As the new season gets rolling, Bose leverages its official NFL partnership with a multi-platform campaign spanning TV work and long form film and fronted by its NFL player and coach ambassadors.
The initiative is spearheaded by a TV spot featuring Houston Texans star JJ Watt and the Zac Brown Band.
The commercial, which first aired during NFL Football on NBC n early October, sees the All-Star defensive end sitting in a locker room before a game going through his pregame ritual with the (unlikely) help of the country music group.
Lead singer Zac Brown plays the motivational coach roles – spraying water in the athlete’s face and repeatedly asking ‘Are you ready for this?’
After the psyching up session closes with the country singer smashing his acoustic guitar heavy metal style, Watt is ready to take to the field to the tune of the band’s own ‘Heavy Is The Head’ (featuring Chris Cornell) pounding out from a Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker II in his locker.
The TV ad and the wider campaign is amplified across Bose’s digital and social channels.
From his headphones to the sidelines: Zac gets JJ pumped to play #HOUvsATL #TexansGameday pic.twitter.com/5xCzfqNedW
— Bose (@Bose) October 4, 2015
Football started early today. Now it’s their turn. #BetterNeverQuits #NFL pic.twitter.com/ixwyy364CI
— Bose (@Bose) October 4, 2015
The executions and content carry the generic brand hashtag #BoseMusic and the ad drives viewers to watch more exclusive Bose/NFL content at https://www.bose.com/explore/nfl.html
This ‘Football Deserves Bose’ digital hub includes a wealth of brand-led NFL content ranging from brand- and product-focused football film such as ‘The Story Of The Bose NFL Headset’,
and a set of NFL videos in the brand’s ongoing ‘Better Never Quits’ series that feature Bose football brand ambassadors such as JJ Watt,
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson,
and Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano.
Comment
The films focus on the simple idea that the players and the brand share – that extraordinary performance is more important than bravado or flashiness.
Indeed, these Bose NFL ambassador films shows the brand’s creative strategy sharing similarities to the approach used by fierce rival and guerilla marketer Beats By Dre and also dovetails with Bose’s other ongoing, athlete ambassador led marketing strands.
For example Bose’s ‘Better Never Quits’ series, which has previously featured stars from other sports such as golfer Rory Mcllory,
has echoes of Beat’s NFL ambush campaigns such as its Colin Kaepernick commercial from 2013/4.
While other recent Bose videos pairing sports star and musicians together have included Lewis Hamilton and Spinz Beats.
The brand battle between the ‘official sound of the NFL’ Bose and ambusher extraordinaire Beats By Dre is a fierce one.
Media stories continue to follow the controversial campaign competition and debate the rights and wrongs of the NFL banning players with Beats deals from wearing any headphones other than Bose products in and around stadiums.
A new autumn 2015 episode in this sponsor/ambusher fight brings a new entrant in the form of official England Rugby partner Samsung (see case study) and England rugby captain Chris Robshaw’s personal deal with Beats (see case study) being cited as a cause of tension within the team (see article).
Bose signed up as an official NFL partner in autumn 2014 and brought to an end the league’s 13-year partnership with Motorola.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but industry insiders have been reporting as estimating the annual rights fee as being in excess of $50m per year.
This deal sees Bose take one of the few on-field branding spots in the NFL as all (60) coaches wear branded headsets on the pitch touchlines during each game – a powerful benefit considering most NFL stadiums are largely ‘clean’ (brand free).
‘For us, it’s more than a sponsorship,’ said Bose VP Sean Garrett at the time.
‘It’s an opportunity to be a part of the game and help the NFL improve their communication on the sidelines.’
Links
Football Deserves Bose:
https://www.bose.com/explore/nfl.html
Bose Twitter:
Bose Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BoseUK?brand_redir=97546408397
Bose YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/Bose
Bose Instagram:
Bose Website:
Zac Brown Band’s ‘Heavy Is The Head’ (ft. Chris Cornell) On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/5rpjEB…
