Editor's note: This story is revised from the print edition.

NFL partners saw a bump this year in the number of fans who were able to correctly identify their status as official sponsors with the league — some of them at record levels — according to the results of the sixth annual NFL sponsor awareness survey conducted by Turnkey Intelligence for SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily.

Nine of the consumer categories tracked in the study had an official sponsor during the league’s most recently completed season. The only vacant category was quick-service restaurant. The percentage of avid fans who correctly identified the league sponsor increased in seven of those nine categories compared with the scores posted in the comparable survey fielded prior to the 2011 Super Bowl.

Verizon was identified by 30 percent of all fans, the brand’s highest level ever in the annual NFL study and its highest rate among similar annual studies of the NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, PGA Tour and NASCAR. The company’s year-over-year increase of 7.6 percentage points was the biggest such jump in the survey.

Papa John’s, a partner since June 2010, saw a

Papa John’s (top) and Verizon (center) saw big jumps; Bud Light brewer A-B now sees its highest scores in the NFL.

7.5 percentage point increase among all fans, just behind Verizon’s survey-leading improvement. Visa also posted strong marks, with its 38.4 percent response rate among all fans the brand’s best in the annual NFL survey.

Anheuser-Busch, which re-joined the league’s portfolio in 2011 following a nine-year absence, saw an overall decline of 1.3 percentage points, but it can now count the NFL as the property whose fans provide it with the highest recognition scores. A-B is also an official sponsor of the NBA, PGA Tour, MLB and MLS, and its 40.2 percent rate among all NFL fans is higher than its marks in surveys of those other properties’ fans.

Psychologically, avid fans seemed to care more about NFL sponsorships than they did last year, when the league was heading into an offseason of uncertainty and, ultimately, a lockout. For example, 43 percent of avid fans answered “Yes” when asked “Is it important to you to be aware of which companies are official sponsors of the NFL?” Similarly, more than one-third of that group said they are more likely to “recommend a product/service to a friend or family member” and “consciously support a company by purchasing its products/services” if that product/service is an official sponsor of the NFL. Each of those levels was significantly higher than in last year’s survey. Nikolay Panchev, vice president of research at Turnkey Intelligence, said he believes the change in attitude regarding sponsorships is indeed linked to the fans’ state of mind toward the league overall.

One of two new questions added to this year’s survey found that fans who correctly identified league sponsors were more likely than general fans to use that knowledge when making their own consumer decisions (see chart, below). “Somewhat surprisingly, consideration among fans aware of the sponsors is highest for product categories that require a notable commitment from consumers, such as wireless, credit card, hotel,” Panchev said. “We typically see higher consideration in categories where brands can be easily substituted, like soda and beer.”

Although Gatorade remains the brand that fans are most likely to associate with the league (with a recognition rate of 56.7 percent among all fans), the beverage did see its awareness marks fall for the fourth straight year. Sister brand Pepsi also saw a drop among avid fans from last year, but the 37.4 percent mark for this group matches the average for avid fans across the previous five surveys. In addition, 31.5 percent of casual fans correctly identified Pepsi’s official status, up nearly nine percentage points from the first NFL survey and a best-ever mark among that group.

Is it important to you to be aware of which companies are official sponsors of the NFL?
	AVID				CASUAL
	2012	2011	2010		2012	2011	2010
Yes	43.4%	29.3%	48.7%		30.5%	35.5%	32.7%
No	56.7%	70.7%	51.4%		69.6%	64.5%	67.4%
Are you more or less likely to recommend a product/service to a friend or family member if that product/service is an official sponsor of the NFL?
	AVID				CASUAL
	2012	2011	2010		2012	2011	2010
More likely	37.0%	27.8%	37.4%		23.0%	24.4%	29.6%
Unaffected or less likely	63.0%	72.2%	62.6%		77.0%	75.6%	70.4%
Are you more or less likely to consciously support a company by purchasing its products/services if the company is an official sponsor of the NFL?
	AVID				CASUAL
	2012	2011	2010		2012	2011	2010
More likely	39.0%	30.3%	43.5%		26.0%	23.4%	29.1%
Unaffected or less likely	61.0%	69.7%	56.5%		74.0%	76.7%	70.8%

SPONSORSHIP SIGNIFICANCE AND ASSESSMENT

Subject: How much more likely are fans to consider purchasing/using an NFL sponsor's product/service if they are aware of the relationship?
To read: 27% of NFL fans said they would be more likely to consider staying at the NFL's official hotel if they knew what hotel brand had that designation. The rate increased to 52% when considering only those NFL fans who correctly knew that Marriott is the NFL's official hotel sponsor.

