The PepsiCo-SoFi deal also includes rights throughout the surrounding Hollywood Park districtTONY FLOREZ
PepsiCo has signed a deal giving it exclusive marketing and pouring rights at SoFi Stadium, the new venue for the Chargers and Rams now under construction outside L.A., sources said. The deal also includes rights throughout the surrounding Hollywood Park entertainment district, except for tenants that have other arrangements, and continued sponsorships of the Rams and Chargers. Sources cautioned the final details were still being ironed out yesterday and could change. Coca-Cola currently is poured at the temporary homes of the Chargers (Dignity Health Sports Park) and Rams (L.A. Coliseum) even though Pepsi sponsors the teams. Legends Global Partnerships represents SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park. If nothing else changes heading into '20, SBJ Research shows that Coca-Cola will pour at 15 NFL stadiums, Pepsi will have 13 and Dr Pepper will have four (two venues are shared). SoFi Stadium will open with a Taylor Swift concert in July ahead of the '20 NFL season (Ben Fischer, THE DAILY).
WORTHY INVESTMENT: ADWEEK's Ryan Barwick wrote SoFi "hopes" securing the naming rights for the Rams/Chargers stadium will "make it a household name." While some brands "continue to shell out millions on traditional, linear advertising," SoFi will "pay only a fraction of that, and yet it'll reach the same audience." SoFi is "making the same type of investment legacy brands like Mercedes-Benz and Levi's make after a century of business: stamping its name on a sports stadium." SoFi now will be "associated with" Super Bowl LVI, the '23 CFP and opening and closing ceremonies of the '28 Games. It also "doesn't hurt that the stadium is only three and a half miles from LAX, guaranteeing SoFi free additional advertising from every flight." SoFi CEO Anthony Noto said, "We'll instantly have the credibility of being partners with the largest media sports brand in the U.S." SoFi currently is advertising across NFL Sunday Ticket, but the company "wouldn't comment on its media buys during broadcast games." Noto said that the naming rights deal "represents less than 10% of the brand's overall marketing budget and that marketing accounts for less than 5% of SoFi's budget overall." MetLife Assistant VP/Sponsorships & Promotions Daniel Pincus said that buying naming rights had "'overdelivered' but that he wouldn't get into the dollar value of the return on investment" (ADWEEK.com, 10/9).