Bridgestone is the latest NFL sponsor to scrap its hospitality plans at Super Bowl LV in Tampa, citing uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and the league’s plans to scale down events to avoid COVID-19 spread. Usually, Bridgestone would host about 100 tire dealers and retailers for three days of parties and VIP access to major events and the game. But last week, the NFL informed sponsors the NFL Honors award show would have no live audience and the NFL House would be cut altogether. “We have always delivered a first-class, fully formed experience, and we just don’t feel like we can deliver at that scale this year,” said Bridgestone spokesperson Keith Cawley. “Certainly the uncertainty around it all makes it even more difficult to decide what we’d be able to do.” In recent weeks, A-B InBev and several other NFL sponsors or business partners have reduced plans for the Super Bowl, which generates many millions of dollars in revenue for the local tourism and hospitality industry in a typical year. The NFL has said attendance at the game itself will likely be capped at approximately 1/5th of Raymond James Stadium’s capacity, though no plans are final.
OTHER ACTIVATION? Bridgestone has not yet decided whether to pursue its other, more consumer-facing marketing plans, such as activations at the NFL Experience or NFL Live. In recent years, Bridgestone has had presenting sponsorship rights to the Media Fan Gallery. If it does activate in those venues, Bridgestone would still bring essential workers to help support those activities, Cawley said. Bridgestone has been an NFL sponsor since '07, and its current five-year deal expires at the conclusion of this season in '21.
