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Sponsorship Proposal

PRT 466—Fall 2015

Brendan Neville

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October 27, 2015

Muhtar Kent Chief Executive Officer The Coca-Cola Company 1 Coca Cola Plaza Atlanta, GA 30301 Dear Mr. Kent, USRowing would like to invite the Coca-Cola Company to be a corporate sponsor of our company and our Regattas hosted throughout the United States. USRowing is the national governing body of the sport of rowing in the United States that operates with the goals of serving the sport of rowing in a safe manner to rowers of all ages and levels of competition. Attached is a sponsorship proposal that outlines the opportunities and benefits for your company that can come from partnering with USRowing; these benefits include, increased positive brand image associated with Coca-Cola, increased brand visibility that comes with being part of our events, and increased sales opportunities. USRowing is very excited to explore the opportunities and mutual benefit that can come from a potential relationship with Coca-Cola. We hope to create a lasting relationship with your company that will stand the test of time and open up new doors to both of our companies. With hundreds of USRowing regattas happening across the country every year, we will have many opportunities to provide benefit to your company through this proposed partnership. After reviewing your company and its missions and values, we have constructed this proposal which we believe will provide extensive mutual benefits to both organizations. We look forward to discussing these opportunities with you further. Sincerely, Kirsten Spittel Partnership Marketing Manager

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USRowing Overview USRowing is a nonprofit organization that operates as the national governing body of the sport of rowing in the United States. USRowing serves and promotes rowing on all levels of competition and is made up of 1,200 member organizations and over 75,000 individual members. USRowing is also responsible for selecting, training, and managing the athletes and teams that represent the United States in international competition. USRowing registers more than 185 regattas across the country each year, ensuring they are run under specific safety guidelines. The association also provides programs to educate referees and coaches. USRowing is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the International Rowing Federation.

Brief History

1872: Was founded as the National Association for Amateur Oarsmen and became the first national governing body for a sport in the United States.

1920-1956: The USA won a gold medal in the men’s eight at every Olympic Games.

1982: Merged with the National Women’s Rowing Association to form the United States Rowing Association.

1994: Indianapolis becomes only U.S. city to host a world rowing championship.

2013: At the World Rowing Championships the U.S. women's eight won gold and extended its streak of eight consecutive world or Olympic titles.

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US Rowing Events Overview There are over 185 regattas run through USRowing every year. These regattas draw thousands of participants and spectators. These regattas vary in race distance, 5,000 meters in the fall and 2,000 meters in the spring and all have various events which are broken up by boat type, age group, gender, and level of competition. Regattas happen all over the country and the largest ones have participants that will travel hundreds of miles just to compete.

Venues USRowing runs regattas happen all over the country in hundreds of different cities. Large regattas such as the Head of the Charles in Boston or Head of the Hooch in Chattanooga will have thousands of spectators come out to watch the races which usually last over the course of two days. Vendors will set up along the race course selling food, rowing gear, apparel, and more to participants and spectators.

Spectators and vendors lined up

along the bank of the Charles

River to watch the 2014 Head of

the Charles Regatta.

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Audience/Participant Profile Rowing has a wide base of participant ages and demographics. In 2008, 75% of all rowing participants competed in the Masters category which is comprised of rowers over the age of 25, 20% of rowing participants were collegiate athletes, with the final 5% being made up of junior athletes between the ages of 13 and 18. 30% of all rowers earn over $100,000 annually, with the average annual Masters income being $105,200; 60% higher than the U.S. national average. The 2012 Head of the Charles Regatta had over 300,000 spectators. Of these 300,000 70% of them had at least an undergraduate degree.

Rowing Participation Age Breakdown

Masters

Collegiate

Junior

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Media Coverage Many USRowing sanctioned regattas live stream their event on their website free of charge, giving viewing access to millions at just the touch of a button. These regattas also run their own social media pages, giving instantaneous updates of their events to the cyber world. Row2k.com writes articles and posts photo galleries containing hundreds of pictures to their website the day after USRowing regattas.

One of USRowing’s largest events, the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta receives television coverage for each of its grand finals events on Philadelphia’s ABC affiliate as well as additional nationwide coverage on ESPN 3. The Dad Vail Regatta is the largest collegiate only regatta in the country and the national exposure it gets is a great opportunity for sponsors to increase brand image and awareness.

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Past Event Success

Head of the Hooch

One of the largest regattas in the world o Over 9,000 seats rowed over the two day competition o Over 200 competing clubs coming from 27 different states and 12 different

countries o 1,200 boats race on the regatta’s first day, more in one day than any other

regatta worldwide o More than 15,000 spectators each year

Receives regional and local TV, print media, and radio coverage Head of the Charles Regatta

Largest regatta in the world o 9,000 athletes from 20 countries o 1,500 volunteers o Over 300,000 spectators

Generates $47 million per year to local Boston businesses

Receives extensive media coverage and live streams races on its website Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta

Largest collegiate regatta in the United States o 120 competing schools o Over 3,700 competing athletes o Over 10,000 spectators

Television coverage from both ABC and ESPN 3 These are just a few of the hundreds of regattas overseen by USRowing across the country every year. Through participants, spectators, and media coverage these regattas reach hundreds of thousands of people each year. We believe that these events would be a great opportunity for Coca-Cola to expand its reach even further while increasing brand image and awareness.

