[absturgill]

When Liberty University convenes in the fall, it will have 9,600 students, 625 instructors, 53 academic programs and one official soft drink company.

Pepsi recently beat out Coke for LU’s chilled drink business.

http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Sate ... ws!archive

When I was at LU, Pepsi's were 90 cents now they are $1.25. How much when you all were there and was it coke or Pepsi

[Sly Fox]

Baylor serves nothing but Dr. Pepper and DP products since the big shots at that company are Baylor alumni.

I believe we were under the Coke banner back int he Late '80s, but I could be mistaken.

[Hold My Own]

I do know that Pepsi gave 1Million for half the time they gave it to us last contract

[PAmedic]

HMO you completely lost me on that one. You're saying that the contract is for the same amount but the time frame is only half as long?

And SLY is correct- Coke and LU signed a big contract in the late 80s, resulting in Coke products in all the dipensers and food establishments, and Coke signage around campus on scoreboards, etc.

I hate Pepsi

[Hold My Own]

I lost myself on that one....let me try again

I didnt have time to read that article but here's what I do know....the last contract they signed for a million was for something like 1M for 10 years...and this time it was 1M for 5yrs....half the time.....sorry

[PAmedic]

thats what I figured: here's the article from the fishwrap.

Coca-Cola loses to Pepsi at LU

Ron Brown
rbrown@newsadvance.com
February 19, 2006

When Liberty University convenes in the fall, it will have 9,600 students, 625 instructors, 53 academic programs and one official soft drink company.

Pepsi recently beat out Coke for LU’s chilled drink business.

It was a battle fought in the hardened trenches of financial reality and shows how important building a youthful customer base is to the soda giants.

“Both companies came in and spent two days with our executive team,” said S. Lee Beaumont, LU’s director of auxiliary services.

In the end, Pepsi was offering about $500,000 more than Coke in seeking exclusive rights to the university’s business, which Pepsi has controlled since 1996.

“Pepsi offered a $1 million advance then,” said Jerry Falwell Jr., LU’s vice chancellor. “Pepsi was given a 10-year exclusive contract.”

This year, that contract, five years this time, came up for renewal with both soft drink giants in a bidding war.

Pepsi won by offering the university commission on sales and cash guarantees that go to scholarships, marketing programs and the general fund.

It also offered a signing bonus and hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants over the five-year life of the contract.

“You’d be surprised how many products these companies have to offer,” Falwell said. “It’s not just soft drinks. It’s fruit juices, chilled coffee, energy drinks, sport drinks and bottled water.”

The new contract does not pay LU as large an up front amount as the expired contract, but the school does receive a hefty commission on each bottle sold.

School officials believe the university will make substantially more money this time around because of the university’s booming growth.

The number of students enrolled has doubled since the original Pepsi contract was negotiated 10 years ago. The school’s on-campus enrollment could top the 10,000-student mark by fall 2007.

Each year, school officials expect to sell an estimated 230,400 20-ounce bottles of chilled beverages at $1.25 cents a pop.

The school also gets a share of the profit on soft drink sales from sporting events and other activities. The price of a fountain drink at concerts and sporting events is typically $1.50.

Sodexho, the school’s food service, must offer Pepsi products in the school’s dining halls as part of the exclusive contract.

“Coke didn’t think it could match Pepsi’s deal and remain profitable,” Falwell said.

The contract means that Pepsi will control the chilled drink offerings in 16 different venues on the LU campus.

The school’s campus has added the university’s law school, the new LaHaye Ice Center and Liberty Christian Academy to its facilities in just the past 18 months. Thomas Road Baptist Church and its 24,000 members are expected to move to the new campus facility in July.

LU is currently in the process of constructing five new dormitories for next year. Those dorms will also have Pepsi machines.

“Pepsi gave us a good product mix,” Falwell said.

The company will assess each building’s specific beverage needs and stock the estimated 80 vending machines accordingly. For instance, women’s dorms may carry a larger offering of diet drinks.

Pepsi also provides Gatorade, which is the drink preferred by the school’s athletes.

“That played a part in our decision,” Beaumont said.

Beaumont said a survey of students found them equally divided in the Pepsi versus Coke debate.

Consumer loyalty to Pepsi-controlled Mountain Dew - and several hundred thousand dollars in cash - helped tip the scales.

“We wanted everyone who had a dog in this fight to have their say,” Beaumont said.

[bigsmooth]

good choice. i did not know how competitive the soft drink market for schools could be.