But this is marketing: You can’t just show a three-figure jersey, tout the merits of the player in it, and hope the right fan is watching. There needs to be an emotional hook, something the viewer’s going to remember long after the jersey carousel stops spinning. Enter the dry cleaner’s first customer, who goes unidentified at the beginning of the spot before his big reveal as Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin at the end.
With Hamlin expected to play this season after suffering an in-game heart attack on Monday Night Football earlier this year, the Fanatics Cleaners staff are grateful for more than just the return of football. In the meantime, Fanatics is posting tickets for autographed jerseys on its social pages and sending fans to cleaners around the country to claim their prizes.
Hoka
Your core product is a pillowy running shoe embraced by both high-level athletes and older consumers looking to minimize impact on their feet. How do you connect both audiences, and how can you get the NFL involved?
Hoka struck that balance by reaching out to Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry and linking his professional story—and a Hoka-clad training regimen—with anecdotes about his mother and grandmother. Hoka shows Bradberry using its shoes on the treadmill, but also handing them out to older fans.
It’s an inclusive marketing effort that not only sees disparate portions of Hoka’s target consumer base, but makes the effort to connect them. By digging a bit deeper and finding the points that tie an athlete to the brand, Hoka found a way to broaden its message and use Bradberry’s voice to reach similarly connected audiences.
QB United
Researchers at Boston University who studied the brains of nearly 400 dead NFL players found evidence of the degenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in 92% of them. With CTE linked to increased suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior, it’s one of many reasons both current and former players want to help people in crisis.
The newly formed 501(c)(3) charitable organization QB United recruited 57 current and former NFL quarterbacks, including Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw, John Elway, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino, Joe Namath, Dak Prescott, Ben Roethlisberger, Doug Williams and Steve Young. They’re calling attention to each quarterback’s individual charitable efforts by using 250 influencers to reach upward of 250 million people.
The campaign launched on World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10 and will run through World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10. All funds raised will go to organizations helping to address mental health initiatives including partners like Stay Here and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.