{"id":22627,"date":"2025-09-05T18:40:52","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T18:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627"},"modified":"2025-09-05T18:40:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T18:40:54","slug":"what-applebees-learned-after-its-first-year-as-an-official-nfl-sponsor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627","title":{"rendered":"What Applebee\u2019s learned after its first year as an official NFL sponsor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 zNSXu\">The NFL is back, and so are its many, many sponsors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 zNSXu\">Applebee\u2019s, which became the official bar and grill of the league ahead of the 2024 season, is looking to start football season strong. To do it, the restaurant chain is relying on key lessons\u2014and coaches\u2014from its rookie year and aiming to use the power of NFL fandom to drive restaurant traffic, according to John Peyton, Applebee\u2019s president and CEO of its parent company, Dine Brands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 zNSXu\">\u201cEveryone loves the NFL,\u201d Peyton told Marketing Brew. \u201cAt least in this country, it\u2019s almost universally known and followed, so it\u2019s a common language and a common bond. Despite where you live or how you live, everyone talks about the NFL. That\u2019s been a great community-builder for us, both with our guests and our team members.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 zNSXu\">We spoke with Peyton about what\u2019s in store for the brand\u2019s latest football campaign and how he and his marketing team plan to advance the work they did last season.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Applebee&#039;s ULTIMATE option-play\u2026the NEW Ultimate Trio!\" width=\"1170\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qrZaw_LdpYA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 dNbKdQ\">Put me in, coach<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 zNSXu\">For its first campaign as an official NFL sponsor last year, Applebee\u2019s ran a series of spots starring San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, and Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 zNSXu\">This year, the player roster looks a little different. In an effort to appeal to an even wider range of NFL fans, Peyton\u2019s team picked a rookie, Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty, as well as a veteran, Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. The hope, Peyton said, is that Stroud is familiar even to casual fans, while Jeanty is well-known for a rookie among more serious fans who might also follow college football and the NFL draft.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 zNSXu\">While the players in this year\u2019s campaign changed, the coach is staying the same. Campbell is back after starring in last year\u2019s campaign, which was \u201creally well received,\u201d partially thanks to Campbell\u2019s humor, Peyton said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 zNSXu\">\u201cWe just love the way he leans into it, how much he truly enjoys himself, and that it just comes across in the spot,\u201d Peyton said. \u201cThat energy, and that creativity, and his enthusiasm is what [made it] a no-brainer to roll him into Year 2.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 dNbKdQ\">Triple threat<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 zNSXu\">This fall, Applebee\u2019s Ultimate Trio appetizer deal and 2 for $25 menu are front and center in the creative, which marks a bit of a shift from last season, when the campaign was more focused on conveying the \u201cfun vibe at Applebee\u2019s\u201d restaurants, Peyton said. Applebee\u2019s branding and logo will also be more clear in this season\u2019s campaign, he said, a learning from last year that\u2019s meant to help the brand stand out among other restaurant ads.<\/p>\n<div class=\"style__InlineSubscribeWrapper-sc-9b30af34-1 xBGLJ inline-subscribe\">\n<div id=\"inline-subscribe\" class=\"style__RoundedContainer-sc-bac6188c-0 jnRTsW\">\n<h5 class=\"inline-subscribe\">Get marketing news you&#8217;ll actually want to read<\/h5>\n<p class=\"inline-subscribe\">Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 zNSXu\">In another departure from last year\u2019s approach, the campaign will leave behind the brand\u2019s <em>Pre-Seasoning<\/em> content series, according to Peyton. The ads will also run for longer than they did last season, he added, evolving creatively over time but staying focused on humor and promoting the same offerings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 zNSXu\">\u201cLast year, we laid the groundwork for our association with the NFL,\u201d Peyton said. \u201cWe introduced the story of a coach training up his team members to serve our guests. This year, with that well established, we\u2019re getting really specific.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 dNbKdQ\">New routes<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 zNSXu\">While the campaign will continue to run on TV like it did last season, the platform focus will be \u201cmuch more 360 than last year,\u201d with more content like behind-the-scenes footage captured during the filming of the ad spots set to run on social and digital channels, Peyton said. There are plans to activate more at Applebee\u2019s locations as well, including with NFL displays and decor, and by encouraging employees to rep their favorite teams.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 zNSXu\">By broadening the ways in which the brand activates its sponsorship, Peyton said he hopes the promotional effort will catch the eyes\u2014and the stomachs\u2014of as many NFL fans as possible.