NFL partners like Frito-Lay, Oakley, TurboTax and Verizon are looking ahead to a football season that will be very different than normal.
In a year where sports and major live events have been cancelled, delayed or otherwise disrupted, marketers have had fewer opportunities to catch the eyeballs of consumers all watching the same thing at the same time, making the return of football an even bigger moment than normal.
With fewer or no fans in seats at the stadiums, major marketers are getting creative when it comes to reaching fans that may be at home on the couch instead of interacting with the brand at a game.Frito-Lay's "Twas the Night Before Kickoff" spot.that features fans and players lip syncing to Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now:" "Everyone, everywhere is so unbelievably, indescribably, power-ballad-singingly ready for some football." It's certainly singing true for major marketers and sponsors of the NFL. In a year where sports and major live events have been canceled, delayed or otherwise disrupted, marketers have had fewer opportunities to catch the eyeballs of consumers all watching the same thing at the same time. Thursday evening will bring the league's return in a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans.in seats at the stadiums, major marketers are getting creative when it comes to reaching fans that may be at home on the couch instead of interacting with a brand at a game. Others are shifting investment into the areas that make the most sense given the new reality."America is looking, I think, for a sense of normalcy," said Rachel Ferdinando, North America chief marketing officer at Frito-Lay, which echoes the sentiment in a new "Twas the Night Before Kickoff" spot. "The country's really yearning to come together over these kinds of big sporting events… We think that feeling is going to be so much more dialed up this year, if you look particularly at TV viewership of the return of other live sports.""I really think it's a moment of opportunity," said David Abrutyn, a partner at sports investment and management company Bruin Sports Capital. Despite the realities of today, he said, "One fact remains true: The NFL as a marketing platform is as good as it gets." "The marketing platform is still there," he said. "Now, it's incumbent on the marketing community to creatively find ways to connect with audiences."Major marketers in the days ahead will be trying out ways of making football fans feel part of the action even while quarantined at home.
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