Rookies Take Super Bowl Snap
TALK TO MARKETERS about Super Bowl XXXVII and they all say the same thing. It’s the “grand daddy” of sporting events, it’s advertisers’ moment to shine, it’s hotter than ever.
“Next to Thanksgiving, it’s the biggest food day of the year,” says David Grant, a principal at Velocity Sports & Entertainment in Wilton, CT. “It’s not just a sporting event, but a major American holiday.”
Ask them if the real value is in the official season sponsorships and the rights to use the NFL shield and team logos, and they aren’t all on the same team. Mostly, they say it depends — and there will be much to determine after this year’s game, which saw a few big sponsor changes.
Take Anheuser-Busch. For the 15th consecutive year, the St. Louis-based beer giant is the exclusive alcoholic advertiser on the Jan. 26 telecast, even though Coors Brewing Co. this year outbid old-timers A-B and Miller Brewing Co. to become the National Football League’s official beer sponsor for the next five years (for $300 million).
Another upset occurred when the New York City-based NFL went with Purchase, NY-based Pepsi-Cola Co. over veteran sponsor Coca-Cola Co. by way of a $200 million, five-year deal. Atlanta-based Coke had sponsored the NFL for 19 years, Miller for 18, and A-B for 12 (May PROMO).
Coke will continue with Kraft Foods on a regional basis for their three-year-old co-promotion at retail. Pepsi will splash five memorable Super Bowl images and one commemorative rendering on 800 million cans starting this month.
“The NFL marks are enormously powerful, as evidenced by the rights fees,” says Joe Perello, founder of New York City-based sports marketing agency Perello & Co. “And they [NFL] do a great job of making sponsors activate their investment.” Thirty-second spots on carrier ABC reportedly sold for $2 million, compared to $1.9 million last year.
But for second-tier players out there a sponsorship can mean a lot more. “As the No. 3 beer company, it’s more important for Coors to have this,” says Greg Prince, executive editor of New York City-based Beverage World. “Their national profile is not as well established [as Miller or A-B].”
Golden, CO-based Coors has already gained yardage with its “Twins” Coors Light spots via FCB, Chicago, starring two blonde women. Third-quarter beer sales to retailers rose 2.2 percent from the same time in 2001, Coors reports.
As a part of its deal, Coors must display all team logos at the same size, except for where it has struck team deals. The brewer is pushing a Last Team Standing theme that includes commemorative 24-ounce cans. The Integer Group, Denver, handles.
Meanwhile, A-B pulled in sponsorships with 28 teams and will run a Bud Bowl promotion at retail with Procter & Gamble’s Pringles and Torengos brands.
“The NFL was able to get a lot more money in the category and still keep all of the competitors involved,” says Velocity VP Chris Reisman. “If Anheuser-Busch comes out equal and Coors spends a lot but still makes more, it’s a winning situation for both — not that they would like that situation.”
Milwaukee-based Miller breaks a Super Party Central effort this month. At millertime.com, fans enter to win an “ultimate party pack,” including a 32-inch TV and a $200 food voucher. P-O-P featuring former football star Troy Aikman and ESPN hosts Tom Jackson and Chris Berman supports, as well as cross-merchandising coupons for Kraft’s DiGiorno Rising Crust Pizza in supermarkets and Planters Peanuts in c-stores. Zipatoni, St. Louis, handles.
Miller also signed deals with 20 of the 32 NFL teams. “The feedback we got is that individual team marks are what is important,” says Miller spokesperson Marc Spiegel.
