ICONIC SOFT DRINKS company Coca-Cola has renewed its longstanding sponsorship agreement with the Detroit Red Wings ice-hockey franchise for a further five years, in a deal valued by Frontloaded at between $2m and $3m per year.
The multi-tiered agreement, which will run through the 2015/16 National Hockey League (NHL) season, will see a number of Coca-Cola brands continue as official partners of the eleven-time Stanley Cup winners.
Coca-Cola will remain as the official soft drink of the Red Wings, as well as retaining exclusive pouring rights at the team’s home rink, the Joe Louis Arena. Powerade will remain as the official isotonic beverage; Full Throttle the official energy drink; and Dasani the official bottled water.
Additionally, Coca-Cola has secured presenting sponsorship status for the Red Wings’ annual Hockeyfest and Fan Day events for the next five seasons.
Despite the renewal with the Red Wings, Coca-Cola’s presence in the NHL has been dwarfed in recent years by its biggest rival in the sector, PepsiCo. In 2006, after a 17-year partnership, Coca-Cola was replaced by PepsiCo as the exclusive rights partner to the beverage, bottled water and snack categories for the NHL.
The story is the same for three of the other major North American sports leagues. PepsiCo ousted Coca-Cola from its official partner position with the NFL in 2002, agreeing a five-year deal for $160m, subsequently renewed in 2011 for an estimated $1 billion.
PepsiCo is also the official soft drinks partner of Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer. The MLS deal is valued at around $4m per year.
The Coca-Cola Company remains the official soft drink supplier to NBA through its Sprite brand, having renewed its agreement this year through the 2014 season. Coke also has an agreement with the American motorsport institution NASCAR, which runs through 2017 and is valued by Frontloaded at around $10m per year.
Having lost out on major marketing agreements with four of the top five national sports leagues in North America it could well be assumed that PepsiCo is on its way to leapfrogging the long-established market leader in the soft drinks stakes.
However, Coca-Cola’s worldwide partnership with the Olympic Games, which currently runs on a three Games cycle through 2020 valued at around $180m, and global partnership with FIFA running through 2022 valued at $300m, ensures that the brand retains its status as the undisputed king of pop.