PepsiCo Takes to Ice With NHL Deal
PepsiCo, the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players’ Association have forged a multi-year agreement that takes PepsiCo’s beverages and snacks to the ice.
Effective July 1, PepsiCo has NHL-exclusive rights in the beverage, sports beverage, bottled water and snack categories, as well as select marketing and promotional rights in North America.
As part of the deal, Gatorade becomes the official sports drink of the NHL and will be available on the benches of all 30 NHL teams. PepsiCo will also promote its Lays Potato Chips, Pepsi and Aquafina bottled water brands. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“There’s an opportunity here to bring together the…NHL brand with the PepsiCo brand,” said Jared Dougherty, spokesperson, Frito-Lay.
In the past, PepsiCo’s NHL relationships were based mainly on marketing partnerships with the league’s athletes such as Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, Dougherty said.
“[This agreement] is the evolution of our relationship with the sport of hockey,” he said.
“We’re proud to have PepsiCo as a part of the NHL team,” said Ed Horne, president, NHL Enterprises, in a statement. “As an all-star company with all-star brands that NHL fans enjoy, it’s a great fit between our two organizations. We welcome PepsiCo on the ice, and we look forward to a partnership founded in the passion of the game.”
Although the details of PepsiCo’s activation are being hammered out, for its National Football League partnership the company runs consumer promotions, ticket giveaways and fan appreciation nights, Dougherty said. P-O-P materials and packaging tied to the league and the league’s teams are also produced, he added.
In related news, Pepsi-QTG Canada (Quaker/Tropicana/Gatorade) and Frito-Lay Canada recently announced the signing of a three-year agreement with NHL rookie Sidney Crosby. Additionally, PepsiCo’s Lay’s, Pepsi and Gatorade brands have extended their Hockey Canada partnership until 2010.
PepsiCo is one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, with 2005 annual revenues of more than $32 billion. Its portfolio includes 17 brands that each generates $1 billion or more in annual retail sales.
