Sponsorship
SponsorUnited Competitive Analysis
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And just like that, it’s football season again. The NFL expanded their regular-season schedule from 16 to 17 games this year and will begin on September 9 with defending Super Bowl LV champion Tampa Bay hosting Dallas in the NFL Kickoff Game. Some people are busy putting their fantasy teams together while Winmo puts our sponsorship teams together (okay, we do both). Keep reading to download our full list of 30+ NFL sponsorship spenders planning in Q4.
Here’s a sneak peek, and tons of additional spending details, on four NFL sponsorship brands included in the list:
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1) FanDuel
The gambling company named Brian Borkowski as its new marketing SVP in June. Borkowski joined the company from Hulu and will handle FanDuel’s media, lifecycle marketing, and customer acquisition, reporting to CMO Mike Raffensperger. The company also named a new interim CEO, Amy Howe from Ticketmaster, the same month. She replaces incumbent Matt King. FanDuel hired Howe in February 2021 as president; before that, she was Ticketmaster’s president and COO.
- Sellers: FanDuel is advertising more heavily, so spending should continue to rise. Especially as the company targets Gen-Z via paid social and YouTube ads and millennials via other digital, including podcasts. Per Kantar data, the company also invests in print (newspapers), radio, OOH, and local broadcast.
- Agency and martech readers: These marketing hires could easily create opportunities for you. Get in touch soon to offer media, PR, and/or digital analytics services. BBH became FanDuel’s creative AOR in 2019.
2) Lyft
Vaccination rollout has helped the rideshare app recover from the ongoing Covid stall. Lyft lowered marketing spend in H1 mainly due to organic demand. Sales and marketing expenses fell 15%, marking the lowest percentage of revenue the company has ever spent on marketing. Magellan reports Lyft placed about 18 podcast ads over the last year. And, according to iSpot, Lyft hasn’t invested in national TV ads since 2019 when it advertised on “Meet the Press,” “Today 3,” “The Cosby Show,” “Last Call With Carson Daly” and “Late Night With Seth Meyers.”
- Sellers: Lyft mainly targets Gen-Z and millennials. The company decreased spend drastically in H1, but it has already reversed that trend as YTD spend is higher than it was during the same time period of 2020. It also invests in OHH, print, and local broadcast TV ads, per Kantar. Reach out now.
- Agency and martech readers: Lyft works with creative AOR Wieden + Kennedy and media buying and planning AOR Digitas.
3) Molson Coors
Within the past quarter, the brewing company increased ad spend for “core innovation brands” such as Coors Seltzer, Vizzy and Blue Moon LightSky. According to execs in its latest earnings call, Molson Coors also increased media investment behind “iconic core (coor?) brands” such as Coors Light and Miller Lite. This growth in ad spend was partially made possible by lower spend in pandemic-affected areas such as sports and live entertainment events.
- Sellers: An increase in digital spending, plus reliance on Facebook and Instagram advertising, show that Molson Coors is targeting Gen-Z. However, the company’s rising TV spend and notable investment in podcast ads show that it’s also targeting millennials and Gen-X. To narrow its target demographic down, though, remember that Molson Coors especially targets men. Per Kantar, the company additionally invests in OOH, print, radio, and local broadcast. However, overall spend in these channels dropped YOY in 2020.
- Agency and martech readers: There haven’t been any shifts since Molson Coors added Droga5 to its agency roster late last year, so additional agency reviews are still possible. Overall, it primarily works with media AOR Connect at Publicis Media, creative AOR DDB Chi, and creative AOR Energy BBDO.
4) Tim Hortons
The Canadian-founded coffee and doughnut chain named GUT its creative AOR in June 2021. Tim Hortons worked with GUT’s Miami office for several years, but the agency will now handle business from its new Toronto office. While it’s unclear when creative work will be released, there should be opportunities for sellers in the near future.
- Sellers: Tim Hortons primarily targets Gen-Z and millennials, considering it placed the majority of its digital ads directly onto Instagram. It has increased spending in this channel for a couple of years and, with a new creative AOR, should continue adding to the ad budget. It also invests in OOH, radio, and local broadcast TV ads, per Kantar. Contact this company offering relevant ad space.
- Agency and martech readers: Agency reviews commonly follow one another, so start reaching out soon to be top-of-mind. You’ll face competition from Horizon Media for buying and planning and might consider offering digital and social media assistance as well.
Want more? Download our full list of 30+ NFL sponsorship spenders planning in Q4 here.