Sponsorship Activations Surrounding the Big Game
February 8, 2024
We are just a few days away from the 2024 NFL Championship game! The 49ers and Chiefs will face off in Las Vegas this Sunday. With the year’s biggest sporting event comes countless activations from the team and league sponsors looking to capitalize on the hype and draw of the weekend. Many TicketManager partners are taking part in the festivities. Here are some highlights of their unique and creative activations:
Verizon
Verizon has been one of the NFL’s top sponsors for many years. They have multiple sponsorship distinctions with both the league and individual teams, with the most significant being the league’s official 5G network.
This year, Verizon went with a unique focus for their activations: highlighting their content partnerships. As mentioned in a recent TicketManager blog, Verizon has had daily event activations focused on one partner that began on Thursday with a Netflix showcase.
Friday will highlight Max (formerly HBO Max), who will bring in several stars from their most popular series. Saturday will see Halftime Show sponsor Apple Music and LeBron James’ brand Uninterrupted create a custom playlist that will premier at the event alongside appearances from NFL stars Sauce Gardener, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and football legends Ed Reed and Reggie Wayne. Finally, Saturday will see the communications giant host a tailgate party for their local employees and fans, with over 500 people expected to attend.
Anheuser-Busch
TicketManager partner Anheuser-Busch is taking full advantage of its sponsorship. The beverage brand will be one of the most prevalent advertisers during the Big Game and the largest alcoholic beverage advertiser overall, with around two and a half minutes of advertisements running throughout the game. The company will focus on three of their key offerings: Budweiser, Bud Light, and Michelob Ultra.
The brand is keeping it classic with Budweiser, bringing back the iconic Clydesdale horses and focusing on key messaging described by the brand as “resilience, determination and nostalgia.”
AB-InBev’s ad spot for Bud Light will unveil a new mascot of sorts for the brand, a “charismatic genie” who grants wishes, with teasers going around the internet in recent days. The commercial will also feature stars like Post Malone, Peyton Manning, and UFC President Dana White. The commercial is a continuation of their “Easy to Drink. Easy to Enjoy” marketing campaign.
Arguably biggest of all, the brand has been teasing their upcoming Michelob Ultra commercial that will feature soccer legend Lionel Messi. Anheuser-Busch is leaning into the “sports drinker” customer persona as their target buyer for the Michelob Ultra brand.
Adidas
Our partners at Adidas made no secret of who they are rooting for in the Big Game. The sportswear giant began the week leading up to the Big Game with an activation on the exterior of the Sphere in Las Vegas.
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Throughout the week, fans and spectators will see the ad above, posted to the Adidas official Instagram account, highlighting their partnership with superstar Patrick Mahomes alongside text saying, “You Got This.” Adidas inked a multi-million-dollar partnership with Mahomes prior to his rookie season and have seen him grow with the company into one of the top QBs of all time.
This just scratches the surface of the unique ways that brands are capitalizing on the draw of the biggest game in sports. In our last blog post, Jim Andrews shined a spotlight on one of our partners, United, and how they are activating around the matchup between two of the teams that they sponsor!
Viewers, both in attendance and at home, are in for a weekend full of creative advertising and activations.
