NFL Makes Major UK Investment in Support of Super Bowl Broadcasts
The NFL has undertaken its biggest ever marketing and promotion campaign in the United Kingdom in support of Super Bowl broadcasts on five and Sky Sports.
For the first time in five years, Super Bowl will be aired live on terrestrial television in the UK, when five broadcasts the game from Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego on Sunday January 26. The action, which kicks off at 11:25 p.m., will also be shown live on Sky Sports 1.
In addition to the game itself – between the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Bucaneers – five is airing a 30-minute show every night of Super Bowl week, from Monday to Friday. The programme, entitled ‘Inside The Road To Super Bowl’, hosted by former Big Breakfast presenter Lisa Rogers, is broadcast at 7 p.m. and takes a look at every aspect of Super Bowl as an event; from the history of half-time shows, to the cultural phenomenon of Super Sunday in the US, to analysing the competing teams.
The show marks the NFL’s return to prime-time programming in the UK for the first time in 15 years.
Alistair Kirkwood, Vice-President of Strategic Planning for the NFL in Europe, said: 'five has given us the opportunity to have Super Bowl broadcast on terrestrial television again and to get the NFL to a considerably wider audience through their week-long 7 p.m. shows. That has motivated us to get fully behind this with an integrated marketing and PR campaign. The NFL has a rich and successful history in the UK, particularly in the ’80s, and we view this as a launch pad to get us back to those levels of success.'
The NFL has invested in a tune-in campaign that includes:
- television promotional spots
- print, radio and outdoor advertising
- in-store promotions
- media promotions
- stunts and outdoor events
Kirkwood continued: 'The campaign has two phases, the first one is a very direct and almost aggressive campaign to grab people’s attention that Super Bowl is back on terrestrial TV. To do that we have worked with various agencies to produce a cutting edge campaign aimed at 16 to 34 year olds and we are using a range of imagery that will make people sit up and take notice.
'The second stage is a series of promotional campaigns with some of the biggest media outlets in the UK that will directly encourage people to watch our programme. I think the level of exposure we will gain in the build-up to Super Bowl will surprise a lot of people.'
In order to activate the campaigns, the NFL enlisted the help of award-winning creative and marketing agencies Naked and Karmarama, and PR agencies Hill & Knowlton and Cake.
Some of the leading brand names in the UK are involved in the NFL campaign, including Budweiser, Reebok, GAME, EA Sports, The Sun, Daily Mirror, Daily Star and BT Broadband.
'Our investment is around the seven-figure mark,' said Kirkwood, 'but in terms of the overall impact of the campaign we have been able to achieve several times that value through some excellent partnerships.
'It is very exciting to see how quickly our partners have mobilised considerable assets behind our Super Bowl campaign, for example Budweiser sponsoring the five programming. Many partners have shared our vision of what Super Bowl could be in this country.'
Simon Downing, Head of Marketing, for five said: 'The Super Bowl is one of most spectacular events within the sporting calendar. five is very excited about our partnership with the NFL. We believe that we have developed a campaign that has the ability to cross from a niche to a mainstream audience.'
EA Sports, maker of the best-selling computer game Madden NFL 2003, is running an on-air promotion on five. Al King, Director of Product Marketing for EA Sports, added: 'We are seeking to build our brand outside of the football arena into a wider sporting context, and as a holder of the NFL licence for our John Madden American football franchise, the NFL’s drive to make the Super Bowl a greater cultural event in the UK represents an ideal opportunity for us.'
Steve Waring, Sports Editor of The Sun, which is running a reader competition to promote five’s Super Bowl programming, said: 'Our relationship with the NFL and five has enabled us to offer our readers a unique and exciting competition and we are expecting a great response.' The winner of the The Sun competition will be travelling to many of the world’s leading sporting events, beginning with the NFL’s Pro Bowl in Hawaii, one week after Super Bowl, and ending with Super Bowl 2004 in Houston.
Kirkwood continued: 'Television exposure is very important to our business here in the UK and good viewing figures for the Super Bowl are likely to lead to further programming at better time slots. With that increased presence on TV we plan to see the game return to the kind of popularity levels we saw in this country in the 1980s.
'We are not going to do all this activity around Super Bowl and then disappear. This year’s Super Bowl marketing campaign marks the beginning of a long-term commitment to the UK market, which is one of the most important international markets for the NFL.'
In order to raise the profile of the NFL following Super Bowl, the league will look at making heroes of exciting young players such as Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey. Such a move is likely to attract a new, younger fan base and make household names of NFL players, in the way Dan Marino, Joe Montana and William ‘The Refrigerator’ Perry were famous in the 1980s.
As part of a long-term strategy in the UK, the NFL envisions more players playing the game at youth and senior level and will place increased emphasis on grassroots and domestic football. Kirkwood added: 'This is one of the three biggest things the NFL has ever done internationally, alongside the launch of the World League and the beginning of the American Bowl series.
'These are very exciting times for the NFL and the sport of American football in the UK. The prime time broadcasts on Channel 5 and the airing of Super Bowl live on Channel 5 and Sky Sports provide us with the perfect platform to reach a much bigger audience and help American football grow in the future.'
Super Bowl XXXVII will air live on five at 11:10 p.m. on Sunday January 26. The game will also be shown live on Sky Sports, with their programme kicking off at 10:30 p.m.
