Marketing Through

Sports
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By Laura Kenat
Advanced Sports Marketing
MKTG 4820
Spring 2015

Outline
Outline
...1
Abstract
.2
Introduction
...3
PepsiCo in Sports
Advertising.
4
PepsiCo and MLB..
..
5
Investment in the NFL..
...6
Marketing Through the
NFL.7
Conclusion..
.8
Sources..

Abstract
Over the past few decades, the idea of marketing through sports has
become widely popular. All brands from food, to cars, to insurance are
getting involved in this marketing strategy. With sport organizations
like the MLB, NFL, NHL, MLS, and NASCAR, there are endless amount of
opportunities for companies to show case themselves. This benefits
both side of the spectrum; companies get their name and product out
to the target markets and the sport teams receive the funding. One of
the top sports sponsors is PepsiCo. They thoroughly invest their brand
and variety of products into this kind of marketing. From Gatorade,
Pepsi, Tropicana and Doritos, there brand is everywhere in sports.

PepsiCo has built a foundation and passion for this over the years and
has created strong relationships in the sports industries. They have
made a staple name for themselves in MLB and more so in the NFL. In
the past Super Bowl of 2015, the Pepsi logo was shown everywhere
and not only on game day. They use critical strategies to make sure
their name is represented from the start of Super Bowl advertisements
to the very end of the game. From contests, retail settings,
commercials, fan lounges, and more; they take their fans with them on
the field and on to create the ultimate experience. They have a strong
presence in the sports industry and they will continue to hold a strong
future. There are always new techniques and ways to create more
marketing materials and PepsiCo will always capture on that. Each year
they bring out the best of their brands and build a path for their new
products to be show cased.

Introduction
Only up until the past few decades has the marketing of sports
and different companies really become popular. Marketers began to
notice that with the collaboration, both parties win. Sport teams get
the funding they need and companies get to spread their name, image,
and products. In todays sports and marketing world, there are major

opportunities for any kind of business to get involved on large or small

scales.
There are two ways companies can market themselves with
sports:
marketing through sports or marketing of sports. Marketing through
sports is using marketing and promotion to be carried out through
sports such as sponsorships, events, endorsements, sporting gear, etc.
It has become extremely popular over the past years and it being
taken on by companies all over the world. One of the major brands
utilizing this opportunity is PepsiCo. PepsiCo is one of the worlds
leading food and beverage companies with over $66 billion in net
revenue in 2014 and a global portfolio of diverse and beloved brands
(Who We Are, 2015). PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers
one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories
around the world. At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose
our goal to deliver top-tier financial performance while creating
sustainable growth in shareholder value. In practice, this means
providing a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to health
eats; finding innovative ways to minimize our impact on the
environment and reduce our operating costs, and respecting,
supporting and investing in the local communities where we operate
(Pepsi Brings the Hype to Phoenix for Super Bowl XLIX, 2014).

PepsiCo in Sports Advertising

4

PepsiCo is just one of the major brands who participate in

marketing through sports. Other brands like McDonalds, and General
Motors spend millions of marketing and advertising dollars every year
with sports. These companies, along with PepsiCo, are ranked as the
top 25 sports spenders. According to a 2009 report from the sports
business daily, PepsiCo spent a total of $92.1 million just in sports
advertising. They carry highly popular products in the sports world
such as Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Amp Energy, Tropicana, Frito-Lay, and
most importantly, Gatorade. Gatorade alone sponsors the 32 teams in
the NFL, 24 teams in the NBA, 16 teams in the MLB, 30 teams in the
NHL, 15 teams in the MLS, and 12 teams in the WNBA. Also included
are four NASCAR teams, 13 college conferences, 39 high school
athletic associations, and so much more (Top 25 Sports Spenders, Their
Ad Spending, Key Executives, Agencies, and Sponsorships, 2010). They
carefully know how to utilize their products best to the sports world
even with their orange juice Tropicana. In St. Petersburg Florida there is
Tropicana Field for the Major League Baseball team Tampa Bay Rays.
Since oranges are more known in Florida, they have capitalized on this
trait to seek awareness for their products. It is known and remembered
that when sports teams win big games, they dump the bucket of
Gatorade on their coaches. PepsiCo has marketed this opportunity
because it has never been any other sports drink to do that but theirs.
It is caught on every video camera and snapped in thousands of

different photos. Gatorades essence in the sports world will never go

away and they are already leading the way for many sports drinks, but
still remain in the top spot.

