Gatorade signs with SEC, adds a media buy

Gatorade has boosted its involvement with the Southeastern Conference, signing a four-year sponsorship extension with the league and striking a separate media buy with Jefferson-Pilot Sports, the SEC's regional television syndicator for football and men's basketball.

Gatorade, a sponsor of the SEC since 1989, has not had a major television presence with the conference since the mid-1990s, said Graham Edwards, senior vice president, collegiate marketing for Host Communications, the SEC's marketing partner.

Unlike other conferences, such as the Atlantic Coast Conference, the SEC does not require its corporate partners to make a media buy, though it is encouraged, Edwards said.

Gatorade has sponsorship deals with nine of the 12 SEC schools.

"Part of the reason we do the deal with the conference is to protect that investment," said Scott Paddock, senior manager for Gatorade sports marketing. "The media buy gives us a greater promotional platform."

Gatorade's media buy with JP Sports includes advertising during SEC football and conference basketball tournament broadcasts. It began with the 2002 football season and goes through the end of the 2006 football season. JP Sports director of sales Ben May would not reveal the number of advertising units provided under the deal.

The company's SEC sponsorship extension, negotiated by Host, goes through February 2007.

Financial terms were not revealed. Sources close to the deals estimated that Gatorade's combined rights and media expenditures would be in the mid- to high six figures annually.