PepsiCo is "close to renewing its NCAA sponsorship
rights" in a four-year, $16M deal that will give its
Aquafina water brand "Gatorade-style sideline visibility" at
the Final Four and other NCAA championships, according to
Terry Lefton of BRANDWEEK. PepsiCo will spend an additional
$10M a year in media time on CBS's NCAA tournament broadcast
in leveraging the deal. The Aquafina logo will be present
on cups, coolers and squeeze bottles used on the benches at
the Final Four. Lefton: "Opening up the Final Four
sidelines as a commercial exposure vehicle is a radical step
for the NCAA, which is notoriously protective of its crown
jewel event." T.J. Nelligan, President/National Sales of
Host Communications, the NCAA's sponsorship agency, said,
"without sideline rights there was no deal." Quaker Oats'
Gatorade also vied for the deal, but PepsiCo, which gets the
rights to soft drinks, teas, waters and isotonics, was
chosen "to keep the category consolidated." Sources told
Lefton that cash helped "push the deal through the NCAA's
political minefield," as about 25% of the pact will help
finance a "basketball fan initiative" (BRANDWEEK, 12/14).
