Join Social Media Week Europe for insights on how marketers and ad agencies can effectively collaborate with creators to drive next-level engagement. Sign up now to save 35% on your pass.
The NFL and its players score bigger points for brands than just about any other option.
Last year, according to data and analytics firm EDO, the National Football League was responsible for half of the top 10 most effective broadcasts for advertisers. During the NFL’s kickoff game last Thursday on NBC, EDO found that viewers were 64% more likely to engage online with featured brands than viewers of the average ad during a primetime broadcast.
On average, brands would have to air 21 ads during the average primetime network broadcast to get the sports marketing impact of one ad during the kickoff game on Thursday Night Football, which airs on Amazon Prime Video.
Opening week’s Sunday Night Football on NBC scored similar results, with viewers 24% more likely to engage online with ads than they would during average primetime viewing. A brand would need 13 ads during a typical network primetime broadcast to match one ad from last week’s Sunday Night Football.
If an NFL player is featured in a game day ad, it’ll likely be heavily amplified on social media. According to sponsorship data firm SponsorUnited, 69% of NFL player endorsement deals now include social media assets. Of the more than 100 million likes, retweets and other engagements NFL players racked up last season, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill amassed 6.1 million from 36 branded posts alone while partnering with Soul Runner, Adidas, Hublot and Manscaped.
Other heavy hitters include Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (3.2 million engagements across 47 posts for Oakley, State Farm and Walmart), San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (1.6 million, 30 posts for Adobe, Bud Light, Little Caesars and Playstation) and 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (61,000 across 10 posts for BodyArmor, Hyperice and Dolce & Gabbana).
Heading into Week 2, here are some of the brand campaigns turning to the NFL and its stars for extra yardage:
Visa
Scott “Wide Right” Norwood deserved this.
Visa kicked off the season by showing that a fan’s greatest moments often have little to do with how their favorite team is faring. Following a Buffalo Bills fan through 16,795 days of existence—from being a disappointed kid in his first Joe DeLamielleure jersey to an optimistic grandfather buying his granddaughter a Norwood throwback from the former Bills kicker himself—the Wieden+Kennedy-produced spot is less about the team and more about what keeps fans going.