Pop-Tarts extended its sponsorship of the Pop-Tarts Bowl in the wake of last year’s game, but not at a price that factored in the viral success of the event’s postgame celebration. The toaster party brand, which is owned by Kellanova (NYSE: K), was on a one-year deal last December when its “edible” mascot stunt took off across the internet, Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan said on the most recent Sporticast podcast. The marketing stunt’s popularity, which surprised even the game’s top executive, led to a surge in Pop-Tarts sales and has set a new standard for how non-playoff bowl games can differentiate themselves in a crowded market. Though Pop-Tarts was interested in extending the partnership moving forward, there wasn’t much of a negotiation, Hogan said. The company had a pre-priced option for two more years and exercised the extension earlier in 2024. “We did not get another bite at the negotiating apple,” Hogan said. “But look, you have up years and down years, and we always take the long view of these things. And the fact that it worked for them was a huge payoff for us. It made it a little easier to say, ‘Hey what do you think? Want to do Year 2 and Year 3?’ It could have gone the other way and we’d be out there looking for another title [sponsor] right now.” The bowl and its sponsor are already building off last year’s success. Ahead of the Dec. 28 matchup between No. 18 Iowa State and No. 13 Miami, the game unveiled a new trophy with a built-in Pop-Tarts toaster. In the first few days after the announcement, the social media post unveiling the trophy received 3.5 million views and more than 2,200 retweets. There were more than 275 print and digital articles written about the trophy, according to Apex Marketing Group, and the total media coverage garnered nearly $1.5 million in exposure. Florida Citrus Sports organizes the Pop-Tarts Bowl and the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, both played at 60,000-seat Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. (Cheez-It is another Kellanova brand). The group also operates the stadium, has other invitationals, and manages tours for European soccer teams. Though the group’s full scale is represented by a number of different nonprofit businesses, its Florida Citrus Sports Events Inc., which manages the college football games, reported $17.2 million in revenue in the year ended March 2023, and $1.56 million in sponsorships. It’s not broken out by game or by company, and the numbers from the fiscal year that includes the 2023 Pop-Tarts Bowl are not available. And while naming rights are one of the most valuable assets that a bowl can sell, Hogan said there’s also volatility in the market and a danger of not having one. “You talk about risk, you risk being naked, if you will, [without] a title sponsor in some given years,” he said. “So if they don’t renew and you can’t replace—or can’t replace at the same dollar amount—that stings a little bit.” Also in the podcast, Hogan talks about how teams are compensated for playing in the Pop-Tarts and Cheez-It Citrus Bowls, what goes into the bowls getting priority to invite better teams, the rest of the Florida Citrus Sports business, and how he thinks about the fine line between viral marketing success and desperate marketing gimmick.