Category (NFL Sponsor)	Among all NFL fans		Among NFL fans who correctly identified sponsor	Change
Hotel (Marriott)	27%		52%	+25
Wireless service provider (Verizon)	26%		45%	+19
Credit card (Visa)	26%		40%	+14
Pizza (Papa John's)	32%		43%	+11
Shipping services (FedEx)	25%		35%	+10
Automotive (General Motors)	25%		33%	+8
Sports/energy drink (Gatorade)	34%		42%	+8
Soft drink (Pepsi)	32%		34%	+2
Beer (Bud Light)	31%		32%	+1

Subject: What brands do fans think should be NFL sponsors?
To read: 62% of NFL fans said they think Gatorade should be an NFL sponsor, compared with 31% who think rival Powerade should have an NFL deal. Those numbers became 78% and 34%, respectively, when considering only those NFL fans who correctly knew that Gatorade is the NFL's official sports/energy drink.

	Among All NFL Fans			Among NFL Fans Who Correctly Identified Sponsor
NFL sponsor / competitor	NFL sponsor / competitor	Difference		NFL sponsor / competitor	Difference
Gatorade/Powerade	62% / 31%	+31		78% / 34%	+44
A-B (Bud Light)/MillerCoors	51% / 35%	+16		74% / 32%	+42
Visa/MasterCard	58% / 39%	+19		79% / 39%	+40
Verizon/AT&T	47% / 35%	+12		68% / 35%	+33
Papa John's/Domino's	44% / 30%	+14		65% / 34%	+31
FedEx/UPS	44% / 39%	+5		61% / 40%	+21
Marriott/Hilton	25% / 25%	0		42% / 29%	+13
Pepsi/Coca-Cola	50% / 56%	-6		65% / 54%	+11
General Motors/Ford	39% / 45%	-6		57% / 54%	+3

Notes: Fans were asked to select the brands that they felt belonged in the NFL as sponsors. Fans could select both the official sponsor and the competitor, if they chose to do so. The one specific competing company listed was selected by Turnkey for consideration in the survey file.

		AVID				CASUAL
SPORTS/ENERGY DRINK		2012	2011	2010		2012	2011	2010
	Gatorade*	60.10%	66.20%	65.00%		53.30%	57.40%	60.80%
	Powerade	4.90%	3.00%	6.50%		4.60%	4.60%	3.50%
	Red Bull	1.00%	1.50%	3.20%		1.00%	2.50%	3.00%
	I'm not sure	31.00%	28.30%	19.80%		37.60%	31.50%	28.10%

Gatorade, the league's longest active sponsor (since 1983), had its sponsorship extended in September as part of parent company PepsiCo's 10-year renewal with the NFL. Gatorade's "Everything to Prove" Web series documented 15 NFL rookies from the combine to their first games, with episodes airing via YouTube, Facebook, NFL.com and Gatorade.com.

		AVID				CASUAL
SOFT DRINK		2012	2011	2010		2012	2011	2010
	Pepsi*	37.40%	45.50%	35.00%		31.50%	29.40%	27.10%
	Coca-Cola	23.70%	19.20%	27.70%		17.80%	23.90%	24.60%
	I’m not sure	30.50%	28.30%	28.10%		45.20%	35.50%	39.20%

Despite PepsiCo renewing its league sponsorship in the fall, the company's Pepsi label saw a dip in its recognition number among avid NFL fans, though Pepsi remains the category leader. Pepsi this season presented the NFL Rookie of the Week and NFL Rookie of the Year awards for the 10th year in a row. As part of that program, 10 rookies were featured on their own Pepsi Max cans throughout the season. NFL.com each week during the season presented the Pepsi Max NFL Audible recap videos, featuring rapper Nick Javas, and heading into the Super Bowl, Pepsi promoted on-site activation in Indianapolis that included the Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam concert series.