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Brand Alignment and Compatibility

Dedication to our Nation’s Athletes One of USRowing’s main purposes is to select, train, and manage the teams and athletes that compete and represent our country on the international stage. USRowing’s goal is to put its athletes in a position where they can be successful while representing their nation. Coca-Cola has been a sponsor of every Olympic Games since 1928, and has shown its dedication to those athletes that represent their country. Coca-Cola has already established a relationship with many rowers through it partnership with the Olympics, and a partnership with USRowing would give Coca-Cola the opportunity to grow their relationship with the rowing community, reaching more rowers in a more direct way.

Target Market One thing that makes Coca-Cola such a unique and successful country is how extensive its target market is. One of the core values of Coca-Cola is diversity; Coca-Cola states that it “wants to be as inclusive as our brands.” With its wide array of products, Coca-Cola has a product for everyone. Whether it is classic Coca-Cola, Diet, Coke, Coke Zero, Vitamin Water, PowerAde, Dasani Water, or another one of Coke’s numerous products, anyone can find a Coca-Cola product for them regardless of age or gender. Like Coca-Cola, USRowing also has a very wide target market consisting of both men and women competitors from the ages of 13 all the way into their seventies and eighties, with an even more diverse age spread coming from its spectators. Coca-Cola has a diverse range of demographics that it targets its products towards, and a partnership with USRowing can help them reach all of these markets.

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Mission One of Coca-Cola’s primary missions is to inspire moments of optimism and happiness. This is a mission that USRowing can get behind. The mission of USRowing is to serve the sport of rowing and create opportunities for rowers to compete in the sport they love. In this sense, you can say that like Coca-Cola, USRowing is in the business of creating happiness. As any rower can tell you, there is no better feeling that competing in a sport that you love so much. The memories that are created at USRowing regattas are ones that stick with the competitors for the rest of their lives. By partnering with USRowing, Coca-Cola can become an integral part of spreading the happiness that is created for competitors and spectators at USRowing regattas.

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Sponsorship Package Signage at USRowing Events

Signage for Coca-Cola will be put up at all USRowing regattas.

Signage will also be put up along the sides of the race courses, leading to media exposure during live streams of races.

These signs will lead to increased brand awareness and visibility at USRowing events.

Vendor Opportunities

One of the most popular parts of any regatta is the vendors that are set up by the race course.

We allow Coca-Cola to set up vendor tents, where Coke products can be sold and new products can be sampled by event participants and spectators. These sites can also be used to pass out coupons or other promotional material related to Coca-Cola. These will lead to increased brand awareness, brand image, and sales opportunities.

We will also set up Coca-Cola vending machines throughout the race sites, leading to increased sales for Coca-Cola.

As Coca-Cola will be the official beverage provider of USRowing, all food vendors at USRowing events will serve Coke products giving Coca-Cola another chance to increase their sales.

Web Visibility

USRowing will recognize Coca-Cola as an official sponsor on its website.

All official sponsors have their logo on the website, in addition to a page where USRowing mentions the mission of each of its sponsors, as well as a direct link to the sponsor’s website.

This recognition for Coca-Cola will lead to increased brand visibility as well as awareness of Coca-Cola’s mission, and increased web traffic to the Coca-Cola website.

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Total Sponsorship Value: $500,000 Actual Sponsor Investment: $450,000

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Impact Measurement Sales Performance

We will measure the amount of revenue generated at each regatta for Coca-Cola through vendor sales, vending machine sales, and Coca-Cola beverage sales of other food vendors.

We can track nationwide Coca-Cola sales the weeks immediately following a large regatta and note any increase in sales.

Track sales of specific products that were specially promoted at a recent USRowing regatta, noting if the regatta and the promotion it provided led to an increase in sales for that product.

Web Traffic

Use a program such as Google Alerts to monitor how often users are searching Coca-Cola.

Monitor the amount of traffic to the Coca-Cola website via the direct links from the USRowing website.

Monitor web traffic patterns in the area of large regattas before, during, and after the event and see if the regatta led to an increase in web traffic or searches for Coca-Cola.

Participant Surveys

Every year, participants are required to fill out a USRowing waiver and questionnaire before they compete in any USRowing regattas.

We will tailor part of the questionnaire to ask questions about the participant’s perceptions and relationship with Coca-Cola and its products.

Through this questionnaire we can find out if participants have a positive image of the Coca-Cola brand, if they consistently buy Coca-Cola products, to what effect they’ve noticed Coca-Cola’s presence at USRowing regattas, and if Coca-Cola’s partnership with USRowing has had any effect on the participants perceptions of them.