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Being a football fan is basically a full-time job. To promote its latest collections from NFL Shop, the league\u2019s marketing arm is leaning into the idea of professional fandom.<\/p>\n
In a campaign that rolled out during kickoff last month, more than 60 NFL fans rep merch from various teams as NFL players discuss their relationships with fans.<\/p>\n
Selling jerseys to football fans might seem about as easy as giving candy to a baby, but the effort is meant to do more than just drive sales, according to Marissa Solis, the league\u2019s SVP of global and brand marketing\u2014it\u2019s also about making fans feel involved, showcasing player personalities, and modernizing the NFL Shop campaign that\u2019s stayed relatively the same as the league has been changing, Solis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the last five [or] six years, we\u2019ve had a very \u2018same\u2019 campaign,\u201d Solis told Marketing Brew. \u201cEvery year we say, \u2018Hey, go to NFLShop.com [and] purchase your favorite jersey from your favorite team.\u2019…We hadn\u2019t really plused things up or given fans a reason to get excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea behind the campaign, called \u201cFan Like a Pro,\u201d came from independent creative agency Yard NYC, which Solis said her team brought in to help \u201cchange things up\u201d for NFL Shop.<\/p>\n
When the agency team started looking into football fandom and fashion, they realized \u201cit\u2019s so much more than a jersey and a hat,\u201d and wanted to highlight the ways people express their fandom through different styles, Yard NYC CEO Ruth Bernstein told us.<\/p>\n
\u201cFans plan, fans anticipate,\u201d Solis said. \u201cThey go to battle, if you will, for their team. They are just as professional, they are just as involved, they are just as engaged in the game as the players are\u2026They fan like pros.\u201d<\/p>\n
The resulting campaign includes seven spots, which will run for the 18 weeks of the NFL season across broadcast, cable, streaming, and social platforms.<\/p>\n
In recent years, the NFL has leaned into \u201chelmets off\u201d content highlighting the personalities of its players, but until now, the NFL Shop campaign was one of the league\u2019s only campaigns that didn\u2019t put athletes front and center, Solis said.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s campaign changes that, featuring Baltimore Ravens wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman, Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata, Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, and San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall.<\/p>\n
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
Mailata, who\u2019s from Australia, helps to make the campaign \u201crelevant globally\u201d as the league expands into other countries, Solis said; the NFL\u2019s first regular-season game in Australia is set for next year. In another spot, St. Brown talks about playing in Europe, another key market for the league.<\/p>\n
One of the spots, called \u201cFan Out Loud,\u201d features a group of women fronted by US women\u2019s flag national team player Ashlea Klam. Solis said her team hadn\u2019t initially planned to include flag football, but wanted to showcase the NFL Shop\u2019s products for women with an athlete front and center, which led them to Klam.<\/p>\n
The athletes are joined in the ads by six influencers, including comedic duo Darius and Dominic Jones, who were included not simply for their follower counts but because of their genuine fandom for their teams, Solis said.<\/p>\n
Beyond sprucing up its merch and campaign for NFL Shop this season, the league has been developing \u201can entire strategy around fashion,\u201d Solis said. That has included moves like bringing on Abercrombie & Fitch as its official fashion partner and collaborating with Colombian singer Karol G on a limited-edition jersey tied to a game in S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil, earlier this season.<\/p>\n
With players like Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson attending Paris Fashion Week and cameras increasingly glued to the game-day outfits of the superstar significant others of NFL players like Taylor Swift and Simone Biles, the NFL has natural ties to fashion, and Solis said the goal is to make fans feel more involved in that culture.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we think about what is relevant to fans, what\u2019s going to rile them up, what\u2019s going to make them engage even more with the game year round, there\u2019s several verticals, whether it\u2019s music, whether it\u2019s food, whether it\u2019s gaming,\u201d Solis said. \u201cI think fashion is a key one. It\u2019s something that\u2019s really personal [and] it\u2019s something that can really express your fandom at many levels\u2026There\u2019s really been a lot of conversation around fashion, and it wasn\u2019t until now where we really brought in the fan.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n