SMITHFIELD, Va. — Eckrich®, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage, and Georgia Bulldogs Sports Marketing have announced a two-year partnership for Eckrich to become the Official Smoked Sausage of the Georgia Bulldogs.
Eckrich and the Bulldogs will highlight the official partnership throughout the football season to inspire Bulldogs fans to tailgate or homegate with Eckrich smoked sausage. Eckrich will have a presence across Georgia’s social, digital, radio and TV platforms and will offer local consumers opportunities to win tickets to a select game throughout the season.
For the first time, Eckrich will host the $1 Million Challenge at Sanford Stadium as part of the brand’s Road to the National Championship sweepstakes. The feature game will take place on November 10th when Georgia will host the Auburn Tigers. Fans can visit www.EckrichFootball.com to register for their chance to go on-field and throw for one million dollars during a break in the game action.
“We are incredibly excited to be the Official Smoked Sausage of the Georgia Bulldogs,” said Mike Paribello, senior marketing director Smithfield Foods. “College Football is a deep-rooted passion for consumers across generations and brings friends and families together each and every Saturday to celebrate their favorite team around the foods they love. Eckrich is excited to be at the center of that celebration. The Bulldogs have an incredibly passionate fan base and we look forward to connecting Eckrich with Bulldogs students, alumni, fans and families in the coming season.”
“We are thrilled to have Eckrich as a partner for the next two years,” said Ryan Gribble, Chief Revenue Officer for Georgia Bulldogs Sports Marketing, the Bulldogs’ property rights holder. “Eckrich will be a hit with our fan base as we pride ourselves as being among the best game day tailgate atmospheres in the country and our fans will get together and fire up the grill any time the team takes the field.”
For more information about the brand’s season-long activities and Road to the National Championship sweepstakes, visit www.EckrichFootball.com. For more information about Eckrich, please visit www.Eckrich.com or follow Eckrich on Facebook and Twitter.
Eckrich is also the Official Smoked Sausage and Deli Meat Sponsor of The College Football Playoff (CFP).
*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. LEGAL RESIDENTS OF SPECIFIC STATES WITHIN THE 50 UNITED STATES (D.C.) WHO ARE THE AGE OF MAJORITY IN THEIR STATE OF RESIDENCE AT THE TIME OF ENTRY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Sweepstakes ends 12/20/18. For Official Rules, prize descriptions and odds disclosure, visit www.eckrichfootball.com. The $1,000,000 prize will be awarded as a 40-year annuity for which the winner will receive $25,000 annually for 40 years. Sponsor: Smithfield Packaged Meats Sales Corp., 4225 Naperville Rd., Lisle, IL 60532.
About Eckrich
Founded by Peter Eckrich in 1894, Eckrich has a rich heritage starting from a small meat market in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to one of the most recognized regional premium deli and meat brands on the market today. Through it all, Eckrich meats have been recognized for their great taste and supreme quality, craftsmanship, care, and pride. For more information, visit www.Eckrich.com. Eckrich is a brand of Smithfield Foods, Inc.
About Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods is a $15 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield®, Eckrich®, Nathan’s Famous®, Farmland®, Armour®, Farmer John®, Kretschmar®, John Morrell®, Cook’s®, Gwaltney®, Carando®, Margherita®, Curly’s®, Healthy Ones®, Morliny®, Krakus® and Berlinki®. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety, and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Georgia Bulldogs Sports Marketing
Georgia Bulldogs Sports Marketing, a joint venture between IMG College and JMI Sports, is the exclusive multimedia rights holder for the University of Georgia Athletic Association. Georgia Bulldogs Sports Marketing produces and markets a variety of sponsorship opportunities supporting UGA Athletics, including live radio coaches’ shows and radio broadcasts along the Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network; television coaches’ shows on local/regional television, advertisements in athletics publications; on the official athletics website (www.georgiadogs.com) and mobile app, signage and retail promotions at athletic events and oversight of intellectual property rights.
IMG College is the leading multimedia marketing and licensing/brand management company in America and represents more than 200 of the nation’s top collegiate properties including the NCAA and its 89 championships, most of the major conference and many of the nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities.
JMI Sports is a full-service collegiate marketing firm providing the highest quality management of athletics multimedia rights and breaking new ground in the creation of campus-wide sponsorship programs, maximizing the economic potential of universities. JMI Sports is also a highly regarded project manager for the development of collegiate and professional sports facilities.
About the College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 seed vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual. This season’s Playoff Semifinals will take place Saturday, December 29, 2018, at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and Capital One Orange Bowl. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, January 7, 2019, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Source: Smithfield Foods
