Georgia officials wouldn't say how much of a financial boost the Coca-Cola bottle would provideUNIV. OF GEORGIA
Georgia football coach Kirby Smart will have a Coca-Cola bottle next to him at each of his seven home press conferences this season, and UGA said the "product placement" idea came about as an "additional opportunity that they wished to pursue," according to Marc Weiszer of the ATHENS BANNER-HERALD. The first appearance of the bottle "began with Smart's first weekly press conference." UGA Associate AD/External Operations Alan Thomas said that the school and Coca-Cola have had a "relationship going back more than a half century." IMG College's Georgia Bulldogs Sports Marketing and Coca-Cola have an "overarching deal" at the school. Thomas "didn't disclose how much financially that additional opportunity is worth." Thomas: "We don't do it for road games. That's not our territory." He added, "We looked at the opportunities with our rights holder partner and one of our best, most longstanding partners to have an opportunity to add an element that's already fully engaged everywhere that they go. Coaches have brought cups in many times whether it's product placement or not." Weiszer noted after "Smart's bottle got plenty of attention," UGA men's basketball coach Tom Crean tweeted "Can I make mine Diet Coke?" (ATHENS BANNER-HERALD, 8/29).
