The NCAA thought it was getting a fast-food power that would flex its retail-activation muscle when Burger King signed on as a corporate partner. Burger King, meanwhile, was enamored with buying March Madness media and signing stars like Chris Webber for its high-energy creative.
Once the two sides began reviewing the first two years of the sponsorship, they agreed that it wasn’t going like they had envisioned, so the NCAA and Burger King parted ways a year before their deal was up.
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Burger King supported the NCAA deal primarily with media buys. The NCAA expected more retail activation.
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“Retail fast food is really a critical category for us,” said Mark Lewis, the NCAA’s executive vice president for championships and alliances. “It’s a huge platform for exposure and a phenomenal way to promote our championships. Burger King wasn’t really doing that kind of stuff. They were doing a lot of media, a lot of commercial advertising. Both sides felt there was a gap there.
“So we agreed that the best idea was to let them spend more on advertising — anybody can buy advertising; you don’t have to be a partner — and let us go find a partner that really values the ability to activate in-store and other ways.”
The NCAA, along with its rights holders, Turner Sports and CBS Sports, who jointly manage and sell the NCAA’s partner program, meet annually with each of the NCAA’s sponsors to review and look ahead. It was during that annual meeting with Burger King in recent months that they agreed to part ways.
Burger King executives had no comment, but Lewis described it as a mutual decision. Miami-based Burger King, in fact, is buying as much or more media during March Madness as the past two seasons, Lewis said. But they’re not paying high seven figures for the rights fee, a savings it could move into other areas. The original contract was supposed to go three years.
“We felt we could do more on the activation side and they’re happy with a media-only buy,” Lewis said. “By having the conversation and being honest about our objectives, we now can go find a partner that wants to do more promotional cups and tray liners and ‘Scratch and Wins.’ That just wasn’t what they were interested in. We need and want more out of that category.”
Lewis said that the NCAA, Turner and CBS already have engaged with prospects to replace Burger King in the fast-food category. The NCAA still has its partner deal with Buffalo Wild Wings for the sit-down restaurant category.
Burger King, which works with Horizon Media and Scout Sports & Entertainment on its sports marketing and ad buys, led with significant ad campaigns during the 2014 and ’15 NCAA tournaments.
Its catchphrase “Watch Like a King,” created with agency Code and Theory, was central to Burger King’s social media activation and giveaways. The QSR also hired Webber to promote the two-for-$5 sandwich specials in its advertising, while also using Turner analysts Seth Davis and Kenny Smith in a separate spot.
Burger King’s departure brings the NCAA’s list of corporate partners and champions down to 17 in all. It’s not clear who the top contenders will be to replace Burger King. McDonald’s has activated on some pass-through rights from NCAA corporate champion Coca-Cola in the past.
