NFL plans $50M "Back to Football" campaign
The NFL plans to welcome the start of its regular season next week with a $50 million ''Back to Football'' marketing campaign.
The effort aims to keep up last year's record TV ratings and improve its value to sponsors.
The league is running ads for ''Back to Football'' on its broadcast partners NBC, CBS, FOX, ESPN, and NFL Network. All are using the slogan, too.
Retailers Kohl's, Dick's and Old Navy are also running promotions and featuring NFL merchandise.
In all, the league estimates total media spending by the NFL and its sponsors to be worth $50 million on the campaign, which it plans to run each year from July through the season's start in early September.
NFL Chief Marketing Officer Mark Waller said the NFL wants the season's start to be as strong as its finish, which is marked by the Super Bowl.
This year's Super Bowl, with the New Orleans Saints victorious over the Indianapolis Colts, became the most-watched event in U.S. television history.
''There's huge pent-up demand,'' Waller said Tuesday. ''You don't stop being a football fan when the season ends.''
The league asked sponsors and broadcasters to use the theme, telling them ''the more you engage fans the better it is for all of us,'' Waller explained.
The NFL also expanded its pre-game show for the kickoff game on Sept. 9 to one hour from 30 minutes. The season's first game has the Saints hosting the Minnesota Vikings. The day after that, fans will be asked to wear jerseys or their team colors, the NFL said, including people at work and at school.
Last year's regular season games averaged 18.4 million viewers, up nearly 10 percent from the prior year, according to The Nielsen Company.
Ratings so far this preseason, which started in early August, have also been strong, Waller said. Interest has been heightened because of 40-year-old Brett Favre again playing quarterback for the Vikings and the new football stadium in New York shared by the Jets and the Giants.
''There's just so many story lines, the interest is as high as it's ever been,'' he said.
-
2024 NFL Draft: Best players available in Day 3
Why did Bills trade back, allowing Chiefs to get speedy WR Xavier Worthy?
2024 NFL Draft order: Updated after Round 1
-
2024 NFL Draft Date, Time: Schedule, how to watch, TV channel
2025 Super Bowl LIX odds: Chicago's odds on move after drafting Caleb Williams
Why Falcons made stunning pick, taking QB Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall
-
Dallas Cowboys, Ezekiel Elliott reunion is reportedly 'increasingly imminent'
Why Patriots QB Drake Maye couldn't be more different than Mac Jones
Bears' Caleb Williams breaks Caitlin Clark's draft night merch sales record
-
2024 NFL Draft: Best players available in Day 3
Why did Bills trade back, allowing Chiefs to get speedy WR Xavier Worthy?
2024 NFL Draft order: Updated after Round 1
-
2024 NFL Draft Date, Time: Schedule, how to watch, TV channel
2025 Super Bowl LIX odds: Chicago's odds on move after drafting Caleb Williams
Why Falcons made stunning pick, taking QB Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall
-
Dallas Cowboys, Ezekiel Elliott reunion is reportedly 'increasingly imminent'
Why Patriots QB Drake Maye couldn't be more different than Mac Jones
Bears' Caleb Williams breaks Caitlin Clark's draft night merch sales record