automotive

Mercedes: Deal Goes Way Beyond The Bleachers

As reported in Friday's edition of Marketing Daily, Mercedes-Benz U.S.A. has signed a 10-year deal that makes the luxury auto brand the Official and Exclusive vehicle of the New Orleans Saints, turning the stadium formerly known as the Louisiana Superdome into the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. We talked to the Montvale, N.J.-based company's VP of marketing, Steve Cannon, about this first-ever naming-rights deal both for Mercedes-Benz and for the Superdome itself.

Q: Steve, what's the story behind this deal? How did this get done?

A: This is a great story about a perfect opportunity: we went shopping for a stadium deal, which is not normally what we would shop. Tom Benson, who owns the New Orleans Saints, also happens to own two dealerships -- one in New Orleans and one in San Antonio. Just prior to coming to the big April dealers meeting, he had negotiated naming rights in his new lease at the Superdome. So this wasn't even out on the market.

advertisement

advertisement

This came up in a conversation he and I had there, and when we got back I started kind of skeptically looking at it -- could we afford it? Could we really make it happen? We knew it is one of the most iconic places in the U.S., but also that similar partnerships, like Citi Field [the Flushing, Queens, venue for the New York Mets], can be a $400 million deal.

However, when we dug into it and looked at all the things we wanted to accomplish, there was also an "x factor." We were not negotiating with a stranger, but with a partner. And he wanted this to happen both for the organization and for his legacy. So he was willing to do it for both parties. Normally, these deals are "let's extract as many dollars as we can." This wasn't one of those.

Q: Because of your association with Benson, did this happen pretty fast?

A: We did it in lightning speed. It went from a casual cocktail conversation to taking a look at it, getting it approved at the Stuttgart Auto Show, from approval to our national debut.

Q: When is that?

A: Our coming-out party, is [Oct.] 23, on a nationally televised game between the Saints and [Indianapolis] Colts.

Q: So how about the cost. How much did you spend?

A: I will say we got a phenomenal value package, one that I can stand in front of the dealer body and say this is unbelievable deal for the brand. It's like we are punching several weight classes above ours in terms of what our brand can do with this.

Q: New Orleans isn't exactly a top metro market. Are you concerned about that?

A: And you can say that, but this is about local, regional and national exposure. The Superdome is essentially brand new, totally refurbished, re-skinned and beautiful. It's essentially a new stadium. And there's a reason that it gets more than its share of national events. New Orleans has a geographically tight logistic line: you have lots of hotel capacity in a tight radius. So there's a reason why, in quick succession, we have the Super Bowl and Final Four and BCS (Bowl Championship Series) in two years.

Q: How does this deal align with Mercedes-Benz' sports-media plan?

A: We have a heavy media buy in the college Final Four, college division I and provisional football. So it's synergistic to what we are already doing. And the NFL is the 800-pound gorilla in the media world, so it's not just important for mass-market brands. The luxury brands are there: BMW, Lexus, Audi. But now we have an extra card with the Saints, which is a dominant team, a contender. There's at least half a dozen nationally televised games coming from the Superdome and all of the other national events beyond that. In 2013, we have a new platform of cars coming that represents a new price point. So this allows us to advertise to a large audience.

Q: How about New Orleans itself. Tell me about how Mercedes-Benz will associate with the city, since people are naturally going to draw that comparison anyway, not least because of the Super Dome's role in Katrina.

A: I look at New Orleans as a rejuvenation story. Americans love comeback stories. It's an archetypal story we love to hear. In this case, we go from the stadium as a symbol of the bad response to Katrina that led to national outrage, to this brand new stadium, the pride of New Orleans and a symbol for a city on the comeback. There is a lot to be done still and we are excited to be part of regeneration. We are going to be a local corporate citizen there. We have already begun planning our charitable initiatives for 2012, so this isn't just about slapping our logo everywhere.

Q: So what will Mercedes-Benz' presence on the ground look like?

A: Well, first, because we are associated with that most central icon of New Orleans, all the stories, in all of the televised content, all the lead-up that builds to that crescendo moment, we will be part of the fabric of that story.

Q: How about at the stadium?

A: There's Champions Square where everyone spends time five, six, seven, eight hours before the game. This is a mixed-use facility, where there will be bands, music, food ... and we will be all over that. The Mercedes-Benz brand will be inside the walkways, we will be in areas in and around the stadium. Our brand will be at each of the major entry points in 10-foot high letters, so it will be big, very prominent.

Q: Are you going to leverage this across the Mercedes-Benz dealership network?

A: Yes. We have all kinds of assets to use for sales contests, really interesting stuff. For example we might have a contest where the best sales guys can fly with the team on the team jet to away games, stay in the team hotel and, of course, go to the game.

Next story loading loading..