Prestone Warms Up NFL Promos; SFX Shapes Up Its Jocks at UPMC - Prestone Products Corp - National Football League - SFX Sports Group - University of Pittsburgh Medical Center - Brief Article

Brandweek, Feb 19, 2001 by Hilary Cassidy

Prestone is on board as a new NFL promotional partner. The antifreeze maker will put $10 million, double its previous marketing spend, toward a supporting campaign that will see NFL marks on every gallon it sells and a TV-backed on-pack sweepstakes.

After mailing in entries--the grand prize is a trip to Super Bowl XXXVI--respondents will receive a bounceback coupon good toward purchase of designated NFL licensed product.

The promo and advertising will run from Labor Day through next January's Super Bowl, when 75% of antifreeze purchases are made. Under the two-year deal, Prestone also will do some local promos with NFL teams in cold-weather markets.

"There's a great association between sports and the business we compete in," said Brian Holliday, vp-Prestone brand, noting that his targeted "do-it-yourselfer" consumer, his trade market and his sales force all have an affinity for sports.

"It's an opportunity to own the fall," said Holliday. "The promotion, synched up with our advertising, is a great reason for retailers to get behind antifreeze, stack it out."

McCann-Erickson, Detroit, handles ad responsibilities. Mill-sport, Stamford, Conn., assists with marketing and promotion.

In an unusual effort to raise its national profile and brand itself as the go-to facility for sports medicine, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has partnered with sports marketing and management firm SFX for a pre-NFL "Combine" tryout program for nine of SFX's top draft prospects.

Athletes participating in the program have access to UPMC's new $30 million sports facility.

Those digs include indoor and outdoor sports fields, rehab areas and training labs, and a staff with expertise in nutrition, orthopedics, physical therapy, conditioning and sports medicine. As a bonus, special media training sessions are also offered. Upon arrival, each player receives a physical and diagnostic work-up, whose methodology can identify existing as well as potential problems.

"The idea of preventative medicine, seeing if there's areas of weakness in different joints, and creating programs to improve--that's meaningful to a guy preparing for a short window in the NFL," said Bud Martin, vp-SFX Sports Group.

UPMC hopes the world-class athletes who utilize its facilities will spread the word to their teams or tours, generating buzz and business. Besides its football players, SFX sends other athlete clients to the medical center as well.

"We are looking to be more national in scope and, while we view ourselves as the Mayo Clinic for sports medicine, we want everyone else to know," said Tony Detre, UPMC vp-business development.

FCB is expanding its 4-year-old sports marketing practice, now based in San Francisco, to New York. The new unit, offering consulting services on sports sponsorship programs, will be led by former SFX-er Brian Mieth, who will report to Keith Bruce, FCB Worldwide svp/dir of sports marketing.

"As New York is the sports industry hub, we need to have a presence there," said Bruce. "It's a terrific office to launch a division [in] because of the client base and the existing level of work we're doing with their clients now."

Initial N.Y. clients are MLB, Avaya and J.P Morgan Chase. FCB's sports marketing practice in San Francisco, with $100 million in sponsorship billings, includes Microsoft's WebTV, Palm, Dockers, Fox Sports and AT&T Wireless.

The growth in the sports area fits FCB's strategy of being an "everything under one roof" agency.

"Our job is to help clients define and express their brands, and sports marketing helps us continue that expression," said Jeff Tarakajian, CEO/president, FCB, N.Y.

NFL licensing chief Chuck Zona, 51, will exit the league this spring. Zona, financially comfortable after stints at Nautica, Salant and Lord & Taylor, has no immediate plans to take another job. Industry sources project his replacement will be Mark Holzman, a one-time Reebok marketer who has headed club services at the NFL and was involved in the league's recent negotiations giving Reebok exclusive on-field rights.