In its second season as presenting sponsor of the NFL Pro Bowl, State Farm is running a sweeps to prod interest in the post-season game.
The grand prize in the Your Game, Your Call Ultimate Pro Bowl Giveaway is five trips for two to Hawaii to see the game on Feb . 10, and a chance to meet NFL Hall of Famer and State Farm spokesman Howie Long. A $1,000 Visa gift card is also part of the package.
Long has been featured in TV spots State Farm started running on Thanksgiving to plug the Pro Bowl sweeps during regular season NFL games. Long is a popular analyst on the Fox Network pre-game show which features a State Farm Coverage of the Field segment.
Ten first-place winners will receive footballs autographed by Long and a $250 nflshop.com gift card. Gift cards for $100 from nflshop.com go to 25 second-prize winners. Fans can enter the contest through Jan. 6 at http://www.statefarm.com/NFL2, with randomly selected winners to be announced around Jan. 15.
The site also features two flash animation games, kicking pineapple footballs through palm tree uprights and throwing passes to moving Tiki targets.
“This gave us a unique opportunity to do a couple of things: to reach fans in a way that’s a little more entertaining and leverage our title sponsorship of the Pro Bowl,” said Mark Gibson, assistant vice president of advertising for State Farm.
The National Football League is looking to pump up interest in the Pro Bowl, Gibson said, so State Farm’s sweeps play fits nicely into that strategy. State Farm is also developing new creative content for TV spots it plans to run during the game, he said.
The firm will also have on-field signage at the Pro Bowl, and a presence on video screens at the stadium in Honolulu. Activation will also include an internal incentives promotion for State Farm agents.
State Farm will once again have a presence during the Super Bowl pre-game presentation as well, with TV spots and possible branded segments.
Gibson said State Farm expects to retain Long as a spokesman for its third year as NFL Pro Bowl sponsor next year. Its long-standing relationship with Fox TV’s regular season pre-game show made Long a logical choice, and State Farm’s research indicated the Fox football analyst is a popular figure among male and female fans.
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