There are not many customer journeys that begin the moment you are born – but that’s exactly what the CMO of NFL team Minnesota Vikings has to consider when attracting new fans to the brand.
Speaking at Marketing Week’s Festival of Marketing yesterday (2 October), Viking’s CMO Martin Nance said the team tries to be “thoughtful” about planting the seeds of fandom from an early age because it understands the “power of those earliest memories” when it comes to choosing a team.
“We have relationships with hospitals across the city so that when a newborn baby comes into the world, we want to make sure there’s a little tiny Vikings football laying right next to them,” he said. “Because later on in life, they’re going to have those pictures to look back on and say I was connected with the Vikings from day one.”
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There are not many customer journeys that begin the moment you are born – but that’s exactly what the CMO of NFL team Minnesota Vikings has to consider when attracting new fans to the brand.
Speaking at Marketing Week’s Festival of Marketing yesterday (2 October), Viking’s CMO Martin Nance said the team tries to be “thoughtful” about planting the seeds of fandom from an early age because it understands the “power of those earliest memories” when it comes to choosing a team.
“We have relationships with hospitals across the city so that when a newborn baby comes into the world, we want to make sure there’s a little tiny Vikings football laying right next to them,” he said. “Because later on in life, they’re going to have those pictures to look back on and say I was connected with the Vikings from day one.”
That feeling of connection is something that the team tries to foster throughout all life stages to keep that sense of pride in supporting the team. They have flag football leagues where each of the teams are named after the Vikings so that each child can get to “feel like they are part of the team” and reinforce that connection.
And it’s something that continues as fans get older, with Nance noting that the design and style of the team logo need to be “cool” and that new parents want to “pass on the legacy” with pride in the fandom.
“When all those things work together, that sense of belonging and feeling connected, you are part of a community that is bigger than yourself,” he said. “We want to make sure, too, that even within the stadium experience we’re reinforcing that we’re giving people that emotional connection to the team that will stick with them well beyond a game day.”
Red Roses victory described as ‘watershed moment’ for women’s rugby sponsorshipThese emotional connections extend beyond the category that Nance works in. He recalled the decade-plus he spent at Gatorade where building “emotional ties” to the brand when picking up a bottle from the shelf was seen as a vital part of the customer journey. It’s something he believes can be achieved through “storytelling” and helping the customer understand when they interact with a brand they are “part of something” – something the Vikings do through ritual.
“But there are ways in which non-sports brands can also create that connection and opportunity to feel plugged into something that is bigger than yourself,” said Nance. “It’s something I would encourage people to explore from a brand perspective.”
Going global
Of course, the NFL is nowadays a global league that has fan bases around the world – not just in America – and Nance is well aware that part of his remit is to grow the brand not just at a local level but a global one too.
He said many people in the UK, for example, watch the NFL but haven’t committed to a team, and he wants the Vikings, through its “storytelling and content”, to make the case to global fans that it is a brand worth investing in. “We have a community of fans that you can be a part of and opt into. We will welcome you with open arms,” he said.
The Vikings are also thinking about brands and clubs across Europe they can partner with that are “well respected, appreciated and doing good work” as it continues to push its global expansion.
‘Meeting of minds’: Mastercard on ‘advancing the business’ through Formula 1Like most NFL teams, Nance has a problem best described as nice to have in that before the season even begins, it will have sold 98-99% of tickets for home games. This means Nance can focus on the more long-term brand building measures that will have more fans invested in the team.
“Our marketing investment is not just about trying to turn the dollar through the door this upcoming Sunday – but how are we planting that investment so that in five to 10 years, we’ve got people that feel connected to us and want to invest their dollars and their time into our organisation,” said Nance.
Perhaps the big question, though, is how much effort the Minnesota Vikings put into converting fans from its arch-rival, the Green Bay Packers?
“Converting a Packers fan over into a Vikings fan is very difficult,” he laughed. “As loyal fans, it’s difficult to take someone from one club to another, especially when you’re talking about a rival. That’s why it’s so critical to plant those seeds very early on. Because once someone grabs hold of a team, it is very sticky.”