Coors Brewing boosted its sports profile in a five-year sponsorship deal with NASCAR, making Coors Light the racing circuit’s official beer starting in the 2008 season.
Coors Light supplants Budweiser as NASCAR’s official beer for $20 million a year, according to a source. Coors outbid Anheuser-Busch, which had held the exclusive sponsorship since its inception in 1999. Coors declined comment on the respective bids or the value of the deal.
“We think they’re going to do some interesting things in our sport that will help our sport and our fan base,” said NASCAR spokesman Andrew Giangula.
He said that Coors’ NFL sponsorship has demonstrated that “the company is very adept at marketing against a league position.”
The deal gives Coors Light exclusive rights to NASCAR logos in ads, packaging and promotions. Coors indicated it planned to conduct both distributor and consumer promotions, including providing fans personal NASCAR experiences.
No details were available about Coors’ plans around next year’s NASCAR events.
“This partnership allows us to deliver exciting and relevant programs to our distributors and retailers,” said Andy England, Coors chief marketing officer, in a statement.
Coors also outmaneuvered Anheuser-Busch when it signed a $240 million, four-year NFL deal in 2002. It renewed that sponsorship in 2005 in a five-year pact valued at $500 million.
Coors also has team sponsorships with the Patriots, Jets, Raiders, Steelers and Broncos. Anheuser-Busch has deals with 28 NFL teams.
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