Piper-Heidsieck will sponsor the Australian Open.getty images
Global champagne companies are making a "major land grab" for premium Australian sport sponsorships, with Piper-Heidsieck this week "becoming the latest to enter the market" through a three-year deal worth a reported A$5M ($3.7M) with the Australian Open, according to Nick Tabakoff of THE AUSTRALIAN. The agreement is "the second multimillion-dollar champagne sponsorship in Australian sport within weeks," following the announcement last month of a five-year deal between Mumm champagne and the Melbourne Cup Carnival. This week’s deal will be the first "major" int'l sponsorship foray into the sports arena for Piper-Heidsieck. Total Sport + Entertainment CEO Paul Kind said that champagne is "entering into a domain once dominated by beer." Kind: "Fifteen years ago, beer companies were the predominant investors in sport sponsorship. ... Now you’re seeing champagne brands increasing their sponsorship footprint in sport, because consumption is rising." Piper-Heidsieck Worldwide Exec Dir Benoit Collard "confirmed the three-year deal with the Australian Open." Kind said that "top champagne brands needed sponsorships to rise above cheaper French bubbly and attract an upmarket audience." He added, "The big champagne brands are looking for an audience willing to pay a minimum of A$70 ($52) a bottle, not A$17 ($12.58). It’s about making it more of a normal experience to have an expensive drop" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 8/2).
