It doesn’t get any bigger than the Super Bowl, right? The game, the ads, the halftime show, the traffic.
National Football League wanted to do something nice for hometown folks who put up with the hassle of hosting the game. So it pumped up The NFL Experience from a “glorified card-trading show” to a two-week blitz. “It’s like a mini-Disneyland out there,” says Tom Murphy, director of events for NFL Properties. “This reaches beyond the avid fans.”
It reaches beyond the average ad buy, too. Miller Brewing hosts the Miller Touchdown Pub. Coca-Cola paints faces in the Fanatical Fan area. Sprint lets fans strap on a headset and eavesdrop on coaches calling the last game’s plays. This year, 150,000 people paid $15 a pop ($10 for kids) to go.
NFL hosted 3,000 event days last year, from Kmart Days (stadium tours on bye weeks) to Ford-sponsored Air It Out flag football tourneys. With 160 million Americans claiming to be NFL fans, “the question is, how can sponsors use the NFL to reach their specific audiences?” Murphy says. “We’re as proactive as possible to bring programs to sponsors.”
NFL doesn’t make money off events, Murphy contends. With a 16-member in-house staff, the league sees event marketing as an investment, not a revenue source. “On some events, we break even; some are loss-leaders,” Murphy says. NFL donates all Experience ticket receipts to build a youth education center – at least $1 million in each Super Bowl city. Sponsors fund the operations.
NFL Experience gears up for its eighth run next January. The traffic should be something to see.
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