Leveraging the start of the football season, NFL partner Lowe’s rolled out a ‘Home Team’ campaign to help DIY fans ready for kickoff.
The campaign, created by agency Deutsch, aims to unite NFL fans at a time when fandom feels more uncertain than in previous years and forms a season-long, brand-led rally to “put the ‘home’ in home team” by building the connection, belonging and community that fans seek as “home” becomes the new stadium’.
The campaign is spearheaded by a hero film, debuting in the form of a 30-second spot airing on 10 September during the first game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans, called ‘800 Mint Street’.
This is a reference to the Carolina Panthers’ home stadium address and shines a spotlight fan homes across the whole USA which share the same address – thus reinforcing the idea that this year everyone is ‘on the home team’.
It sees athlete ambassadors Christian McCaffrey (the Panthers quarterback) and Lamar Jackson (the Ravens quarterback) serve as captains of Lowe’s ‘Home Team’: a group of current NFL players – one representing each of the 32 teams in the league – teaming up with local Lowe’s employees and associates throughout the season on projects making a positive impact in their home markets through (socially-distant) community projects which support and represent the cultural fabric of each region.
Through the season these ‘Lowe’s Home Team Players’ will host virtual fan engagements and share their personal DIY home improvement projects in a new series called ‘HomeTeam@Home’.
This is a nod to how sports fans are using their own homes as ‘stadiums’ as many NFL stadiums are restricting and forbidding stadium attendance this season due to coronavirus.
“We’re entering what will be the most unique NFL season we’ve ever experienced,” said Lowe’s Chief Brand And Marketing Officer Marisa Thalberg.
“Our homes are where football fandom will be taking place this year, but the power of sports, and football in particular, is in how it can unite us in the larger sense of home: our communities and cities. Everyone likes to get behind their home team. And this year, we are giving a whole new meaning to that idea.”
The campaign was created for Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison, EVP Chief Brand And Marketing Officer Marisa Thalberg, SVP Brand Marketing Jennifer Wilson, Associate Creative Director Bailey Surrett, Creative Producer Luke Bennett, Creative Manager Matt Mitchell and Marketing Project Manager Chris Fagan by Deutsch.
The agency team included Executive Creative Director Sorenne Gottlieb, Creative Director Curtis Petraglia, Executive Producer Lauren May, Senior Producer Laura Keseric, Producer Justin Casselle, Group Account Director Kim Withee, Account Supervisor Ashley Alatorre, Account Coordinator Leyla Yalman, Group Planning Director Donesh Olyaie, Strategy Director Meghan Campbell, Strategist Maya Thompson and Executive Business Affairs MANAGER Jimmy Gutierrez.
Production was handled by Chelsea Pictures, with Directors David Gordon Green and Nadia Hallgren, editorial & post production was by Cartel, with music composed and licensed through South Music and audio post by Lime Studios.
Comment:
Debuting one day ahead of the season’s first game, the campaign aims to capitalise on the enthusiasm among sports-hungry fans who experienced spring and summer without their usual professional sporting events due to the pandemic.
By airing its new TV spot during the NFL’s first game this season, Lowe’s seeks reach a broad audience of homebound consumers are interested in home improvement and landscaping projects as the peak summer season wraps up.
It’s uplifting, yet practical theme around uniting communities is admirable for a country which is so split and looks set to experience further division due to the pandemic, the fight for equality and the US election.
This campaign fronts Lowe’s second season as the NFL’s ‘official home improvement retail sponsor’ and, understandably, this year it’s focusing more deeply on football-linked DIY projects.
Lowe’s is one of the few companies benefiting from a revenue rising 30% in the last quarter (compared to the previous year) and reported same-store sales up 35%.
Lowe’s originally announced its multi-year NFL alliance in January 2019: a deal that gives the company access to NFL content on the local and national level and during tentpole events such as the Draft and like the Super Bowl and this work follows in the footsteps of its 2020 NFL Draft ‘Home Is What Unites Us’ campaign (see case study) and its Super Bowl ‘Hometown Build’ initiative (see case study).
Links:
Lowe’s
https://www.facebook.com/lowes
https://www.pinterest.com/lowes/
https://www.instagram.com/loweshomeimprovement/
https://www.youtube.com/user/Lowes
Deutsch
NFL
http://www.nflshop.com/source/bm-nflc…
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