This weekend sees the second of three NFL games to be played at Wembley Stadium in London as part of the International Series.
Thousands of fans will flock to be part of the 70,000+ attendance for the game between the Detroit Lions and the Atlanta Falcons.
The Series has expanded from one to three annual games and from an original 8 commercial partners to more than 20 now.
SportLobster, a social media aggregator is the latest to be added to the list that includes Microsoft, Budweiser and Pepsi at the highest ‘Cornerstone’ level; Aon, Bose Jeep and Virgin Atlantic at Associate level and EMC, Nike and Electronic Arts at local level.
There is a more relaxed set of guidelines for sponsors in Europe than those which apply to NFL games in the US. Pitch side LED advertising is an accepted part of broadcast sport here and advertisers are taking full advantage. In some ways the League is using the overseas matches as a tester for what the US market will accept.
It is ironic that in the home of commercial branding that sport still lags well behind how brands here can exploit commercial relationships with teams. Jersey branding is only going to be tested in the NBA next season, something which has been the norm this side of the Atlantic for over two decades.
Here’s a small example of how Virgin Atlantic was out and about gathering content for their in flight and marketing channels earlier this season.
