inside the deal

Priceline.com Signs As Corporate Partner And Official Travel Provider Of Major League Soccer

The Deal:

Priceline.com signs as corporate partner and official travel provider of Major League Soccer.

Length/estimated value: One year, May through April/$750,000 in cash and services.

Deal Makers:

Paul Breitenbach, Priceline.com senior vice president for marketing; Randy Bernstein, Major League Soccer chief marketing officer; Kathryn Carter, MLS vice president for corporate marketing; Ben Ross, MLS manager of business development.

Key Elements:

Priceline.com signs appear within camera and spectator view of the playing fields, on field boards and clock wraps in all 12 Major League Soccer markets.

Priceline.com gets one 3-foot-by-20-foot board sign at all MLS games, except in Los Angeles and New York, where it gets two signs. During a typical 90-minute game telecast, the signs can produce three to seven minutes of television exposure.

The package also includes TV spots on MLS broadcasters ABC and ESPN.

Major League Soccer reduces its retail travel costs for the administrative staff and 12 teams through this cash-and-services deal.

MLS gains another corporate partner to join Kellogg Co., Mitre, Breathe Right, BestFoods, NAYA and TSI Soccer. Other MSL sponsors and suppliers include Adidas, PepsiCo, Budweiser, MasterCard International Inc. and Nike. The league claims commercial affiliations worth more than $100 million.

Background:

Priceline.com is a charter member of the new consumer age. The company owns a patented buyer-driven e-commerce system that enables consumers on the Web to dictate prices they're willing to pay for specific goods and services. That demand is then transmitted to merchants and manufacturers who try to meet the price and make the deal. Adios, middlemen.

The privately held company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., and has more than 100 employees. Priceline.com reported more than $20 million in sales in its first two quarters.

Major League Soccer is in its fourth season. Headquartered in New York City, it manages a national series of 12 teams playing 32 games, beginning March 20 and ending Nov. 21.

MLS is in the second year of a six-year TV package with ESPN televising a minimum of 50 games on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 this year.

Analysis:

Web-based companies such as Priceline.com have a big advantage over their brick-and-mortar counterparts in sports sign deals because the company name is the consumer contact information.

Soccer appeals to a youthful, international demographic likely to be computer savvy. Web-based companies can leap international borders with aplomb. Priceline.com's services may appeal just as much to Web surfers in Asbury Park as Argentina.

It costs less to do business with MLS than with the NFL because the mass exposure within the United States is lower and the NFL has a much deeper-rooted tradition as an organized sports entity and marketing partner. But that doesn't mean MLS can't deliver an attractive demographic group for a lower investment.

For any sports entity, the key to growth is using the promotional firepower of sponsors to push the sport's brand out into the consumer marketplace. MLS has a good array of sponsors in place. Priceline.com and MLS official sponsor Yahoo! will help lead the charge to Web-savvy soccer lovers. The fact that two Web-based companies are willing to share MLS is a sure sign the Internet is maturing as a commercial entity.