"UPS, MillerCoors go in — and go big — on campus"

From SportsBusiness Journal


Review by Adam Carranza in KIN 332 (Section 2)


The start of the new football season began with both UPS and MillerCoors closing huge marketing deals with collegiate schools all over the country. UPS has almost 70 schools on its list stretching from coast to coast with such powerhouses as Texas, Florida, Ohio State and others. They are also in talks with the Big Ten and Pac-12 about sponsorships detailed to their championship games. MillerCoors is dealing with 23 schools across the country, while trying to promote strong messages about responsibility. This deal is coming after Coors Light lost its official partnership with the NFL, as Anheuser-Busch has taken over this season. While the college scene might be a first for MillerCoors, UPS had already made a deal in 2010 to become an NCAA corporate partner. These big multi-school deals seem to becoming a new trend that could catch on quickly, as opposed to dealing with each school individually.

Both companies are using sports to market their non-sport related product or service. The scale of the UPS deal shows just how important collegiate sports have become compared to the professional levels. This could open the door for other companies to try and complete something this large, because the NCAA has proved a worthy source of marketing over the years. Not only will this help UPS in the marketing game, but it could lead to deals with the schools to become their main shipping source. MillerCoors believes that this is a great addition to their marketing mix as they still have deals with many NFL teams, along with fantasy football and the MLB. Their deal is impressive because in the past schools have been hesitant to have a beer company as one of their main sponsors. They are allowed to put college marks on their point-of-sale advertising, but not on any television advertisements. By expanding their marketing attention these companies could pave the way for bigger and better deals in the future.

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Review by Josh Ruffner in KIN 332 (Section 2)

This article is about how UPS and MillerCoors are teaming up with the NCAA creating large sponsorships. This will be a whole new market for both corporations. UPS came upon terms of agreement with about 70 schools and a few conferences a deal worth $25 million a year. The only other corporation with this widespread sponsorship is State Farm which took them about 25 years to partner up with more than 90 schools. UPS will also shoot to gain sponsorship with some of the championship games this season. MillerCoors deal is with about 23 schools. Their idea is to market their product with responsibility messaging from point of sale with college marks. MillerCoors is reaching out to college football in hopes to fill the void from the loss of the NFL partnership. The deal will be somewhere are the $10 million range annually. MillerCoors will have to be careful promoting on college campuses where beer advertising can be sensitive because of underage drinking. UPS and MillerCoors are two of the biggest when it comes to sports marketing and we will see how they fair this coming season.

I think that this is a good idea for both corporations to dive into a new market. I think MillerCoors is doing a great thing by creating a grant program towards campus programs that create awareness about alcohol responsibility. I think they will do well in collegiate athletics because it is such a broad market as fans are more than just students. These large sponsorships are good for collegiate athletics and large corporations. It is going to allow the corporations to promote their product through a whole new market impacting a lot of viewers.