Relating to the Loyal Football Fan

Sports sponsorships support sports.  You might consider this redundant, but considering how there are many franchises that survive in spite of poor records and ticket sales, the opening statement might not be a given.  Earning sponsorships is the key, and in today’s environment of communication, it could be much easier than many make it. 

Many people are bold about their allegiances now.  The use of a simple hash tag connects people miles apart to an identifying thread.  The main goal is to capitalize on this common thread by aligning yourself with your target market. 

I don’t have many numbers to support this next theory, but AT&T must be going after a younger demographic, or at the very least the passionate fan base of college sports.  There is not question that coexisting with college football is a quick way to get money, and tapping into people’s allegiances is the quick way to do it.  I am already an AT&T user, but I like what they are doing with the new “Be The Fan” Campaign.   The campaign gets people to accomplish weekly tasks using the hash tag #BeTheFan.  For example, this week, you have to send in a picture of your game day sign. This crosses all lines of communication, because no phone company owns twitter, but someone may say to his or herself, “I love what AT&T is doing in activating their sponsorship of the sport. Let’s see what else they have to offer.”  When you consider the fact that texts are free, you get a complete scope of how much money this campaign can make for AT&T. 

Hyundai has a campaign based on loyalty.  The car company refers to what different fan bases at tradition rich programs do to display their loyalty.   Then they describe what Hyundai customers do: buy another Hyundai.  This I am sure causes people to say, “Why be loyal to Hyundai?”   The car company has ranked #1 in loyalty for four straight years.