		AVID				CASUAL
BEER		2012	2011	2010		2012	2011	2010
	Anheuser-Busch*	45.80%	43.90%	38.10%		34.50%	39.10%	32.20%
	Coors	20.20%	23.70%	30.20%		12.70%	16.80%	21.60%
	Miller	12.80%	8.60%	11.60%		13.70%	10.20%	12.10%
	I’m not sure	16.80%	21.70%	16.70%		34.00%	32.00%	29.20%

Anheuser-Busch and its Bud Light brand kicked off its first season back as the official beer of the NFL with a promotion around the NFL draft in April. It followed that effort with the interactive Bud Light Fan Camp; national TV commercials; in-store promotions with limited-edition cans in 28 markets featuring team logos and colors; and the Bud Light Huddle, an online community for adult NFL fans. Also, through the Ultimate Fan Experience, fans ages 21 and older had the opportunity to win a trip for four to the 2012 Pro Bowl, Super Bowl XLVI or the 2012 NFL draft; 2012 season tickets for the team of the winner's choice; or a package of all those prizes. Before A-B's new deal, Coors Light had been the league's official beer since 2002. MillerCoors has individual sponsorship deals with 21 teams.

		AVID				CASUAL
CREDIT CARD		2012	2011	2010		2012	2011	2010
	Visa*	45.30%	36.40%	39.50%		31.50%	30.50%	31.20%
	MasterCard	10.30%	8.60%	12.60%		8.60%	10.20%	14.10%
	American Express	5.90%	9.10%	10.70%		7.60%	12.70%	9.60%
	I’m not sure	32.00%	42.90%	33.50%		47.70%	43.20%	40.70%

Visa saw a nine percentage point increase among avid NFL fans over the past season, one of the largest increases in the survey. The company ran a seasonlong sweepstakes that culminated in one fan, plus 10 guests, winning a trip to Super Bowl XLVI. The campaign was heavily promoted during the season, with a character named Ned the star of the TV spots and Morgan Freeman on board for the voice-over. Visa also launched the You + Ten Draft Facebook application in support of the campaign. Rival MasterCard has team-level deals with 23 NFL clubs.

		AVID				CASUAL
AUTOMOTIVE		2012	2011	2010		2012	2011	2010
	General Motors*	22.20%	21.70%	30.70%		19.80%	21.80%	28.60%
	Ford	16.80%	18.20%	17.70%		12.70%	8.10%	12.60%
	Toyota	11.30%	5.60%	7.00%		5.60%	6.10%	4.00%
	Chrysler	5.90%	1.50%	5.60%		3.60%	6.10%	1.50%
	I’m not sure	41.90%	52.00%	36.70%		54.80%	55.80%	48.70%

General Motors renewed its NFL sponsorship prior to the 2011 season with a four-year deal. Its GMC brand then expanded its sponsorship of "Monday Night Football" with the second annual GMC "Monday Night Football" Tour. The tour featured interactive events for fans along with a chance to win tickets to the Monday night game, NFLshop.com gift cards, autographed items, and opportunities to meet players. During the playoffs, GM brand Chevrolet touted the Chevy Game Time app, which gave fans the chance to win one of 20 new Chevrolet automobiles, among other prizes, while watching the Super Bowl and interacting online.

		AVID				CASUAL
WIRELESS SERVICE		2012	2011	2010		2012	2011	2010
	Verizon*	33.00%	24.80%	20.60%		26.90%	19.80%	20.60%
	Sprint	4.40%	10.60%	19.20%		10.70%	14.20%	12.60%
	AT&T	14.30%	7.60%	11.70%		7.60%	10.70%	12.10%
	I’m not sure	40.40%	49.50%	41.10%		49.80%	48.20%	48.70%

For the 2011 NFL draft, Verizon added new features to NFL Mobile that offered draft alerts and gave fans a quick link to their favorite team's Web page and fan war rooms. Verizon mobile phone subscribers can also stream prime-time games to their phones, and playoff games, including the Super Bowl, were made available this year via NFL Mobile for the first time.

		AVID				CASUAL
SHIPPING SERVICE		2012	2011	2010		2012	2011	2010
	FedEx*	41.40%	32.30%	35.10%		31.50%	27.90%	27.60%
	UPS	17.70%	13.60%	24.30%		11.20%	18.80%	20.60%
	I’m not sure	38.40%	49.00%	33.20%		48.70%	46.20%	42.70%

After experiencing a slight decrease in fan recognition in last year's survey, FedEx saw its score jump nine percentage points among avid fans this year. The shipping giant introduced its "Solutions That Matter" ad campaign during the season's Thursday night opening game on NBC, a campaign it continued throughout the season. The company also sponsored the ninth annual FedEx Air and Ground NFL Players of the Year Awards and donated a total of $50,000 ($25,000 in each player's market) to local Junior Achievement offices. FedEx made weekly donations to local JA offices throughout the season, as well.

