PepsiCo and MLB announced a five-year marketing deal
that will make Pepsi the official soft drink MLB and gives
the company exclusive rights to use MLB trademarks,
including post-season and All-Star Game logos. The deal
also gives Pepsi the use of MLB team marks in advertising,
packaging, merchandising and promotions (PepsiCo).
COLA WAR: In N.Y., Stefan Fatsis writes that PepsiCo
also plans to run ads on Fox Sports national TV broadcasts
beginning this year, and create new baseball-themed ads for
'98. MLB will collect "only about" $1M per year in rights
fees from PepsiCo to be split among the teams. Fatsis notes
that with the deal, MLB "is playing both sides of the cola
wars, and thus risking alienating Coke, one of its oldest
and biggest sponsors." Coca-Cola's local sponsorships of 24
of 28 MLB teams include stadium pouring rights. PepsiCo
sponsors four teams and the two expansion teams which begin
play in '98. PepsiCo "will face the awkward problem" of
being banned from distributing its All-Star ballots in
ballparks, and instead will run the promo in conjunction
with 7-Eleven stores. MLB execs say they are planning to
sign another sponsor for in-stadium ballots (WALL STREET
JOURNAL, 3/19). ESPN's Bob Ley added that Pepsi's deal
includes a contest winner throwing out the first pitch
before Game of the World Series ("SportsCenter," 3/18).
COKE SAYS NO THANKS? The JOURNAL's Fatsis adds that
Coca-Cola "rejected" the chance to "lock up" MLB's national
sponsorship as recently as last weekend. Sources "familiar
with the transaction" said the reason was that Coca-Cola
"maintains its consumer research shows baseball fans only
care about the game on a local level and don't respond well
to the All-Star Game promotion" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/19).
