Verizon’s logo isn’t the only thing that got spruced up around the time of its rebrand in June.
The company also took a look at its pro football partnerships, which span 26 team deals and one with the NFL that dates back to 2010. In past years, Verizon has largely leveraged that relationship for football broadcast integrations, according to Nick Kelly, VP of partnerships at Verizon, but this year, the telecom brand’s football presence is more focused on experiences offered through its revamped Verizon Access customer rewards program.
It’s a shift that’s as much about retaining existing customers as it is about recruiting new ones through the power of FOMO, he said.
“Historically, we would just look at the NFL as another channel to push our promo messaging,” Kelly told Marketing Brew. “With the relaunch and focus on loyalty with Verizon Access, it’s been, ‘Let’s utilize these partnerships at these sporting events.’”
Fan to field
When Verizon underwent its brand refresh over the summer, it also updated its loyalty program, formerly known as Verizon Up, Kelly said. That program became Verizon Access, which the company started testing over the summer with perks like offering fans access to tailored experiences at music festivals.
For now, though, “we’re really focused almost exclusively on the NFL,” he said.
Verizon filled NFL team partners in on its intention to lean more into the program in May, asking them to contribute their own ideas for experiences unique to their fan bases, Kelly said. That has resulted in several custom activities.
The Indianapolis Colts offered to bring Verizon customers to play a round of golf with two players on owner Jim Irsay’s private course, he said, and the New York Jets recently had two Verizon customers open the locker-room doors for players to take the field, an honor usually reserved for celebrities. Later this week, two fans will be whisked to London to watch the Jacksonville Jaguars take on the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium. Later in the season, the Patriots plan to have fans help fire the cannons at Gillette Stadium that go off when the team scores a touchdown, Kelly said.
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“These are things that we couldn’t come up with on our own, because we don’t know some of the traditions,” he said.
About 1,000 people will get access to experiences like these this season, Kelly said, and Verizon is offering customers discounts on NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL gear as well. Kelly said the hope is that these experiences and offers will reinforce brand loyalty with existing customers while also attracting new ones through word of mouth.
Mandatory attendance
Kelly declined to share specific brand metrics around the Verizon Access program ahead of the company’s earnings report, but said the program is working well enough that his team is already planning to expand it into the playoffs and the Super Bowl with bigger experiences, potentially involving influencers as well as everyday customers.
“We feel that strongly about the ability for it to drive brand love,” he said. “If this wasn’t working, we would kill it.”
Verizon already has significant brand awareness and association among NFL fans; Kelly said brand awareness sits at about 99% among NFL fans. For that reason, its current work with the league under their renewed deal in 2021 centers on highlighting that Verizon runs communications for coaches and creating connections with fans, not just basic brand awareness, Kelly said.
“The role we play in the NFL is far more authentic now than it was two years ago,” he said, later adding that “I don’t need another logo. What I need is a story to tell to [NFL] fans and our potential business partners of what we’re doing together.”
To help tell that story, Kelly said his team plans around league tentpoles well in advance. NFL Draft activation prep starts around November, he said, and Super Bowl plans, which he said could be announced around December, have been brewing for at least a few months.
“It’s not a nice-to-have with the NFL,” Kelly said. “It’s a mandatory, because we know we’re going to hit the audience; we know we’re going to do it, so the NFL becomes a fixture on your marketing calendar. It’s no longer just a vehicle of, ‘I’ll buy some ads on Sunday.”
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