ESPN could have two major sponsorship openings to fill for next season’s College Football Playoff — the Fiesta Bowl title and presenting sponsor of the championship game broadcast.
AT&T was presenting sponsor of last week’s inaugural CFP championship game, a position that aligned nicely with the company’s naming rights on AT&T Stadium in Dallas, site of the game. But Rob Temple, senior vice president of ESPN’s sports management group, said the presenting position is expected to be available, even though AT&T would stay as a CFP sponsor.
“We’re in market talking to brands about that,” Temple said.
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AT&T’s position as presenting sponsor of the championship game is expected to be available for 2016.
Photo by: JAKE DEAN / DALLAS BUSINESS JOURNAL
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Another change could come at the Fiesta Bowl, which had Vizio as its title sponsor this past season after Tostitos’ 18-year run ended. Temple said he looked forward to talks with Vizio in the next month to gauge prospects for a renewal.
Six-year deals were typical for sponsors of the CFP, but Vizio, which previously sponsored the Rose Bowl, had a unique agreement.
“We both retain the flexibility to
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relook at this,” Temple said.
Temple has said many times that the first year was about establishing a framework for the CFP championship game and that year two will be more about true marketing and activation because sponsors will have a longer runway to the game.
Dr Pepper and Chick-fil-A were the only two brands that got on board with ESPN early enough to have a full year to prepare for the inaugural playoff. That was evident throughout the season as Dr Pepper created the character Larry Culpepper, the concessions guy who claimed to come up with the idea for the playoff.
ESPN expects more themed creative like that in the future from its CFP partners.
“We got in a little late in year one,” said Drew Iddings, Hershey’s director of promotions and planning. “The first year has been more about the media, a little social, and bringing our on-site footprint to [the fan fest]. We’ll start meeting in the next few weeks to start planning for [ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’] and the playoff, so I think you’ll see our participation grow.”
Hershey was one of 15 corporate partners, which includes the title sponsors, in the CFP’s first year. ESPN, which is paying $7.3 billion over 12 years for CFP broadcast, marketing and digital rights, would like to see growth in year two. Title sponsorships and the more expensive official sponsor deals range from $20 million to $30 million a year on the high end.
One area that remained uncultivated is what Temple described as the “new year, new you” category for diet and nutrition. He also would like to do more with mass retailers.
“When you start to look more at the casual fan, we could maybe do more to blend across ESPN and ABC,” he said. “We certainly think there are more categories to hit, and I say that because the first 18 months have soaked up so much time getting up and running. Largely, that’s out of the way now. Now we don’t have to spend as much time educating, and the coming year can be more about the marketing.”
One immediate improvement, Temple said, will be the weather. Temperatures on game day in Dallas hovered in the 30s, but next year’s site in Phoenix should yield warmer weather and more outdoor activities.
Even with the cold weather in Dallas, the Championship Tailgate outside AT&T Stadium was well-attended. The footprint just outside the east entrance was built to accommodate 40,000 people, and estimates by CFP officials had the space about two-thirds full.
“One of the core takeaways was this cultural and social wave that was created,” Temple said. “Obviously, we got the ratings, but the fact that it caught on like it did just made it feel big. We had a lot of clients take a leap of faith with us, and we feel like we’ll have more trying to figure out how to get on board.”
