NFL Partner Pepsi Delivers ‘Tailgate In A Box’ To Football Fans Hungry For Home Game Day Experience

Pepsi, a long-time NFL partner, has significantly adapted its sports marketing strategy ahead of 10 September season kickoff due to the pandemic disruptions.

With the continued and wide spread of the virus around the US, almost all in-person, physical sponsorship occasions and in-stadium experiences are on hold, so Pepsi has shifted its focus to the home.

This is the latest strand of Pepsi’s umbrella ‘Made for Football Watching’ activation programme (see case study) which emphasizes ‘homegating’ and which sees the brand help fans maintain their tailgating traditions despite COPVID restrictions limited large gatherings and prohibiting many spectators from attending matches in person.

It follows a recent batch of TV ads, social media content pieces, plus a suite of social filters designed to help immortalise the football watcher, which all focus on how passionate fans can resemble elite athletes in their reverent game day routines.

It’s not surprising for a refreshment category food and drink partner (and often an in-stadium pouring supplier) like Pepsi to leverage the tailgating experience, so it’s no surprise to see its marketing team seek to preserve the practice – albeit with a major tweak in emphasis.

For example, in 2018, Pepsi ran a multi-city tailgate tour that featured live music performances, outdoor games and other activities that the brand is now trying to replicate for homebound consumers.

Pepsi, like so many other sponsors during the pandemic, are investing more heavily in direct-to-consumer tactics (like the ‘Tailgate in a Box’) and virtual initiatives.

“While everybody can talk about how COVID is creating all of these constraints and all these limitations, I also look at the other side and say, man, what an opportunity,” commented Pepsi VP Marketing Todd Kaplan. “Ok, so there are no fans at the stadium – how do you address that void?”