The Super Bowl XXXIX matchup might be an NFL marketer's dream.
The Philadelphia Eagles will visit Jacksonville to participate in the Super Bowl for the first time since they lost 27-10 to the Raiders in Super Bowl XV, in 1981. The New England Patriots are deflecting dynasty talk, as they play in their third Super Bowl in four seasons.
Jacksonville appears ready with over 120 special events over a 10-day period culminating with the game on Feb. 6. The extravaganza is expected to generate over $300 million in economic impact for the First Coast region, in addition to validating Jacksonville as a legitimate major league/mega event city.
In the meantime, the NFL marketing machine takes center stage.
The $4.9 billion business, however, is not without major marketing challenges. This week, Part II of our three-part NFL series explores those issues. (Part I analyzed three NFL business challenges; Part III will explore specific business and marketing challenges surrounding Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville.)
Broaden league's appeal to women, other market sectors
The NFL continues to generate some of the most loyal, intense fans of any sport.
According to Scarborough research, approximately 43.4 percent of Americans are "loyal" football fans who are "very or somewhat interested" in the NFL. Approximately 62.2 percent have had some form of college education, and over 30 percent generate household incomes of over $75,000.
A TNS Sport poll indicated that over 77 percent of those interviewed were interested in this year's NFL playoffs. Over 32 percent of fans own NFL licensed apparel; and the NFL has seven licensed video games in the top 100 sellers -- both significantly higher rankings for "fan intensity" than any other sport.
Yet more must be done to attract women and minorities -- recent polling indicates that nearly 69 percent of those "very interested" fans are male. The NFL certainly recognizes that the Super Bowl provides a major showcasing opportunity to increase the intensity of female fan support. And since women make over 85 percent of product purchasing decisions, advertisers clearly have a large stake in this game as well.
NFL sales of women's products have tripled in the last year. The league has licensed a line of women's merchandise -- selling slightly more than five percent of the league's annual $3.2 billion in retail sales. The Philadelphia Eagles have been part of this effort the entire season -- the team has sold about 45,000 pink Eagles caps to date, and they'll no doubt continue the promotion through the Super Bowl.
The league is expanding its marketing outreach in other areas as well. Black fans have increased to 11.7 percent of the total fan base and Hispanic marketing has generated a 9.5 percent share for those fans.
The long term marketing plan is as it always has been -- to capture the hearts and minds of the next generation. Over 45 percent of kids under 17 view the NFL as their favored sport. However, youth football participation has dropped nearly 58 percent over the past eight years. New youth and flag football initiatives, NFL-sponsored development programs, junior high and high school marketing partnerships, and other NFL programs continue the intense targeting of young football fans.