For further information please contact:
David Tossell,
Super Bowl Media Center
T: +1 619 228 7373
Richard Glennie
Hill & Knowlton
T: + 44 (0) 20-7413-3000
For the first time in five years, Super Bowl will be aired live on terrestrial television in the UK, when five broadcasts the game from Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego on Sunday January 26. The action, which kicks off at 11:25 p.m., will also be shown live on Sky Sports 1.
In addition to the game itself – between the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Bucaneers – five is airing a 30-minute show every night of Super Bowl week, from Monday to Friday. The programme, entitled ‘Inside The Road To Super Bowl’, hosted by former Big Breakfast presenter Lisa Rogers, is broadcast at 7 p.m. and takes a look at every aspect of Super Bowl as an event; from the history of half-time shows, to the cultural phenomenon of Super Sunday in the US, to analysing the competing teams.
The show marks the NFL’s return to prime-time programming in the UK for the first time in 15 years.
Alistair Kirkwood, Vice-President of Strategic Planning for the NFL in Europe, said: 'five has given us the opportunity to have Super Bowl broadcast on terrestrial television again and to get the NFL to a considerably wider audience through their week-long 7 p.m. shows. That has motivated us to get fully behind this with an integrated marketing and PR campaign. The NFL has a rich and successful history in the UK, particularly in the ’80s, and we view this as a launch pad to get us back to those levels of success.'
The NFL has invested in a tune-in campaign that includes:
- television promotional spots
- print, radio and outdoor advertising
- in-store promotions
- media promotions
- stunts and outdoor events
Kirkwood continued: 'The campaign has two phases, the first one is a very direct and almost aggressive campaign to grab people’s attention that Super Bowl is back on terrestrial TV. To do that we have worked with various agencies to produce a cutting edge campaign aimed at 16 to 34 year olds and we are using a range of imagery that will make people sit up and take notice.
'The second stage is a series of promotional campaigns with some of the biggest media outlets in the UK that will directly encourage people to watch our programme. I think the level of exposure we will gain in the build-up to Super Bowl will surprise a lot of people.'
In order to activate the campaigns, the NFL enlisted the help of award-winning creative and marketing agencies Naked and Karmarama, and PR agencies Hill & Knowlton and Cake.
Some of the leading brand names in the UK are involved in the NFL campaign, including Budweiser, Reebok, GAME, EA Sports, The Sun, Daily Mirror, Daily Star and BT Broadband.
'Our investment is around the seven-figure mark,' said Kirkwood, 'but in terms of the overall impact of the campaign we have been able to achieve several times that value through some excellent partnerships.
'It is very exciting to see how quickly our partners have mobilised considerable assets behind our Super Bowl campaign, for example Budweiser sponsoring the five programming. Many partners have shared our vision of what Super Bowl could be in this country.'
Simon Downing, Head of Marketing, for five said: 'The Super Bowl is one of most spectacular events within the sporting calendar. five is very excited about our partnership with the NFL. We believe that we have developed a campaign that has the ability to cross from a niche to a mainstream audience.'
EA Sports, maker of the best-selling computer game Madden NFL 2003, is running an on-air promotion on five. Al King, Director of Product Marketing for EA Sports, added: 'We are seeking to build our brand outside of the football arena into a wider sporting context, and as a holder of the NFL licence for our John Madden American football franchise, the NFL’s drive to make the Super Bowl a greater cultural event in the UK represents an ideal opportunity for us.'
Steve Waring, Sports Editor of The Sun, which is running a reader competition to promote five’s Super Bowl programming, said: 'Our relationship with the NFL and five has enabled us to offer our readers a unique and exciting competition and we are expecting a great response.' The winner of the The Sun competition will be travelling to many of the world’s leading sporting events, beginning with the NFL’s Pro Bowl in Hawaii, one week after Super Bowl, and ending with Super Bowl 2004 in Houston.
Kirkwood continued: 'Television exposure is very important to our business here in the UK and good viewing figures for the Super Bowl are likely to lead to further programming at better time slots. With that increased presence on TV we plan to see the game return to the kind of popularity levels we saw in this country in the 1980s.
'We are not going to do all this activity around Super Bowl and then disappear. This year’s Super Bowl marketing campaign marks the beginning of a long-term commitment to the UK market, which is one of the most important international markets for the NFL.'
In order to raise the profile of the NFL following Super Bowl, the league will look at making heroes of exciting young players such as Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey. Such a move is likely to attract a new, younger fan base and make household names of NFL players, in the way Dan Marino, Joe Montana and William ‘The Refrigerator’ Perry were famous in the 1980s.
As part of a long-term strategy in the UK, the NFL envisions more players playing the game at youth and senior level and will place increased emphasis on grassroots and domestic football. Kirkwood added: 'This is one of the three biggest things the NFL has ever done internationally, alongside the launch of the World League and the beginning of the American Bowl series.
'These are very exciting times for the NFL and the sport of American football in the UK. The prime time broadcasts on Channel 5 and the airing of Super Bowl live on Channel 5 and Sky Sports provide us with the perfect platform to reach a much bigger audience and help American football grow in the future.'
Super Bowl XXXVII will air live on five at 11:10 p.m. on Sunday January 26. The game will also be shown live on Sky Sports, with their programme kicking off at 10:30 p.m.
For further information please contact:
David Tossell,
Super Bowl Media Center
T: +1 619 228 7373
Richard Glennie
Hill & Knowlton
T: + 44 (0) 20-7413-3000