Going to the comic book store as a kid, I often gravitated toward the bulging titles that screamed “SPECIAL”, “GIANT-SIZED” or, best of all, “SPECIAL GIANT SIZED.” I’d tread carefully while reaching for them, fearing that a shift in their combined weight might upend the display rack, leaving the proprietor no choice but to ban me for life.
The NFL season opened last night on NBC, a welcome sight for some of the 71.6 million U.S. adults now able to bet on games legally from their homes. Three sportsbooks aired commercials nationally during the game. So, yes, we’ve got a “SPECIAL GIANT-SIZED” issue of the newsletter today.
Caesars using laughs in ads to make connection with fans
In key markets, Caesars will use a mix of local and national buys to air different spots throughout the day. Otterman, who began her career in marketing at ESPN, likened the campaign “This is SportsCenter” promos, which debuted in 1994 and kept fans laughing for more than two decades.
“We talk a lot about spots and cost, but it’s all about ROI vs. cost,” Otterman said. “At the end of the day, brands are emotional connections. And if we can truly build an emotional connection and a proposition and differentiation, then you invest in telling a story. I was lucky enough to be part of 'This is SportsCenter' for a very long time. Same thing. You invest in being able to tell a story and that story resonates over time. From early signs, our story is resonating, so we want to keep telling stories."
PointsBet seeks to use "Football Night in America" to educate fans
Along with spending on NBC owned-and-operated stations in markets in which it is taking bets -- or will enter soon -- PointsBet will make other local buys, including a heavy hit during Broncos games on the CBS affiliate in Denver, its U.S. HQ.
“For us, it was really doing an analysis of markets we’re in, markets we’re going to be in, and what that CPM is going to be even though we’re not live in every state,” Foote said. “To us, [‘FNIA’] is a very smart and efficient spend at the national level because of what the legalized states are. You can break down households in Philly, households in Chicago, look at who is watching the pregame show -- and it’s millions of people. We’re at this inflection point, probably for all operators, starting to lean in to a heavier budget on the national side.”
While in-play betting likely is the future, Foote remains bullish on the value of the pregame show as a place that bettors come for the latest information. He also sees it as a vehicle to educate the vast majority of fans who haven’t ever bet through a sportsbook on what’s available beyond the basic menu of spreads and totals -- a priority for the league, which hopes to use betting as an engagement tool.
“Each week we’re going to analyze what we did, what’s working, what traffic it’s driving to our products and platforms,” Foote said. “This will be an evolution, not only for us, but for NBC and the NFL. So the NFL will be watching on a week-by-week basis to review and understand what we’re trying to accomplish as a larger partnership.”