The Cardinals’ opening game is Sunday, and State Farm hopes to have some branding in place by thenSTATE FARM
State Farm has signed an 18-year naming-rights deal for the Cardinals’ home stadium in Glendale, which will now be known as State Farm Stadium. Univ. of Phoenix entitled the stadium since it opened in ‘06, but it had been trying to get out of the deal for several years. The online university will remain a team sponsor. The value of State Farm's deal could not be determined, but sources said Univ. of Phoenix was paying between $8-9M annually. State Farm Exec VP/Chief Agency Sales & Marketing Officer Rand Harbert said the deal was about community involvement in a market where the company has more than 7,000 employees. It also serves to find new ways to cut through the clutter in the insurance category, where marketing spending has been escalating at a frenetic pace over the past decade. “Traditional media is in constant change now, and ownable marketing assets that are strategic make more sense than ever, especially where we have a large employee base,’’ he said. “As the internet became more important to the (insurance) business, over the past 20 years it’s been vibrant as far as marketing. With so much being spent in the category, it’s very difficult to tell marketing stories that have any complexity. This is an opportunity for us to plant a flag.’’ The Cardinals’ opening game is Sunday, and State Farm hopes to have some branding in place by then. Optimum Sports represented State Farm in the naming-rights deal with the Cardinals.
SECOND BIG DEAL IN RECENT DAYS: State Farm’s deal comes less than a week after the insurance giant announced a 20-year entitlement in Atlanta for the home arena of the Hawks. “We think these give a far broader audience than we’ve ever had,’’ said Harbert. “In both cities, these will help us to connect, and not only fly the brand flag, but to do good. We have over 19,000 agents, so any time we can do good locally, that translates.’’ State Farm originally planned to announce the two deals together but deferred on the Glendale facility in deference to the funeral of Sen. John McCain. Illinois-based State Farm also has its name on the Univ. of Illinois’ home arena in Champaign and a minor-league arena in Hidalgo, Texas. The Glendale stadium will host Super Bowl LVII in ’23 and the NCAA Final Four in ‘24, along with a CFP semifinal game three times between now and ‘26. State Farm’s sponsorship portfolio also includes an NBA league deal; more than 40 NBA, NFL, and MLB team sponsorships; and a variety of college deals.
