FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE! Live sports are back and better than ever.
In the 2020 season, the pandemic limited the number of spectators admitted to sporting events which led to financial losses for teams, sports facilities, advertisers, etc. There’s now increasing demand for smart solutions to bring fans and revenue back for advertisers and teams while also ensuring fan and player safety.
There is a massive opportunity for marketers and brands to connect with football fans across the country. But how do you reach these sports fans?
Easy! We’ve done the research for you so you don’t have to. Are you ready to learn the best strategies to reach real football fans? Let’s dive in…
1. Football Fans Are Streaming
It comes as no surprise that Americans love their sports. An average of 15.6 million viewers tuned in on streaming devices to watch the NFL’s first-ever virtual draft in 2020; this viewership broke the record for the most spectated round ever.
Viewership of live sports in the US is expected to reach 57.5 million this year and 90.7 billion by 2025. With the NFL leading the charge, US sports will continue to command high prices for broadcasts and streaming rights for these games. Focus on creating a cadence for your CTV/OTT ads so they will reach your target consumer enough times without coming off as overbearing.
Let’s illustrate this with a real-world example:
John and Pete live in the same apartment building. While both consumers have expressed interest in buying a luxury brand car, there is one significant difference. John has not cut the cord yet and consumes TV through cable. Pete, however, streams content through his Roku TV.
John will only see the standard TV ads, whatever his cable provider is showing. This means John could see an ad about old age homes, even though he is only 30 years old! Pete, on the other hand, will receive ads based on his digital preferences and his purchase, online, and offline behavior. We utilize the power of first-party data to place relevant ads in front of John, ensuring that John only sees messages most relevant to him.
Acceleration in spending will only continue as it pulls from both digital and linear TV ad budgets (which totaled $155 billion in 2020). Ultimately, the lure of more viewers and better tracking and measurement will prove too good to pass up, and it’s time for marketers to take notice.
2. Sports Betting Opens a New Window For Marketers to Reach Fans
Sports betting, which is now legal in nearly half the US, is an emerging market opportunity for brands and broadcasters alike. With traditional broadcast TV spend decreasing, eMarketer forecasts significant growth in Connected TV/OTT ad spending which will be predominantly driven by live sports programming.
Sports betting makes up between 30%-40% of the worldwide betting market making it the prime marketing solution for marketers. In 2021, football is still the sport with the most amount of bets placed in the United States. Football is a real obsession amongst sports fans with 30% of the population watching the games.
Let’s say you are an online sports booking company looking to target sports bettors and sports fans in a compliant way (i.e. they are of legal age and are within the perimeters of upcoming sporting events near their location). Like the example mentioned above, we can ensure that your advertisement gets placed in front of real football fans who have shown interest in your product/service. It is extremely important to reach these fans through their streaming devices and mobile betting apps throughout the football season.
With BRIDGE’s #1 top-ranked consumer audience data and people-based marketing strategy, you understand your customers best. You’ll gain insights on which of your consumers are looking at attending casinos and sporting events, live within a radius of a specific casino or stadium locations, are visiting competing casino locations, as well as their media preferences, verified email addresses, and unique mobile device IDs.
3. Get Started Today
At BRIDGE, we combine and layer all touchpoints of a buyer’s journey to target actual, in-market consumers who are looking to place sports bets. Unlike traditional marketing, which only targets “maybe” prospects, BRIDGE targets sports bettors during each sport season.
BRIDGE consumer audience data is accurate, timely, and complete.
We are the only data provider that lets you reach REAL, verified football fans. Unlike other providers, we build each profile starting with an individual’s email address. Then we connect it to attributes such as first and last name, postal address, and mobile behavior, allowing us to pinpoint each person’s identity with confidence and precision.