		AVID				CASUAL
PIZZA		2012	2011	2010		2012	2011	2010
	Papa John’s*	49.30%	33.80%	NA		31.00%	31.50%	NA
	Pizza Hut	10.80%	13.10%	NA		13.70%	12.70%	NA
	Domino’s	7.90%	8.60%	NA		7.60%	7.60%	NA
	I’m not sure	28.10%	42.90%	NA		43.70%	43.20%	NA

Papa John's saw the largest increase in awareness among avid fans of any sponsor in this year's survey. The company in October expanded its deal with the league by signing on to be the official pizza sponsor of the NFL in Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Papa John's also boasts 14 team-level deals. The brand gave Papa Rewards members the chance to receive a free large, one-topping pizza each week during the regular season, it promoted heavily in advance of the Super Bowl, and it teamed with EA Sports for a sweepstakes in which consumers could order any pizza online and get a $5 discount on their purchase of the EA Sports Madden 12 video game. Rival Pizza Hut is an advertiser on NFL Network, sponsor of the NFL play of the week/year on foxsports.com, and featured Miami Dolphins running back Reggie Bush in TV advertising.

		AVID				CASUAL
HOTEL		2012	2011	2010		2012	2011	2010
	Marriott*	13.30%	9.60%	12.20%		10.70%	11.20%	10.60%
	Holiday Inn	6.90%	7.10%	7.50%		5.60%	9.60%	10.10%
	Hilton	7.40%	5.10%	7.00%		3.60%	5.10%	6.00%
	I’m not sure	64.50%	74.20%	68.70%		70.60%	68.00%	66.30%

In September, Marriott signed a multiyear deal with the NFL for its Courtyard by Marriott brand to become the official hotel sponsor of the NFL. With its "NFL Greatness on the Road" promotion, the hotel chain gave fans a chance to win a grand prize of two tickets to each of the winner's favorite team's away games for the 2012 season. In addition, during the season, Super Bowl XVLI travel packages were auctioned off to Marriott Rewards members.

		AVID				CASUAL
QUICK-SERVICE RESTAURANT		2012	2011	2010		2012	2011	2010
NONE	Subway	16.80%	22.20%	21.20%		10.70%	9.10%	11.60%
	McDonald’s	11.80%	10.10%	10.60%		10.70%	11.70%	12.60%
	Burger King	9.40%	8.10%	11.50%		9.60%	10.20%	7.00%
	KFC	2.00%	4.00%	6.90%		4.10%	6.10%	7.00%
	I’m not sure	46.30%	47.50%	43.30%		43.70%	54.80%	52.80%

In a category that has been open since Burger King's departure after the 2007 season, Subway leads other QSRs in recognition among NFL fans. Subway in 2011 continued its recent trend of signing incoming rookies, reaching a deal with New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram. Previous signees include Ndamukong Suh, Michael Crabtree and C.J. Spiller. Subway also was title sponsor of the weekly postgame show for CBS's game coverage.

* Official NFL sponsor
NA: Not available; fans were not asked about their awareness of sponsors in this category in 2010.

Methodology

For this project, Turnkey Sports & Entertainment, through its Turnkey Intelligence operation, conducted national consumer research surveys among a sample of more than 400 members of the Toluna online panel who were at least 18 years old.

The 2012 survey was conducted Jan. 19-24, a period that led into this year’s Super Bowl and is comparable to the time periods for the 2011 and 2010 surveys.

Respondents were screened and analyzed based on their general avidity levels. Fans categorized as “avid” were those who responded “4” or “5” to the question “How big a fan are you of the NFL?”, claimed to “look up news, scores and standings several times a week or more often,” “watch/listen/attend at least 10 games per season,” and “have a favorite team.” Fans categorized as “casual” responded “3” to the same initial question, then claimed to “look up news, scores and standings several times a month or more often,” “watch/listen/attend at least 3 games per season,” and “have a favorite team.”

When asked to identify official sponsors, respondents selected from a field of companies and brands that was provided to them for each business sector. Only the top-scoring companies and brands are listed in the results published here.
The percentage responses listed have been rounded. The margin of error for each survey is +/- 4.9 percentage points.

Turnkey Intelligence performs research work for more than 70 North American major league teams, league offices and brands. The NFL and several of its teams are among the company’s clients.

