Broncos QB Peyton Manning during the team's win over the Chargers on Sunday "barked 'Omaha' before the ball was snapped 44 times during the game," and it provided some "unexpected publicity for the city of 427,000," according to Eric Olson of the AP. Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce President & CEO David Brown said that he "wants to explore the possibility of hiring Manning" to shoot a promotional ad for the city. Brown said, "We'd be foolish not to." However, he added that he "realizes Manning's fee probably would be prohibitive." Nebraska-based PR and ad firm Bailey Lauerman Exec VP Doug Parrott said that for the city of Omaha, the "value of Manning's shout-outs is impossible to calculate" (AP, 1/13). Brown noted, "It was clear and crisp, and you could hear it really well. There's been an incredible amount of social media. ... It just went viral.” Brown said that the chamber is "trying to determine how to further capitalize on the moment" (OMAHA WORLD-HERALD, 1/14). ADWEEK's Christopher Heine wrote, "In terms of future promotions centering on this unusual development, work starring Manning and Omaha's Warren Buffett seems easy to imagine once the season is over." Direct marketer Omaha Steaks "was a little late to the game" yesterday, but "still managed to have a bit of fun" on its official Twitter feed. The company tweeted, "Woke up to 652 missed calls from #PeytonManning. #OmahaOmaha" (ADWEEK.com, 1/13). ESPN's Keith Olbermann said, "Peyton Manning is from New Orleans, he went to college in Tennessee, he's played pro ball in Indiana and Colorado and his love for a town in Nebraska was once again on full display Sunday. Suddenly, I want steaks and insurance. We're not 100% sure what that means to Broncos offense. … Watch, next week he'll shout 'North Platte' or 'Grand Island' just to mess with us" ("Olbermann," ESPN2, 1/13).
PRODUCT SLINGERS: In Boston, Szaniszlo & McGovern cited experts as saying that heading into the Patriots-Broncos AFC Championship, "no one may have more to lose in terms of his future marketing potential than Manning." Emerson College marketing professor Doug Quintal said, "I don't know if he gets any new ones if he loses." Meanwhile, Suffolk Univ. marketing professor Robert Rosenthal said, "For future marketing -- once he retires -- Manning has more to lose" than Patriots QB Tom Brady (BOSTON HERALD, 1/14). Also in Boston, Marie Szaniszlo writes Brady's endorsements tend to "involve fashion," while Manning "seems to have endorsed everything but the kitchen sink, often with affable, self-deprecating humor." Boston-based ad agency Connelly Partners President Steve Connelly said, "Each of them has long ago chosen their marketing strategies very shrewdly. Manning uses marketing to enhance his likeability, whereas Brady does not. The Tom Brady brand is more aspirational and very influenced, I think, by his wife,” model Gisele Bundchen. Boston-based ad and marketing firm Holland-Mark Chair Chris Colbert said, "Manning is a bit closer to Everyman; Brady is a little bit outside Everyman because of his looks and because of his relationship with his wife" (BOSTON HERALD, 1/14).
