The Doctor is in with the St. Louis Rams.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group is close to completing a deal that would make it the exclusive soft drink sponsor of the Rams. Sources said the deal was still in its final stages last week, but some
Dr Pepper mentions and branding were already on the team’s website, and Dr Pepper was expected to have massive signage and be sold at the Rams’ training camp when it opened last week.
Dr Pepper Ten is presenting sponsor of the Rams’ training camp.
Sources pegged the deal, under which Dr Pepper Snapple Group is installing new beverage lines at the Edward Jones Dome, at around $5 million over the five-year term of the agreement. The term is interesting to note, since the Rams’ lease at Edward Jones Dome is up in two years.
Pepsi was the Rams’ soft-drink sponsor for the past eight years.
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The company will leverage mostly against Dr Pepper but also involve its other brands.
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This is the third NFL team sponsorship for Dr Pepper Snapple Group, which also has an exclusive deal with the Chicago Bears and shares the Dallas Cowboys rights with
Pepsi. Pepsi and
Coke dominate the beverage landscape at NFL stadia with 15 teams apiece. However, the rights for the San Francisco 49ers will flip from Coke to Pepsi in 2014.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group picks up rights across its beverage portfolio, which includes A&W Root Beer, RC Cola, Snapple and Sunkist brands, but will leverage mostly against Dr Pepper. The group’s Deja Blue water also is included in the deal, which means the end of a private-label water deal that the Rams did last season.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group will activate with Rams branding on more than 5 million bottles and cans of beverages in the St. Louis market.
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Leaving the field hasn’t slowed Barry Sanders’ endorsement career.
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“We’ve got a partner who really will be active in this market, so that makes us happier than anything,” said Rams CMO
Bob Reif, who would not comment on specific deal points.
> BARRYBALL: At a time when the murder charge against Aaron Hernandez is making some skittish about athlete endorsements in general, and NFL athletes more specifically, we’re intrigued that Barry Sanders, who hasn’t carried the ball in around 15 years, has more endorsements than most of today’s most elusive NFL ball carriers.
Sanders, 45, has deals for the upcoming season with Nissan for the “House of Heisman,” which has print ads and eight TV ads; with Pepsi, including two TV ads for Pepsi and Frito-Lay for an on-pack and point-of-sale-supported promotion; with Verizon for print ads; on the cover of EA Sports’ 25th anniversary version of the "Madden NFL Football" video game; signed insert sets with NFL trading card licensees Panini, Topps and Upper Deck; and is a national spokesman for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Gridiron Glory traveling exhibit.
Jeff Bernstein’s Seven Figures Management handles marketing for Sanders.
> EXPANDING BLOGOSPHERE: In its first deal since moving its rights in-house, the WNBA Players Association has signed Web aggregator sportsblog.com as the hoops league’s exclusive blogging destination. While WNBA players are not obligated to put their blogs on sportsblog.com, those who do will be paid. Sportsblog.com claims it will create the largest network of WNBA player blogs, and it also will administer the WNBA’s official blog.
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Ben Sturner (left) has added Jay Williams
(center) and Brad Brown to the Leverage lineup.
Photo by: THE LEVERAGE AGENCY
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The blogs started posting July 1.
> COMINGS & GOINGS: Brian Papson is the new vice president of marketing for the Philadelphia Eagles, reporting to Ari Roitman, senior vice president of business. Papson’s last position was with the San Antonio Spurs and Spurs Sports & Entertainment for the past four years. He also worked as director of branding and marketing for Villanova University. Papson replaces former Chief Marketing Officer Tim McDermott, who left the team last November. One of Papson’s initial tasks will be to handle the relationship with 160over90, a Philadelphia firm with experience working for the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets, and which was recently hired as the Eagles’ creative and branding agency. … Ben Sturner’s New York City-based Leverage Agency is adding Brad Brown, former Anheuser-Busch vice president, sports and entertainment marketing, to head sports and entertainment consulting, and former Duke hoopster and current ESPN basketball analyst Jay Williams as managing partner. Brown will be based in St. Louis and travel, while Williams will be based in New York City and Los Angeles. “The thought is that I can bring buy-side knowledge to the sell side and really help sponsors activate,” Brown said. As for Williams: “I’ve developed a lot of relationships with CEOs and CMOs, so this is a way to connect the dots, build my basketball brand to the point where I could connect it with business,” he said. … Former Li Ning marketer Brian Cupps joined Adidas in Shanghai as director of basketball, China. Adidas has more than 5,000 branded stores in China. Cupps has also worked for Reebok and And 1.
Terry Lefton can be reached at tlefton@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