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-1ef9199a-8 zNSXu\">\u201cMy 84-year-old mother never misses an Eagles game,\u201d he said. \u201cShe\u2019s going to experience the Eagles on television, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re there. My 24-year-old son watches the NFL on four different screens\u2026and so we need to be on the apps. We need to be on the dot coms as well. The message is the same, but we\u2019ve got to find our guests where they are because the NFL is consumed through so many different channels in so many different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read the full article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketingbrew.com\/stories\/2025\/09\/05\/applebees-nfl-sponsorship?utm_source=&#038;utm_medium=syndication&#038;utm_campaign=feed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" rel=\"nofollow\">here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NFL is back, and so are its many, many sponsors. Applebee\u2019s, which became the official bar and grill of the league ahead of the 2024 season, is looking to start football season strong. To do it, the restaurant chain is relying on key lessons\u2014and coaches\u2014from its rookie year and aiming to use the power [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22627","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-marketing"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Applebee\u2019s learned after its first year as an official NFL sponsor | Brandiary<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The NFL is back, and so are its many, many sponsors.Applebee\u2019s, which became the official bar and grill of the league ahead of the 2024 season, is looking\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Applebee\u2019s learned after its first year as an official NFL sponsor | Brandiary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The NFL is back, and so are its many, many sponsors.Applebee\u2019s, which became the official bar and grill of the league ahead of the 2024 season, is looking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Brandiary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-05T18:40:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-05T18:40:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757097653_c196d351ae94de13693a669ef9b9445efc2dd019-3000x2000.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"News Room\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"News Room\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"News Room\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5062dafb0f932b59aa228f1a047332f4\"},\"headline\":\"What Applebee\u2019s learned after its first year as an official NFL sponsor\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-05T18:40:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-05T18:40:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627\"},\"wordCount\":807,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Marketing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627\",\"name\":\"What Applebee\u2019s learned after its first year as an official NFL sponsor | Brandiary\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-05T18:40:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-05T18:40:54+00:00\",\"description\":\"The NFL is back, and so are its many, many sponsors.Applebee\u2019s, which became the official bar and grill of the league ahead of the 2024 season, is looking\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Applebee\u2019s learned after its first year as an official NFL sponsor\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/\",\"name\":\"Brandiary\",\"description\":\"Latest Business and Startup News and Updates\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Brandiary\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/b-logo-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/b-logo-1.png\",\"width\":381,\"height\":100,\"caption\":\"Brandiary\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5062dafb0f932b59aa228f1a047332f4\",\"name\":\"News Room\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/avatar_user_1_1688031660-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/avatar_user_1_1688031660-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"News Room\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Applebee\u2019s learned after its first year as an official NFL sponsor | Brandiary","description":"The NFL is back, and so are its many, many sponsors.Applebee\u2019s, which became the official bar and grill of the league ahead of the 2024 season, is looking","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Applebee\u2019s learned after its first year as an official NFL sponsor | Brandiary","og_description":"The NFL is back, and so are its many, many sponsors.Applebee\u2019s, which became the official bar and grill of the league ahead of the 2024 season, is looking","og_url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627","og_site_name":"Brandiary","article_published_time":"2025-09-05T18:40:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-05T18:40:54+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757097653_c196d351ae94de13693a669ef9b9445efc2dd019-3000x2000.jpg","width":1,"height":1,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"News Room","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"News Room","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627"},"author":{"name":"News Room","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5062dafb0f932b59aa228f1a047332f4"},"headline":"What Applebee\u2019s learned after its first year as an official NFL sponsor","datePublished":"2025-09-05T18:40:52+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-05T18:40:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627"},"wordCount":807,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Marketing"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627","name":"What Applebee\u2019s learned after its first year as an official NFL sponsor | Brandiary","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-09-05T18:40:52+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-05T18:40:54+00:00","description":"The NFL is back, and so are its many, many sponsors.Applebee\u2019s, which became the official bar and grill of the league ahead of the 2024 season, is looking","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22627#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Applebee\u2019s learned after its first year as an official NFL sponsor"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/","name":"Brandiary","description":"Latest Business and Startup News and Updates","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization","name":"Brandiary","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/b-logo-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/b-logo-1.png","width":381,"height":100,"caption":"Brandiary"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5062dafb0f932b59aa228f1a047332f4","name":"News Room","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/avatar_user_1_1688031660-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/avatar_user_1_1688031660-96x96.png","caption":"News Room"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com"],"url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22627"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22629,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22627\/revisions\/22629"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}