Onvo Becomes Official Sponsor for Penn State Football
SCRANTON, Pa. — Onvo is entering the sports sponsorship arena.
The Scranton-based travel plaza chain is teaming up with Playfly Sports to become the Official Travel Plaza Sponsor of Penn State University (PSU) Football. The partnership is effective starting with the 2024-2025 season.
"We couldn't be more excited to be the Official Travel Plaza sponsor of Penn State Football and Penn State Athletics as a whole," said Harman Aulakh, vice president - marketing at Onvo. "Penn State has one of the most passionate, loyal fanbases in all of sports and we're excited to be a part of that community."
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The venture will include in-game advertising at all home football games, block party activations, digital marketing initiatives and gameday promos for PSU football game attendees.
"As a company based in Pennsylvania with locations throughout the state, it feels like a very natural fit. There are few organizations that resonate with our guests like Penn State Football does," Aulakh continued. "We look forward to helping fuel Penn State fans on game day and every other day."
Playfly Sports connects more than 2,000 brand partners and 100-plus sports properties and entities to approximately 85% of all U.S. sports fans. Through the proprietary platform, the business delivers scalable, data-oriented marketing, technology and media solutions with capabilities including exclusive MMR management, sponsorship sales and activation, streaming, consulting and ticket/premium sales.
Onvo is the latest convenience retailer building brand loyalty through sports team sponsorship or league association. Earlier this summer, Sheetz Inc. collaborated with Major League Baseball team Pittsburgh Pirates for a multiyear partnership and became the team's first-ever jersey patch partner. Other ventures include Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based QuickChek Corp. signing on as the official sub partner of the New York Giants.
"A state or major city sports venue [allows] a business [to] build a bond with communities through paired loyalties with the local teams," Bill Nolan, a partner at the Business Accelerator Team, told Convenience Store News. "Advertising your sponsorship in the business itself will help build consumer awareness that 'we're all united by being fans of the same team.' Having this sponsorship may [also] give you the right to use their team logo, have contests to win tickets [or] wear apparel or other marketing elements provided by the team."
Founded in 1988, Onvo is a fuel, retail and hospitality company that serves traveling motorists through a network of businesses that includes 39 travel plazas and gas stations, 25 quick-service and full-service restaurants, and six hotels. Onvo operates locations throughout northeastern and central Pennsylvania and upstate New York.