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Wanting to grow American Football globally, the New York Jets teamed up with SPORTFIVE in 2021 to bid for the United Kingdom as their key international market and “second home” through the NFL’s International Home Marketing Area (IHMA) initiative.
Continuing the collaboration, the Jets’ appointed SPORTFIVE as the team’s in-market partner agency.
Leveraging the Jets’ strong brand and traditions, SPORTFIVE supports the New York Jets to grow their fanbase, brand and commercial revenues in the UK through a number of marketing initiatives, including social and digital media, events, content creation and strategic partnerships.
In this Success Story:
The Challenge
In 2021, the NFL founded the ‘International Home Marketing Areas’ initiative. The initiative grants clubs access to international territories for marketing, fan engagement and commercialisation as part of a long-term, strategic effort to enable clubs to build their global brands while driving NFL fan growth internationally.
The announcement saw the New York Jets team up with SPORTFIVE to prepare a bid for the UK market. Following the successful bid, the Jets appointed SPORTFIVE as their in-market partner agency, with the long-term aim of developing the team’s fanbase, brand and commercial revenue in the UK.
Our Solution
Through a dedicated team, fully integrated into our global agency structure, SPORTFIVE developed a UK-adapted, go-to-market strategy centred around four key marketing functions; strategic partnerships, social media, events and digital media.
Teaming up with strategic and commercial partners such as Sky Sports, TalkSPORT and Charles Tyrwhitt; SPORTFIVE activated the New York Jets brand to engage with partners who have a strong history and connection with the target audience.
In addition to partnering with key UK stakeholders, SPORTFIVE have helped the NFL side to develop and maintain a strong connection with their UK fans, through creating and managing fan-engagement channels.
Dedicated Twitter and Instagram channels, as well as a Digital Hub and Podcast were launched specifically for UK fans, providing key platforms to tailor content to the target audience. As well as ensuring a strong digital presence, SPORTFIVE have also worked with the Jets to deliver a number of in-person events, including the first-ever live UK draft pick, from the tallest building in London, The Shard.
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Strategic Partnerships
Wanting to sustain New York Jets' presence in the UK, SPORTFIVE work with a host of strategic stakeholders to help secure the Jets' long term objectives within the market.
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Social Media
With the aim of bringing UK fans closer to the Jets, SPORTFIVE have launched and manage dedicated Instagram and Twitter channels, allowing for market tailored content - boosting engagement.
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Events
The connection with fans is also behind the Jets' efforts to host a number of in-person events throughout the season, including watch parties, draft pick events and community-based sessions.
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Digital Media
The use of digital media platforms such as the dedicated New York Jets UK Digital Hub and the Touchdown UK podcast provide crucial platforms for UK-based fans to interact with Jets' content.
Outcome
Putting UK fans at the heart of the marketing strategy has yielded strong results for the New York Jets brand ‘across the pond’.
The launch of the club’s UK-dedicated social media platforms has seen remarkable numbers, with the Jets’ channels having a higher engagement rate than all other UK IHMA teams combined, in 2022.
Operating as a hub for all things New York Jets in the UK, the dedicated Digital Hub website has over 120,000 page views and an engagement rate of 88% - providing the perfect platform for fans to meaningfully connect with their team.
What's in it for you?
In a world which has never been smaller and people around the globe can connect instantly, sport is one of the true universal languages which transcends all barriers. Working alongside SPORTFIVE, the New York Jets have utilised this universal nature to the fullest.
Internationalization builds global fanbases
The biggest and best rightsholders in sport have all developed an understanding of the importance of growing their brand away from home. Recognising this and working to build meaningful, long term partnerships, whilst staying true to your foundations can lead to sustained success abroad.
As the leading global sports marketing agency, SPORTFIVE work with some of the biggest sports rightsholders in the world to find the right internationalization strategy for each market. This has seen us work with the likes of Atlético de Madrid, Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bulls, Borussia Dortmund and Flamengo.
SPORTFIVE, harnessing the power of sport