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Home team	Dates (2010-11)	Total	Avg.	% cap.	Previous	Change	Dates	Max.	Min.	98%+	75%-
Atlanta Hawks	14	212,671	15,191	81.1%	14,613	+4.0%	26	18,371	10,597	2	5
Boston Celtics	18	335,232	18,624	100.0%	18,624	0.0%	29	18,624	18,624	18	0
Charlotte Bobcats	13	222,077	17,083	89.5%	15,963	+7.0%	28	19,614	13,421	3	2
Chicago Bulls	11	240,626	21,875	104.6%	21,549	+1.5%	27	22,763	21,347	11	0
Cleveland Cavaliers	12	192,318	16,027	77.9%	20,335	-21.2%	25	20,562	13,056	1	6
Dallas Mavericks	16	323,770	20,236	105.4%	19,966	+1.4%	28	20,457	19,885	16	0
Denver Nuggets	15	251,327	16,755	87.5%	16,712	+0.3%	29	19,495	14,002	6	3
Detroit Pistons	16	203,677	12,730	57.7%	16,499	-22.8%	28	22,076	8,120	1	14
Golden State Warriors	16	300,056	18,754	95.7%	18,585	+0.9%	29	19,596	17,549	7	0
Houston Rockets	13	179,701	13,823	76.6%	16,141	-14.4%	27	18,267	9,318	2	5
Indiana Pacers	11	159,749	14,523	79.9%	13,424	+8.2%	26	18,165	10,334	3	5
Los Angeles Clippers	13	250,777	19,291	101.2%	17,245	+11.9%	30	19,895	19,060	13	0
Los Angeles Lakers	14	265,958	18,997	100.0%	18,997	0.0%	27	18,997	18,997	14	0
Memphis Grizzlies	15	224,498	14,967	82.6%	14,318	+4.5%	26	18,119	12,391	2	4
Miami Heat	14	278,435	19,888	101.5%	19,753	+0.7%	25	20,201	19,600	14	0
Milwaukee Bucks	13	195,475	15,037	80.3%	15,395	-2.3%	25	18,717	11,322	1	6
Minnesota Timberwolves	17	290,822	17,107	88.4%	14,499	+18.0%	27	20,232	14,073	5	2
New Jersey Nets	13	180,642	13,896	74.3%	13,113	+6.0%	28	18,711	10,035	2	6
New Orleans Hornets	17	243,144	14,303	83.2%	14,688	-2.6%	28	17,802	12,045	1	3
New York Knicks	14	276,682	19,763	100.0%	19,709	+0.3%	26	19,763	19,763	14	0
Oklahoma City Thunder	11	200,233	18,203	100.0%	18,121	+0.5%	26	18,203	18,203	11	0
Orlando Magic	16	302,029	18,877	100.2%	18,926	-0.3%	28	18,972	18,846	16	0
Philadelphia 76ers	18	289,362	16,076	79.1%	14,150	+13.6%	26	20,694	8,612	3	7
Phoenix Suns	12	182,900	15,242	82.7%	17,413	-12.5%	27	17,776	13,132	0	2
Portland Trail Blazers	15	307,261	20,484	98.5%	20,462	+0.1%	25	20,664	20,292	15	0
Sacramento Kings	12	179,099	14,925	86.2%	13,494	+10.6%	29	17,317	11,740	4	3
San Antonio Spurs	14	254,056	18,147	97.7%	18,134	+0.1%	27	18,581	16,751	8	0
Toronto Raptors	13	218,698	16,823	85.0%	16,270	+3.4%	27	20,092	14,097	3	3
Utah Jazz	16	310,811	19,426	97.6%	19,504	-0.4%	29	19,911	17,756	11	0
Washington Wizards	16	259,488	16,218	80.0%	16,178	+0.2%	27	20,282	13,095	1	6
TOTALS	428	7,331,574	17,130	89.1%	17,084	+0.3%	815	22,763	8,120	208	82

% cap.: Total as a percentage of seats available at home games. Previous: Last season's average on same date. Change: Difference between current average and last season's average. Max.: Highest single-game count for current season. Min.: Lowest single-game count for current season. 98%+: Number of current-season games with total being at least 98 percent of available seats. 75%-: Number of current-season games with total being less than 75 percent of available seats. Notes: NBA teams this year are playing 66-game schedules and started the season in late December, compared with 2010-11, when teams played their traditional 82-game schedules and began in late October. Teams can exceed 100% capacity because of standing-room-only ticket sales. Data based on totals posted immediately following games. It may not reflect any subsequent adjustments made by teams or the league. Compiled by: Brandon McClung

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