PepsiCo and MLB

PepsiCo and the MLB are no strangers when it comes to
sponsorships and collaborations. In the spring of 2014, they announced
an extension of their sponsorship contract that will continue on for
another 15 years. In this agreement for the sponsorship, PepsiCo will
maintain the exclusive rights within the non-alcoholic beverage, sports
fuel and salty snack categories of the MLB. Through its brands,
PepsiCo will continue to create local and national MLB fan marketing
programs; integrate into the Leagues TV assets; mobile and digital
properties through its long-standing partnership with MLB Advanced
Media; produce retail promotional opportunities with customers; fuel
the Leagues athletes and activate at marquee MLB events such as the
All-Star Game and World Series (PepsiCo and MLB Properties Extend
Longstanding Food and Beverage Sponsorship, 2014).
Tim Brosnan, Executive Vice President of the MLB states,
PepsiCo has been a tremendous supporter of Major League Baseball
for nearly two decades. As one of baseballs great rising stars, Bryce
Harper is a perfect selection by Gatorade as a brand endorser.
Gatorade did debut new ads supporting the launch of the All-Star Bryce
Harper, and Aquafina remains the Official Water of Major League
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Baseball. The senior vice president of global sports marketing at

PepsiCo, Jennifer Storms exclaims, MLB is a terrific PepsiCo partner
and provides a strong platform to activate our food and beverage
brands in ways that benefit the League, our retail customers and
baseball fans across the country. Opening Day marks the start of a
busy selling season for many PepsiCo brands and were delights to
continue our relationship with one of the worlds most iconic sports
properties.

Investment in the NFL

The NFL is another sports organization that gets a lot of
PepsiCos attention, and also advertising dollars. According to Fox
Business, the NFL is the number one sports in the largest sports
market in the world, with 185 million domestic fans. And the Super
Bowl is the most-watched U.S. sporting event, airing in 180 countries
and more than 25 languages (Smith, 2014). The numbers explain
themselves why this brand has invested so much into the NFL. As
shown in image 1 on the right, 100% of NFL properties report having
Gatorade as a sponsor. There is no other brand, product, or company
that equals to that. Since its major products are already known and
launched in the industry, such as Pepsi and Gatorade, PepsiCo has
used its marketing power in the NFL to grow their products in the
smaller categories such as Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Max; but at the same
time attempting to stop Cokes advances in those market segments.
7

Were looking to broaden our leveraging of the NFL, says Adam

Harper, Pepsi vice president of consumer engagement. As the
property has grown and the fan base has grown, we realized we were
missing an opportunity to speak to a larger percentage of fan base.
Were trying to reach all types of fans: casual to hard-core, the male 18
to 24 drinking Pepsi Max and we

Image 1

also want to speak to the female

NFL fans who consumer Diet Pepsi,
and the Hispanics that overindex
against Max (Lefton, 2014).

Marketing
Through the NFL

NFL-Sponsorship-Revenue-Totals-$1-07-BillionIn-20.aspx

PepsiCo has pulled out all the stops to promote themselves in the
NFL and Super Bowl. Returning for the 13th consecutive year as the
official soft drink partner of the NFL, Pepsi will bring the hype and take
over the Phoenix market with participation in a number of Super Bowl
XLIX activities including: The Pepsi Rookie of the Year Award, Pepsi
Hyped for Halftime Stage, Pepsi Hype Zone at Verizon Super Bowl
Central, Madden Bowl XXI Super Bowl Party, and PepsiCo Game Day
Grub Match (Pepsi Brings the Hype to Phoenix for Super Bowl XLIX,
2014). This brand has carved its name into the NFL sponsorship game
with a long variety of different promotions. A great number of viewers

