Byline: Rachel Brand News Staff Writer
Coors Brewing Co. has signed an ``extraordinary'' five-year agreement to become the National Football League's official beer sponsor.
The $300 million contract unseats reigning beer kings Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing Co., which had been national NFL sponsors for 12 and 18 years respectively.
The agreement, announced Tuesday, grants Coors the use of the NFL, Super Bowl and Pro Bowl logos in its advertising. Coors also has the collective rights to all 32 team logos when used as a group.
``What I'm sure they're banking on is a lot of increased product sales,'' said sports marketing consultant Dean Bonham. Bonham writes a sports business column for the Rocky Mountain News.
Unlike in prior years, individual teams will keep local rights to their logos. They can then negotiate separate agreements in local markets. In the past, Anheuser-Busch and Miller shared exclusive rights to individual logos.
``The agreement allows us to add another beer company to our group of NFL sponsors, with Coors being the national sponsor and A-B and Miller keeping ties to individual team sponsorships,'' league spokesman Brian McCarthy said.
Anheuser-Busch and Miller also can continue to advertise during the NFL games, but they won't have the rights to use the NFL shield or team logos, he said.
Miller responded by saying it plans to contact individual teams to set up deals. Coors was not available for comment.
Despite the local wiggle room, analysts say the contract is a remarkable coup for the No. 3 brewer and signals a hefty investment in sports tie-ins and local promotions.
``It's extraordinary,'' Bonham said. ``Coors is unquestionably the David of the beer world; A-B is the Goliath, and Miller is their little brother.''
In order to nab the agreement from their rivals, ``clearly, they had to swallow hard and segregate out a very large percentage of their advertising budget,'' Bonham said.
Viewers can expect a wide range of consumer promotional tie-ins in each of the NFL's 32 markets. Internet promotions, advertisements and other sweepstake-like deals should raise Coors' profile as a national player.
Bonham cautioned against scrutinizing the ``who gets what'' aspects of the deal, as many details have not been revealed.
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