In Depth | Sep 19, 2016
A-B InBev closes in on PepsiCo for top U.S. sponsor, as beverage category continues to dominate.
A record number of companies—21—joined the list of biggest U.S. sponsors in 2015, bringing the total number spending more than $15 million to 122, according to IEG’s annual spending analysis.
The top four sponsors remained in the same order as 2014, but a second consecutive big boost in spending—led by a renewal and fee increase for its NFL deal—saw number two Anheuser-Busch InBev almost equal perennial number one PepsiCo, Inc. and open a sizable gap between itself and the third largest sponsor, The Coca-Cola Co.
Last year’s number five sponsor General Motors Co. fell to number nine after dropping its NFL sponsorship—one spot below rival Ford Motor Co.
Unlike the past two years, when none of the companies at the top of the chart decreased spending, four of 2014’s top 20 sponsors cut their budgets in 2015: Coke, GM, Sprint Corp. and United Parcel Service.
While Sprint’s spending trim was minor, the other three saw eight-figure declines, primarily due to GM letting go of the NFL, Coke exiting from American Idol, and UPS—which fell from number 18 to number 32, dropping its longtime primary sponsorship with the Roush Fenway Racing NASCAR team.
Moving in the other direction, sponsors with the biggest increases in spending in 2015 were A-B InBev; Adidas North America, Inc.; and Hyundai Motor America. While league sponsorships with the NFL accounted for most of A-B and Hyundai’s increases, bigger commitments to its college and university athletics deals drove Adidas’ spending—moving the company past Ford into the number seven position. Hyundai’s official NFL sponsorship saw the company jump from number 58 in 2014 to number 15 in 2015.
As it was in 2014, the 11 biggest spenders of 2015 belong to just four categories—beverage, auto, sport apparel and telecommunications. Categories with the most companies represented among the 122 biggest sponsors: auto (11 companies); beverage (10 companies, up from seven in 2014 with the addition of Heineken USA, Monster Beverage Corp. and Bacardi U.S.A., Inc.); and bank (nine companies).
Six companies on the 2014 list did not make it in 2015: The Home Depot, Inc.; Time Warner Inc.; Hewlett-Packard Co.; Panasonic Corp. of North America; General Mills, Inc.; and Menard, Inc.
Home Depot, the highest ranked 2014 sponsor (number 55) to fall off the list ended its primary sponsorship with the Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR team. Time Warner was replaced in the rankings by Charter Communications, Inc., the company that acquired Time Warner Cable and its sponsorships. Hewlett-Packard’s sponsorships are now split between its two successor companies—Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Inc.—with neither spending more than $15 million in 2015.
The spending estimates for the companies on the list reflect amounts spent on sponsorship fees of U.S. properties and the portion of spending on international properties that is directed to the U.S. market.
Top U.S. Sponsors: Companies Spending More Than $15 Million
All by Company All by Category
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