watch the Super Bowl for the commercials, and PepsiCo used its
creativity to launch the Crash the Super Bowl contest with the
Doritos brand. The winning commercial will be aired during the game
and the results are up to the fans. The creator of the ad, with the most
votes, will win a $1 million grand prize. Selected from nearly 4,900
submissions representing 29 countries around the world the Crash the
Super Bowl contest engages fans like no other company does
(PepsiCo's Doritos Brand Reveals 10 Consumer-Created Commercials
Competing For Super Bowl XLIX Airtime And $1 Million Grand Prize,
2015). In addition to this promotion, PepsiCo also launches Game Day
Grub Match, which is a culinary competition that engages student
chefs from The Culinary Institute of America to compete to create the
ultimate Super Bowl party dish. No Super Bowl party is complete
without PepsiCo snacks and beverages, and no institution embodies
culinary excellence more than The CIA, says PepsiCo Corporate
Executive Research Chef Stephen Kalil. PepsiCo products have been a
Super Bowl Sunday centerpiece in family rooms across the country for
decades. Putting our products in the hands of the next generation of
great chefs to create one-of-a-kind game day dishes promises to make
Super Bowl history by changing the face of football party food forever
(Pepsico Launches Game Day Grub Match To Find The Next Great
Super Bowl Dish, 2015).

Conclusion
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With its strong past and present in the sports marketing world,
PepsiCo has a strong future to continue to succeed and create its
name. With everything it has done, Pepsi is the first brand to win
Sports Business Award Sponsor of the Year. Pepsi invested in its core
brand with season long NFL marketing efforts, stretching from kickoff
to a sponsorship of the Super Bowl halftime show. The result was a
measureable spike in both Northeast regional sales and brand equity
measure (Lefton, 2014). They take their brands on the field and off to
create the ultimate experience for their fans, customers, and loyal
followers (See image 2 and 3).

Image 2
Image 3
A visual of how PepsiCo activates
The Pepsi
the Are You Fan Enough?
NFL in a retail setting.
Lounge
side-PepsiCo-s--One-For-All,-All-For-One-Sponso.aspx

Sources
Inside PepsiCos One For All, All For One Sponsorship Strategy.
(2013). IEGSR. Retrieved from
http://www.sponsorship.com/IEGSR/2013/10/21/Inside-PepsiCo-s--OneFor-All,-All-For-One--Sponso.aspx
Lefton, T. Sports Sponsor of the Year: Pepsi Beverages Co. (2014).
Sports Business Journal. Retrieved from
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http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/SB-Blogs/On-TheGround/2014/05/0521-Sponsor.aspx
NFL Sponsorship Revenue Totals $1.07 Billion in 2013 Season. (2014).
IEGSR. Retrieved from
http://www.sponsorship.com/IEGSR/2014/01/27/NFL-SponsorshipRevenue-Totals-$1-07-Billion-In-20.aspx
PepsiCo and MLB Properties Extend Longstanding Food and Beverage
Sponsorship. (2014). MLB.com. Retrieved from
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/70690486/pepsico-and-mlb-propertiesextend-longstanding-food-and-beverage-partnership
Pepsi Brings the Hype to Phoenix for Super Bowl XLIX. (2014). PepsiCo.
Retrieved from
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pepsi-brings-the-hype-tophoenix-for-super-bowl-xlix-300027217.html
PepsiCo's Doritos Brand Reveals 10 Consumer-Created Commercials
Competing For Super Bowl XLIX Airtime And $1 Million Grand Prize.
(2015). PepsiCo. Retrieved from
http://www.pepsico.com/live/pressrelease/pepsicos-doritos-brandreveals-10-consumer-created-commercials-competing-for-sup01052015
Pepsico Launches Game Day Grub Match To Find The Next Great
Super Bowl Dish. (2015). PepsiCo. Retrieved from
http://www.pepsico.com/live/pressrelease/pepsico-launches-game-daygrub-match-to-find-the-next-great-super-bowl-dish01082015
Smith, S. PepsiCo Pays Big Bucks for Powerful Brand Promotions.
(2014). Fox Business. Retrieved from
http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2014/02/03/pepsico-pays-bigbucks-for-powerful-brand-promotions/
Top 25 Sports Spenders, Their Ad Spending, Key Executives, Agencies,
and Sponsorships. (2010). Sports Business Journal. Retrieved from
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2010/05/20100510/
SBJ-In-Depth/Top-25-Sports-Spenders-Their-Ad-Spending-KeyExecutives-Agencies-And-Sponsorships.aspx
Who We Are. (2015). PepsiCo. Retrieved from
http://www.pepsico.com/Company

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