As THE DAILY presents our fourth annual Sports
Industrialist of the Year award, we would first like to
thank our clients and various organizations for submitting
nominations on behalf of their colleagues. Over the past
three years, THE DAILY has recognized excellence and
achievement by honoring industry executives and
organizations which view sports as both entertainment and as
a global business. Previous winners have included NBA
Commissioner David Stern, Major League Soccer and Fox Sports
President David Hill. This year, we honor two executives who
directed a unique and strategic approach to sports marketing
in '98 for one of the world's most successful brands. The
'98 Sports Industrialist of the Year award goes to Coca-Cola
VP & Dir of Media and Marketing Assets Chuck Fruit and VP &
Dir of U.S. Marketing Asset Management Steven Koonin.
Although THE DAILY cites the work of these two individuals,
we understand their achievement is a company honor, and we
would be remiss if we did not recognize the efforts of the
entire sports and marketing asset groups at Coca-Cola.
BACKGROUND: Fruit is responsible for the development of
Coca-Cola's worldwide media advertising strategies and
sports sponsorships. He joined the company in '91 after 15
years at A-B, where he held a variety of positions including
VP/Corporate Media & Sports Marketing. Koonin has been with
the company since '86 and has directed Coca-Cola's U.S.
sports and event marketing since '94. Today, the company is
involved with more than 50 different sports and thousands of
events on the int'l, national, regional and local levels.
It is estimated that the Coca-Cola system (company and
bottlers) has committed a total of $1B in sports sponsorship
rights fees around the world, and Nielsen Marketing Service
estimated that Coca-Cola spent more than $48M on TV sports
advertising in the U.S. in '98. But it's not the company's
dollar expenditures on sports that earns our recognition --
it is Fruit and Koonin's utilization of Coca-Cola's well-
defined sports strategy. Coca-Cola Chair & CEO Douglas
Ivester has pushed the company to use its several sports
property partnerships as "volume-building tools." Ivester
sees sports as one tactical component in Coca-Cola's efforts
to sell more product and increase volume for bottlers and
retailers. Fruit and Koonin adhered to that philosophy in
'98 by exhibiting a balanced marketing approach that clearly
focused on value and achieving a favorable return on
investment. Among the '98 highlights:
MESSAGE IN THE BOTTLES: In the first year of Coca-
Cola's NASCAR sponsorship, Fruit and Koonin directed an
aggressive partnership by building a broad-based, grass-
roots program that emphasized "family." Koonin said that
Ivester "saw that NASCAR created the opportunity to be
converted into cases." Realizing the value of its NASCAR
tie, the company developed "Coca-Cola's NASCAR Racing
Family." The effort around ten drivers served as the
cornerstone of the company's platform, and the promotional
push featured drivers on outdoor billboards, Coca-Cola
packaging and 16,000 vending machines, 54% of which were
placed in areas that didn't previously have one. Coca-Cola
also issued limited-edition bottles featuring drivers such
as Dale Earnhardt and Dale Jarrett. Its NASCAR involvement
went global in November when it sponsored the Coca-Cola 500
in Japan which featured Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt,
Jr. racing head-to-head for the first time. Koonin: "NASCAR
has become part of the secret formula for Coca-Cola."
NASCAR VP/Marketing George Pyne said of Coca-Cola: "They've
been able to bring us to places we've never been before."
GOING GLOBAL WITH SOCCER: Fruit and his worldwide
sports team, led by Scott McCune, increased the company's
int'l association with soccer, and in January, the company
signed an eight-year agreement with FIFA making it a sponsor
of the World Cup through 2006. Coca-Cola had a significant
presence around the '98 World Cup in France, as the company
and its worldwide bottling partners spent an estimated
$250M, more than it spent on the '96 Olympics in Atlanta.
Ivester said the company's World Cup tie "provides sales and
relationships," and the '98 marketing effort extended to
more than half of the 200 countries where Coca-Cola does
business. Early sales in France showed the promotional
efforts paid off, as sales were up almost 30%.
LIME-AID: In June, Coca-Cola extended its deal with the
NBA to maintain its Sprite brand as the NBA's Official Soft
Drink in what it termed a "100-year global partnership."
The deal calls for Coca-Cola's worldwide system to spend as
much as $100M per year on advertising and promo support for
Sprite. Coca-Cola was one of the few advertisers to
leverage its sponsorship during the NBA's six-month long
lockout, as it ran a creative "Salary Cap" promotion
featuring players Grant Hill and Tim Duncan. The campaign
provided brand exposure and offered retailers a tangible and
successful program during the league's labor dispute.
LIVE ADE: Koonin saw hockey as the most effective
property for Coca-Cola's Surge and PowerAde brands. A Surge
"Cup Crazy" promotion was activated at more than 2,000
United Artists theaters. In addition, PowerAde is directly
linked to the game via the placement of squeeze bottles on
top of goals in each of the 27 arenas. PowerAde bottles are
also on the team benches and in the penalty boxes.
COCA-COLA'S ZONE BLITZ: In one of the boldest sports
marketing decisions of '98, Coca-Cola signed a four-year
renewal as the NFL's Official Soft Drink in May. It
relinquished local team rights, but maintained its highly-
desirable league relationship in order to use NFL marks and
be associated with league events. Coca-Cola has marketing
partnerships with 18 teams and has pouring rights at 21
stadiums, and the new deal allows the company to use its
local relationships to tailor programs toward specific
markets in its constant effort to drive volume and sales
-- the foundation of Ivester's philosophy.
SPORTS FIZZ DAILY: After witnessing the success of its
Coca-Cola Sky Field at Turner Field in Atlanta, Coca-Cola
formed a unique partnership in San Francisco with the MLB
Giants, where it will sponsor a year-round, family
attraction beyond the left field wall at Pac Bell Park. The
destination area, which is scheduled to open next year,
includes a four-story Coke bottle serving as a play slide,
miniature baseball fields and other amenities. The theme
park is a key component in Coca-Cola's multimillion-dollar
program with the Giants, and while there was some local
opposition, the playground plans are moving forward.
THAT'S NOT ALL: In February, Coca-Cola continued its 70
years of Olympic support with an extensive activation around
the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Cola-Cola also
renewed its int'l sponsorships of Copa America '99, Euro
2000 and the '99 and 2003 Rugby World Cup tournaments.
NOT THE RIGHT FIT: Fruit and Koonin followed Ivester's
"volume-building" strategy when they identified sports
properties which didn't meet Coca-Cola's strict cost-value
standards. This included rejecting the Yankees' asking
price of $4M per year to remain as the team's official soft
drink and refusing to match many of rival PepsiCo's offers
for team pouring rights. The company also has scaled back
its marketing partnership with the PGA Tour.
CONCLUSION: Ivester's decree to use sports to sell
cases of carbonated beverage is certainly not revolutionary.
But Fruit and Koonin have displayed a strategic and
consistent vision with an eye on the worldwide stage. They
understand the necessity of working in local markets with
bottlers and retailers to increase sales, obtain more shelf
space and offer local merchants additional ammunition to
drive the bottom line. When a property has failed to meet
Coca-Cola's criteria, Fruit and Koonin have not been afraid
to relinquish the rights. Fruit and Koonin work daily to
ensure that the sports component they oversee fits into
Coca-Cola's business plan and Ivester's global vision of
generating profits for the company and its shareholders.
