Triangle & Two: Marketers Score With Carolina-Duke Rivalry

UNC, Duke Fan Bases Offer Demographics Attractive For Marketers

Both the Univ. of North Carolina and Duke Univ. have national followings in men's basketball, but the "biggest financial bonanza is reaped by marketers who find a way to package the schools together and capture customers from both fan bases," according to Ken Tysiac of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. It is "amazing ... the way marketers capitalize on Duke-North Carolina, which has become one of the most high-profile rivalries in sports." Jeweler Carlyle & Co. sponsors the Carlyle Cup, which "pays each school a six-figure sponsorship in return for the season all-sports series" between the two. Through the Carlyle deal, watchmakers such as Rolex and Tag Heuer have "had products marketed as part of the rivalry." Carlyle Marketing Dir Pete Bruck said, "The alumni at both schools are a great audience. They're affluent and they're engaged in the rivalry quite a bit. It's a good demographic for us, and it's made a lot of sense." Bruck noted that the company likely will sign another three-year contract to continue sponsoring the rivalry "soon." Meanwhile, Hardee's held a "Turn It Blue" promo in conjunction with UNC with the QSR giving the winner four tickets to yesterday's Duke-UNC game. But Duke Promotions Dir Mike Sobb said that despite the sponsorships, school officials are "wary of over-commercializing the series" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 3/8).

OUT OF BOUNDS: UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp Friday sent a letter to the university's Labor Code Advisory Committee announcing that the school "will not renew the license of Russell Athletic to make and sell products bearing the UNC logo" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 3/7).