Flying High: Expedia Signs Sponsorship Deal With NFL

Expedia has signed a three-year deal with the NFL to become the "official travel provider of NFL fans," according to Terry Lefton in this week's SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL.  Expedia N.A. President Paul Brown said the deal "is a branding play.  We have good brand recognition, but we need this to drive brand preference." With the deal, Expedia gets NFL Network and NFL.com ad inventory, and the company's promotional efforts will include an "NFL Mondays" deal, in which travelers "booking trip packages on Mondays to NFL cities will get a $100 gift card for NFLShop.com." NFL Senior VP/Partnership Marketing & Corporate Sales Peter Murray said, "Around [60%] of our fans do not live in the city of their favorite NFL teams, so a broad-based travel partner makes a lot of sense for both of us." Lefton adds an Expedia online sweeps will offer a trip to both the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl, along with 20 trips to one of the two. Southwest Airlines ended its NFL sponsorship before this season (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 11/12 issue).