Pepsi is planning to support its U.S. Open sponsorship with some Internet marketing activity and a package splash promoting ticket sales for the year's final Grand Slam tennis event on 5 million cans of Diet Pepsi in the New York City market next month.
The soda cans promote a phone number to call and order tickets, along with a plug for fellow U.S. Open sponsor United Airlines.
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| The packaging will also mention fellow Open sponsor United Airlines. |
Three of the company's premier beverage brands share the TV exposure afforded by the event, with Pepsi getting coolers and cups on the National Tennis Center's main court and Diet Pepsi and Gatorade getting the secondary and outlying courts. Evian also gets cooler visibility via its U.S. Open sponsorship rights.Pepsi also receives ads on the U.S. Open's Web site, usopen.org, and a "Diet Pepsi Player of the Day" feature on the site for the second straight year. Pepsi is not buying media on the CBS or USA Network telecasts of this year's event, scheduled for Aug. 25-Sept. 7. The company is in the final year of its current four-year rights deal with the U.S. Open, having been a sponsor since 1995.
— Terry Lefton
