Volvo Cars, Jeremy Lin Announce Marketing Deal


Who said Linsanity is defunct? Jeremy Lin, the New Yorks Knicks‘ newfound point guard, has inked a marketing deal with the U.S. arm of Swedish car brand Volvo. The Wall Street Journal has the details: “Volvo Cars of North America, Volvo’s sales unit based in Rockleigh, N.J., sent out invitations to a press conference in New York to ‘announce a dynamic marketing partnership with Jeremy Lin, the popular New York Knicks point guard.’ The deal would leverage ‘the Swedish car maker’s sports heritage,’ and Mr. Lin would ‘help establish the brand with younger and performance-minded customers,’ the invitation said. The press conference is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. Monday New York time, according to the invite. It would be one of the first major corporate deals for the 23-year-old New York Knick, who ascended from basketball benchdom to stardom earlier this year. Mr. Lin, the U.S.-born son of Taiwanese immigrants, has captivated Chinese basketball fans, hungry for a hero since the retirement of former Houston Rockets star Yao Ming. Mr. Lin has an agreement with Nike Inc. reached when he was a rookie that the shoe maker is moving to tap, with plans for a Lin-themed shoe. It was still unclear exactly what the value would be of the deal or what exact terms it would involve, but the invitation to the press conference noted that Mr. Lin is expected to help Volvo’s marketing efforts in several international markets. Previously, people familiar with the matter had said that the deal would cover the greater China market.”