Pro Sports in Pepsi's Court with NBA Deal

PepsiCo signed a five-year corporate sponsorship deal in April with the National Basketball Association, replacing the Coca-Cola Co.-which had a 29-year sponsorship relationship with the NBA- and securing food and beverage sponsorships for all four major North American professional sports. Even though Pepsi’s Gatorade has been the long-standing official sports nutrition drink of the NBA, Coca-Cola has been the primary marketing partner since 1986. The real question is: How will Pepsi capitalize on this new opportunity and the challenge to establish itself as the food and beverage brand consumed around, and associated with, major league sports?

This article addresses the current importance of adopting advertising strategies involving content marketing to reach millennial consumers and fans, especially now that more than 80 million Americans belong to the millennial demographic.