A call for national sponsors

Dollar-for-dollar, a 2 week campaign on Colts could be better buy (for some brands) than one :30 spot during the game. The only way I can prove this theory is if I find a national sponsor who is willing to work with me. So if anyone out there knows anyone who might want to discuss the possibilities, please send them my way: “pat dot coyle at colts dot nfl dot net”.

Millions of people around the world will watch the Super Bowl on Feb 4 just to see the funny ads. The true football fans will watch the game too, but they’ll prepare for the game by spending time on nfl and the Colts’ and Bears’ websites over the next two weeks.

So whether or not you buy a spot on the TV broadcast, you might want to consider building a campaign with the Colts.

Here’s what we can offer:

1. Maximum brand exposure with temporary splash page and / or banner ad positions
2. Customize video content – football news segments and guerilla fan video
3. Data capture / research – we can build your survey questions into our register to win progams
4. User Generated content sponsorship – fan photo contest, essays, videos
5. Blog sponsorship – our writer will be blogging throughout the process, capturing football stories as well as “hallway” stuff that he sees along the way

Essentially, we have so much flexiblity that for the right sponsor, we could tailor the entire site around your brand. We could even serve your TV commercial in our on-line media player. No extra charge!!

There’s no comparison between the audience CBS will attract for its Super Bowl telecast and the traffic we expect , but both the network and the team are busily looking for ways to maximize revenue from advertisers. And if there are any advertisers out there looking for a GREAT VALUE, you should consider a program on our website over these next couple of weeks.

CBS is reportedly selling 30-second spots in the Super Bowl telecast for somewhere north of $2.5 million each. This media expense is over and above production costs, which may cost an additional million or two.

A savvy marketer interested in reaching the most AVID Super Bowl fans could build a dominant, interactive marketing program for a fraction of the cost of your TV campaign. Obviously the reach of this online program would not come close a Super Bowl TV spot, however it would certainly provide a test window into the emotionally charged football fan during the peak time of the season. And if done right, could create a viral buzz that might surpass results from TV, or TV alone anyway.

And while I can’t speak for the Bears, I can say that the Colts stand ready to partner with one or two sponsors who want to get creative and make a splash this Super Bowl season.

I realize this post is just a big commercial for web site sponsorship – but hey – we’re in the international limelight. Those of you who know this blog will forgive me (I hope) since you know that getting sponsorship attention for team websites is a primary reason why I’m blogging in the first place.

If you have any suggestions for me that would help me improve the Colts position in this marketspace, and generate conversation with national marketers, please add comments to this post. Thanks!!