Baltimore agency adds Baltimore Racing Development and US Lacrosse to its Client roster

Baltimore, Md. - gkv, a full-service marketing communications firm, announced today the addition of two sports-related Clients to its roster - Baltimore Racing Development, LLC (BRD) and US Lacrosse. The 29-year-old Baltimore-based firm will provide branding and national marketing support for both Clients.

The recent acquisition of these two accounts, in addition to existing Client work, positions gkv as an emerging leader in the sports marketing category. gkv’s category experience encompasses handling the marketing initiatives for the Maryland Lottery’s sports sponsorship programs, that includes the highly successful Baltimore Ravens Cash Fantasy scratch-off game; Werner Ladder’s sponsorship of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament; as well as Baltimore County Golf’s five public golf courses and its recent Million Dollar Hole-In-One Shootout.

“Over the past several years, gkv’s sports marketing experience has thrived in the Baltimore region and will continue to grow at the national level in working with such reputable organizations as US Lacrosse and Baltimore Racing Development,” said Roger Gray, chairman and CEO of gkv. “It’s been an exciting year at gkv, and the opportunity to work with each of these organizations to support the growth of the popular sport of lacrosse and bring national attention to Charm City with the Baltimore Grand Prix is quite an honor.”

Baltimore Racing Development
Earlier this month, the city of Baltimore announced a five-year deal with the Indy Racing League to bring the IZOD IndyCar Series to Baltimore. The newly named Baltimore Grand Prix has selected gkv as its Agency of Record for the inaugural race and the accompanying three-day Festival of Speed scheduled for August 5 - 7, 2011. This event is expected to draw more than 100,000 visitors to Baltimore.

As part of this partnership, gkv will provide strategic planning, creative development of all advertising, media planning and buying, grassroots marketing, event planning, and design and maintenance of the website.

“The Baltimore Grand Prix will bring world-renowned drivers, such as Danica Patrick and Helio Castroneves, as well as a weekend of entertainment for the whole family to Baltimore,” said Jay Davidson, President of Baltimore Racing Development, the group that led the effort to bring the event to Maryland. “We are excited to work with an experienced and local agency such as gkv to bring the national spotlight to Baltimore next August.”

US Lacrosse
As the national governing body of men’s and women’s lacrosse, Baltimore-based US Lacrosse recently selected gkv to assist in building its brand to support the rapidly growing sport of lacrosse.

gkv will provide strategic planning, as well as brand and creative development to assist in elevating communications about the benefits of US Lacrosse membership to a variety of audiences including program administrators, coaches, players and parents.

“gkv has been terrific in sinking their teeth into our very complex multi-constituency business model and developing highly strategic messaging that combines our core functional benefits with an emotional end benefit,” said Sara Noon, Managing Director, Membership of US Lacrosse.

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About gkv
gkv is a 29-year-old full-service integrated marketing communications firm specializing in helping challenger brands compete in hyper-competitive categories. With billings of more than $111 million, gkv provides a complete range of communications services including creative development, graphic design, production, media planning and buying, interactive, community relations, brand identity development, research, public relations, direct marketing, crisis communications, grassroots and word of mouth. gkv’s diverse international Client roster includes companies in travel and tourism, snacks and beverages, financial services, health industries and cause marketing. The Agency is headquartered at Tide Point, the renovated former Procter & Gamble plant in Baltimore, Md. Visit http://gkv.com/ or http://blog.gkv.com.

About US Lacrosse
US Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, is the national governing body for men’s and women’s lacrosse. US Lacrosse has more than 300,000 members in 63 regional chapters around the country. Through responsive and effective leadership, US Lacrosse strives to provide programs and services to inspire participation while protecting the integrity of the game. To learn more about US Lacrosse, please visit www.uslacrosse.org.