Advertisers "could soon have to get by without college football," and canceling the '20 season "would disrupt the fall marketing calendars of dozens of brands, from beers and sodas to automakers and insurance marketers, that rely on the sport's reach to capture coveted audiences," according to E.J. Schultz of AD AGE. Marketers have been "planning multiple scenarios that include the season being delayed, canceled or even started and then stopped midway through." Coca-Cola North America Group Dir of Connections, Planning & Investment Jeff Hagen said, “We are looking at this seven different ways from Sunday. It is an ever-moving puzzle.” Schultz noted that, according to Kantar Media, college football drew more than $1.5B in advertising in '19. The top five spenders were AT&T, Allstate, Dr Pepper, State Farm and Chick-fil-A. Hagen said without a season, “the ratings would be hard to make up, but I don’t think it’s impossible." He added, "We are looking for flexibility." Hagen said that there is "potential to move investments into Disney’s entertainment programming." Dos Equis Senior Brand Dir Ligia Patrocinio said that the beer brand has "created a campaign that is flexible enough to dial its football messaging up or down depending on whether games are played," and it will "lean into more product-focused spots if games are canceled" (ADAGE.com, 8/9).
