Bowl gets sponsor By aligning itself with ESPN, football, Christmas Day and Hawaii, ConAgra thinks it has found the right combination to raise its public profile as the title sponsor of the first Hawaii Bowl.
ConAgra hopes to raise
its public profile with
the sponsorshipStar-Bulletin staff
For years, ConAgra was the name behind the names, the ubiquitous corporate giant quietly behind food in freezers everywhere. But you had to read the fine print to know it. It was a company known in board rooms, not living rooms.
"We're a company that hasn't been talked about much," said Tim McMahon, senior vice president of corporate communications and marketing.
But he's hoping that is about to change.
"We are connecting what we hope and believe to be a long-term relationship with the state of Hawaii, with the people of Hawaii, and with this wonderful bowl opportunity that is featured on one of the grandest eating occasions on the calendar," McMahon said at yesterday's announcement.
The original deal is for three years at six figures per year, but McMahon stressed that ConAgra is thinking long term.
"We're looking, thinking of it as a relationship," he said. "We're thinking of it forever, if it could be."
ESPN Regional Television (ERT), which owns and operates the game, said it had found the right corporate partner. ERT Senior Vice President Pete Derzis noted that ConAgra is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is a Fortune 100 company, and did more than $27 billion in revenue last year.
"A company that when you go home this evening and open your refrigerator, your freezer, your pantry, you will realize how many of their products you and your families consume during the course of the year," Derzis said.
Hawaii's governor realized it immediately. "I couldn't help but notice the display that they had there, that ConAgra makes two products that I consumed much of when I was growing up," Gov. Ben Cayetano joked, noting his penchant for pork and beans and Vienna sausage.
Hawaii athletics director Hugh Yoshida said that at dinner the night before, the restaurant's host knew McMahon's company. "He says, 'ConAgra! That's where we get our meat from!' You know, the ribs, the steak and so forth."
This is the kind of recognition ConAgra is going for with its new sports campaign. It also partners with ESPN to sponsor the Big East basketball tournament, and when talks came up for the Hawaii Bowl, it jumped.
There will be signs and logos at the game itself, along with commercials and exposure on ESPN in all of its forms. The commercials on game day itself -- McMahon called them "vignettes" -- will have a particular theme.
"On that day we will celebrate the way people eat in America," McMahon said. "And that's what our company's about."
The bowl will feature teams from the Western Athletic Conference and Conference USA, though through a partnership agreement, the University of Hawaii is guaranteed a spot in the game if it is bowl-eligible. As host school, UH will provide game operations, marketing and management assistance for the Hawaii Bowl.
"Obviously, they know that we need to be in the bowl to make it the complete success," Hawaii coach June Jones said. "It'll be a success even, years to come, if we're not one of the teams in it. But they (ESPN and ConAgra) are rolling the dice and that means a lot to me."
ESPN Regional also markets or owns other sports events, including tournaments, bowl games and awards shows.
Kickoff for the Hawaii Bowl is set for 3 p.m. at Aloha Stadium. Hawaii season ticket holders will get special offers to buy tickets, Derzis said, and should expect mailings in a month or so.
