The Denver Broncos may soon play under Invesco Funds Group's roof -- in name, that is. The firm is currently negotiating with the builders, Metropolitan Football Stadium District, to associate its name with the new stadium.

The stadium builders hope to seal the deal before next week's SuperBowl. Coincidentally, during the third quarter of the game, Invesco will debut its new thirty-second commercial, featuring football coach Bill Walsh. The firm has also placed its three "Masters of the Game" campaign commercials during the first quarter of the NCAA Tournament.

Although neither party would discuss the monetary terms of the naming deal, Matt Sugar, a spokesman for the Stadium District, said that his company's original goal hovered between $52-89 million. However, because of public outcry, "Mile-High" cannot be evicted from the stadium's name, diminishing the value of the deal. Sugar said, "We feel that the possibility of achieving that $52 to 89 million is severely damaged, reduced. It's really market-driven."

Either way, Invesco's combined marketing efforts represent big bucks, especially in this economy. Has the industry slump not touched Invesco's marketing budget?

"While we would love for the market to turn around in general for us in the business, you still have to be out there and promoting your products, in good and bad market conditions," responded Laura Parsons, an Invesco spokeswoman. "Not first quarter but long-term, certainly; short-term, no."

It seems the experts agree. "The market environment we're in is still not harsh enough to force people to justify it right now," explained consultant Geoff Bobroff. "Advertising is still somewhat a requirement but with no defined goals that can be measured. I think the economics will force people to have to justify it in the future."

According to Parsons, Invesco performs annual research projects to measure consumers' awareness of the funds. New York Life Investment Management also recently announced MainStay's sponsorship of Louisiana's Independence Bowl. Are funds going pigskin-crazy in order to reach the "average American"?

"I don't think so," said Bobroff. He added that sporting events provide an opportunity to increase consumer awareness across a broad field, rather than sell a specific fund.

For Invesco, the SuperBowl deal came about by accident. "We have an existing relationship with CBS and they presented us this opportunity," said Parsons. "We had just shot this commercial with Bill Walsh. They're scrambling to get it done."

"As the industry has evolved into sports-type sponsorships, they've picked off certain things where they get repetitive capabilities," Bobroff said.

While affiliating its brand with the Mile-High Stadium will provide that repetition, Invesco's SuperBowl ad won't. Nonetheless, Bobroff points to the vast exposure provided by the event. He said, "It just seems to be one of the highest audiences, and I don't think it's a sexist issue, but it's where there are lots of people around." 

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