creativity and organization HMS effectively executes a wide array of events both domestic and international, as well as tradeshow management, social media, advertising, public relations, and guerilla marketing that generates results. Hughes Marketing Solutions has a commitment to excellence and utilizes guiding principles to effectively capture their clients’ target markets and to promote their brands nationally as well as locally.
