DirecTV's NFL Pitch Targets Fanatical Fans
By R. THOMAS UMSTEAD -- Multichannel News, 7/31/2000
DirecTV Inc.'s new "NFL Sunday Ticket" marketing campaign will target hard-core National Football League fans by highlighting their "die-hard" spirit.
A new national television advertising effort, to break next month, goes into the stands to show NFL fans' devotion to the game, DirecTV senior vice president of marketing and advertising Susan Collins said.
The promo effort will support a Fall DirecTV promotion that offers three free months of the company's Total Choice platinum programming and three free issues of DirecTV's monthly guide. Overall, the promotion has a $260 value.
"America loves football, so [the promotion] allows us to tap into the love of football," Collins said. "Combined with three free months of our premiere programming package, we believe this is an extremely compelling offer that presents an incredible value to consumers."
TV spots feature both on-field and in-the-stands footage of NFL games, capturing the crowd's emotion as it reacts to the drama before it. The campaign's primary tag line, "Never miss a moment," underscores the wide breadth of action available on NFL Sunday Ticket, and reminds fans that the subscription package enables them to catch almost every moment of the 2000 regular season.
"We're very excited about our creative for the spot," Collins said. "We took a direction that allowed us to shoot real people instead of athletes."
In the past, DirecTV has relied on the appeal of the league's marquee players to promote the successful package. Collins said subscriptions have increased about 46 percent per year since 1996, but would not reveal specific details. The package generated more than 850,000 buys last year, according to the league.
The initial six-week television run, which begins Aug. 3, will include buys on national network, cable and syndicated programs. The spots will run on sports-oriented programs as well as several national pre-season NFL games, Collins added.
Print ads will appear in national consumer and sports periodicals, including Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News and USA Today, as well as in local newspapers in the top 31 markets, she said.
