Advertising in the NFL

As an avid watcher of the NFL, I have recently realized that not only are they one of the most successful companies in the world, but they have done an amazing job creating value around their league and what their league advertises. Football is a mainstay in the United States, and even with the disturbing acts of abuse and violence by players, I never see that changing. The NFL has built up a company that generates billions of dollars through viewership and advertisements as well. Companies pay top dollar to get airtime during an NFL broadcast, and will even pay millions of dollars to secure a 30-second time slot for the Super Bowl. Seemingly everyone in this country has some interaction with either the league itself or one of its many corporate sponsors. Comcast, Visa, Verizon, Gatorade, Microsoft, and Coca-Cola are just some of the companies that sponsor the league; showing the amount of reach and power the NFL truly has over the marketing world. On Sundays, millions of North Americans' eyes are glued to the screen watching football, a market that every company is eager to capture. The commercials that air during football games seem to have a similar formula, you like watching football and we have some way to enhance your viewership. Visa promotes the opportunities the company offers for a person to watch their favorite teams play all over the country. Gatorade sponsors specific superstars in the league, suggesting that kids can grow up to be like their favorite players as long as they drink their sugar-laden product.  Microsoft boasts that they are improving the NFL because they are introducing more and more technology to the league.

Even stadiums themselves are owned by companies: the New England Patriots play in Gillette Stadium, the San Francisco 49ers play in Levi's Stadium, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play in Raymond James Stadium. These are just three examples because it would tedious and repetitive to list off all 32 stadiums of the NFL. The experience of going to these stadiums is similar to sitting at home watching the game, you are constantly being forced to look at advertisements in the stadium, and all the advertisements are centered around football. The NFL is essentially a monopoly that will never topple because too many people like watching football, and too many important companies have invested too much money in sponsorships. Basically, the NFL is too big to fail because it has tremendous value to stakeholders, even if there are instances where the players are seen doing horrendous acts. Roger Goodell, commissioner of the NFL, has the best job security in the nation right now because he heads a billion dollar industry.

                                                             Goodell probably thinking about all of his money

Change of Season, Change of Strategy

  As the season changes from summer to fall, there is a noticeable difference in the products being marketed and to whom they are being marketed. Watching television now, you do not see stores trying to market their products in beach settings, rather you see people wearing warmer clothing outside in the autumn leaves. Car companies have also changed their methods, showing their products driving down a street with lots of foliage, taking the family to go pumpkin picking; whereas just a month ago the car would be packed up and ready for the family to make a trip to the beach.

  The need to stay fresh in the marketing world has become overly transparent because products that are not marketed in a way that is relevant to the person will not demonstrate any value. For instance, advertisements for seasonal products need to be aware of the upcoming season because if they run an advertisement for the winter too long, their target market will deem the ad irrelevant and most likely not buy their products. Looking around many retail stores such as Christmas Tree Shop and Wal-Mart, you will see mostly fall and Halloween themed items placed close to the entrances of the store. The summer items have either been taken off the shelves or hidden in the back of the store because it is not very likely a customer will come into the store looking for a pool toy anymore. Relevancy is key in marketing and the most relevant strategy for marketing firms is to know who you are trying to sell your product to, and what they are looking for in a product. What the customer is looking for usually revolves around the seasons, because the change in weather dictates what kinds of activities people are doing.

                                               A Mitsubishi ad demonstrating the foliage technique

Watch a 30-minute block of television and you will not see the same advertisements you were used to seeing during the summer. Everything will feature more foliage, flannels, and football. If there is one thing you can count on in fall advertisements, it is that people will probably be tossing a football around with their kids or family while the company tries to market their product. The try to give their commercials a family type atmosphere because Thanksgiving is right around the corner and everyone loves Thanksgiving, right? Everyone also loves foliage, which is one reason why a plethora of car commercials will have a breathtaking, bird's eye view of the car driving down the road through a forest of beautiful yellow, orange, and red leaves. Companies strive to stay relevant while demonstrating their value to the customer, often leaning on portraying their company as having a wholesome outlook that will benefit the whole family.


9/24/14  8:42pm

The Swoosh

Going to the gym today, I noticed that a majority of the people were wearing some sort of Nike product—whether it were shoes, shirts, socks, etc. The plethora of Nike gear made me realize how effective Nike is at creating value for their product just by promoting their brand. Although there are other apparel companies that produce athletic wear that rivals, maybe even surpasses Nike, the Nike Swoosh is a logo that all can recognize and immediately know what the product has to offer. Just talking with my buddies about the product we all agreed that even though competitors such as Under Armor makes quality shirts, we always revert back to buying Nike. We don't go back because of any personal relationships, but because the products provide customer delight.
     To truly understand why the Swoosh is prevalent in places such as the gym is to look at their marketing a strategy, a strategy that revolves around athletics. Nike enrolls and sponsors the best professional athletes from around the world to wear their products on national television. Because these athletes are usually superstars, they are seen on the fields excelling in their sport, winning championships, overall just being a role model for any young fans watching their favorite sport. Under Armor has a similar strategy but got its start in producing shirts, which is what most people imagine when they think of that brand. It wasn't until Under Armor released the "click, clack" campaign for football cleats did they try and capture market share for athletic shoes from Nike. It was too late for Under Armor by then because Nike has always been ingrained in the athletic shoe market. One can think of memorable ads produced by Nike even though they were before their time. For example, the "Bo Knows" campaign is as iconic as Bo Jackson himself, the Michael Jordan ad with Spike Lee is also a keystone advertisement for the brand.
      The moral of the story here is that Nike is at the top of athletic apparel and that does not look to be changing anytime soon. The Swoosh is the king, has been for a long time, and probably will be for a long time. As long as they keep enlisting the support of Hall of Fame athletes and overall superstars, little kids everywhere will grow up idolizing Nike. Not only will these kids be raised on the ethos of their parents, but will also be engrained by Nike's motto "Just Do It".