Editor’s note: This story is revised from the print edition.
NFL corporate sponsors are completing activation plans in Houston for Super Bowl LI.
After last year’s blowout for Super Bowl 50, there was “initially a feeling of ‘How can we top this?’” said Tracie Rodburg, NFL vice president of sponsorship and partnership management, “but we like the creativity being shown this year and the numbers.”
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A-B, playing up Texas in displays, will go where the fans are in Houston and beyond.
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Those numbers are impressive.
Fans in Houston will see a total of 28 sponsors and licensees activating against 48 brands. Seven NFL corporate sponsors have one or more spots in Fox’s Super Bowl broadcast, including three from Procter & Gamble brands Mr. Clean, Tide and Febreze. P&G is activating as never before. The Secret and Always brands are sponsoring the second NFL Women’s Summit on Friday and Saturday. Old Spice is sampling at the NFL Experience for the first time.
Pepsi will again have a dominant outdoor presence, including billboards, building wraps and giant bottle “sculptures” downtown. It will title the halftime show for the fifth straight year, this time on behalf of Pepsi Zero Sugar. There also will be a Friday night concert and a Super Bowl spot backing the launch of its Lifewater. Lipton is activating at the Super Bowl Live fan fest with “iced-tea” inspired recipes. Mountain Dew Kickstart has augmented reality activation at the NFL Experience, where fans create their own mascots, and Pepsi will be sampling Lifewater and Pepsi Zero Sugar throughout Houston.
Anheuser-Busch is eschewing its large concert sponsorships of recent years. It will have a Bud Light hotel again, but it’s largely for client entertainment. A-B also will have a Bud Light Championship Tavern sports bar at the NFL Experience, which the host committee estimates a million-plus people will pass through.
“The big learning from last year was that we should try to engage people where they are,” said Nick Kelly, A-B senior director, experiential sports. A-B also will have a good-sized out-of-home campaign. On game day, fans buying Bud Light at NRG Stadium will drink it from Bud Light-branded cups.
Hyundai and Ford, the NFL’s car and truck sponsor, respectively, will both be busy. At the top of Hyundai’s list is a 90-second “documentary” ad it will shoot during the first three quarters of the Super Bowl and air just after the game. Not to be outdone, Snickers will shoot a “live” ad during the game.
Hyundai’s luxury Genesis car is presenting sponsor of the NFL Experience fan fest. Ford will pay off its Offensive Line of the Year at NFL Honors and have displays at Super Bowl Live, along with a spot in the game.
Bose’s playoff-long #LetsHearIt social campaign in which fans were asked to submit videos supporting their teams will continue, with the best being shown on the NRG Stadium videoboard during game-day warmups. Some entrants will win QC35 headphones. Bose also is staging private concert for 500 people with The Band Perry and will distribute tickets on social channels and use the event for client entertainment, said Pat LaCroix, who heads global media and alliances for Bose.
Verizon is presenting sponsor of both the NFL House corporate hospitality retreat and the Super Bowl Live fan festival. At Verizon’s Fan Zone location in Super Bowl Live, the company will be showcasing its Smart Communities technology and Virtual Gridiron, a first head-to-head virtual reality sports game that allows two people to compete.
Marriott will again stage its Super Bowl Sleepover campaign in which winners sleep in a special suite at NRG Stadium the night before the game. During the game, Marriott will sponsor a selfie race on the scoreboard.
NRG itself has been running a national social/digital campaign with actor Tony Hill, with the premise being that he has been hired to craft a Super Bowl ad, which he was not. “We know that during the Super Bowl, Google searches for stadium entitlement sponsor spike, so this was a way to get our message out there with some humor,” said Christine Brown, head of corporate marketing.
