Coca-Cola’s relationship with the NCAA goes back more than half a century, as Katie Miller, Coke’s group director of sports, entertainment and community marketing mentioned during a panel discussion on the two brand’s partnership at the PromaxBDA Sports Media Marketing Summit in New York on Tuesday. The buy back in 1950 was for a TV ad.

Although times have most certainly changed and it’s not just TV buys anymore, the relationship between the two brands remains as strong as ever. Coke pays approximately $50 million yearly for extensive rights to NCAA properties, including the Final Four, according to reports.

“[It’s a] seamless partnership on every level, at least that’s what they told me to say,” joked TBS President David Levy as he introduced a panel of executives from Coke, TBS, CBS and the NCAA.

A champion level sponsor of the NCAA since 2002, Coke executives discussed the importance of re-defining how the company engages with consumers surrounding large scale events such as the Final Four. Earlier this year, Coke Zero presented the Bracket Town Fan Festival at the Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center during the Final Four.

The Coke Zero Countdown Concert, in partnership with Turner Live Events and the NCAA, was a free concert in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park on the day of the first Final Four matchups.

The campaign also featured a three-on-three basketball tournament hosted by Coke-owned Powerade. Turner Broadcasting and Coke also came together to bring late-night funnyman Conan O’Brien’s show to Atlanta for the “Funny Four.”

“Coke has absolutely pushed us in the direction of engaging with the fan wherever, whenever we can,” said CBS sales and marketing SVP Chris Simko. “Every year we’re changing it up. That’s what’s great about a multi-year partnership like this.”

NCAA EVP of Championships and Alliances Mark Lewis spoke about Coke’s ability to connect with the passion of the NCAA’s fan base.

“We at the NCAA don’t speak to those people every day, but you do.” Lewis also wasn’t above having a bit of fun at the expense of the at-times maligned NCAA. When speaking about the association’s involvement in interactive marketing efforts he said: “We for the most part just stayed out of the way. The NCAA has an amazing ability to screw up almost everything,” drawing plenty of laughs from the crowd.

Simko says Coke was instrumental in helping to build out the March Madness Social Arena, which was hugely successful this past spring. The feature allowed fans to follow tournament tweets, engage in fan chats and watch games.

“Social Arena allows you to interact with social media and Facebook,” says TBS SVP of NCAA and branded programming Will Funk. “Users spent 11 million hours on social media. That’s something we didn’t have as a result of the March Madness Live platform,” he said, adding that Coke was vital to developing the idea.

Miller discussed what continues to make the partnership work, advice that any sports media exec would be wise to heed: “We have really rich debate [between all parties]. It’s just about being able to be honest while being very bullish and clear about what your objectives are.”

Caption: Sharon J. Byers, SVP of sports and entertainment marketing for Coca-Cola North America moderates the panel on “Partnership, Powerful Ideas and Passion: How Coca-Cola Drove Their Biggest Activation and Redefined Entertainment Marketing.”

[Image courtesy of PromaxBDA]

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