MORRISTOWN, NJ – Alka-Seltzer Plus® cold medicine will help keep athletes on the slopes this winter season as part of a two-year deal to be the official cold medicine of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), the parent organization of the U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding, Bayer HealthCare, the makers of Alka-Seltzer Plus (BHC) announced.
“We are thrilled to partner with the U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding,” said Jay Kolpon, Vice President Marketing and New Business Development, Bayer HealthCare. “These athletes perform under extremely challenging conditions where speed and reliability are a must. Alka-Seltzer Plus understands that people suffer from cold and flu symptoms that can hold them back from being their best. Our products are designed to help people, even world-class athletes, win against the winter cold.”
Alka-Seltzer Plus plans to activate an integrated marketing program over the next two years through its advertising agency BBDO and its sports marketing agency Paragon Marketing Group. The program, entitled “Win Against the Winter Cold”, will include national promotions and U.S. Ski Team branded commercials. This cold season, the promotion will feature alpine skiing overall World Cup champion Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) and nordic combined World Championships silver medalist Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY). Both Olympic athletes also have individual endorsements with Alka-Seltzer Plus.
“Having Alka-Seltzer Plus on our team is a natural fit,” said Ted Morris, USSA Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Our athletes and coaches have to be at the top of their game and a cold shouldn’t slow them down. We’re excited about our partnership with Alka-Seltzer Plus and how we can all win together this winter and on the road to Vancouver.”
As part of the partnership, the Alka-Seltzer Plus logo will be on U.S. Ski Team uniforms seen around the world. The brand plans to interact with winter sports fans through sampling booths at more than 15 domestic U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding competitions. Alka-Seltzer Plus® is also an associate sponsor of four elite events: Alpine races in Colorado, Aspen Winternational Women’s World Cup (Thanksgiving weekend) at which Vonn was fourth in a giant slalom and slalom, Visa Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort in Utah (Jan. 29-31) and the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships (March 26-31) as well as the Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships (Mar. 26-29). All events will be televised on NBC, Versus and Universal Sports.
Alka-Seltzer Plus®, available in effervescent tablets, liquid and liquid-gels, has formulas which provide relief from multiple cold symptoms, including nasal congestion, sneezing, coughing and all-over body aches. The brand recently reformulated several of the effervescent formulas so that they now contain even more pain relieving power. In addition, the brand introduced a Mucus and Congestion formula to its liquid-gel to their line.
About Bayer HealthCare
The Consumer Care Division of Bayer HealthCare LLC, is headquartered in Morristown, N.J. Bayer’s Consumer Care Division is among the largest marketers of over-the-counter medications and nutritional supplements in the world. Some of the most trusted and recognizable brands in the world today come from the Bayer portfolio of products. These include Bayer® Aspirin, Aleve®, Alka-Seltzer Plus®, Bactine®, Citracal®, RID®, Phillips’® Milk of Magnesia, Midol®, Alka-Seltzer®, One A Day ® and Flintstones™ vitamins.
The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subsidiary of Bayer AG, is one of the world’s leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Diabetes Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. The pharmaceuticals business operates under the name Bayer Schering Pharma AG. Bayer HealthCare’s aim is to discover and manufacture products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Find more information at www.bayerhealthcare.com.
About the U. S. Ski & Snowboard Association
The U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding are governed by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, the national governing body for Olympic skiing and snowboarding. The century old organization manages year-round nationwide development and elite programs, including the national teams, in six distinctly different Olympic sports: alpine, cross country, freestyle, nordic combined, ski jumping and snowboarding, as well as two Paralympic sports – adaptive alpine and adaptive cross country. USSA is based in Park City, Utah. For more information about the Teams, visit www.usskiteam.com or www.ussnowboarding.com
Source: USSA
