Marketing Obsession: The Super Bowl Phenomenon

Ever since Acme Packing Company put its brand on the jerseys of the local football team in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1921, commercial enterprise has been attempting to cash in on the popularity of the sport that has become, in the 95 years since, our national obsession. The National Football League has grown into a many-tentacled colossus of capitalism with several of its 28 individual franchises valued in the billions of dollars. This week, the world’s largest and richest sports organization is celebrating the golden anniversary of its championship spectacle, the Super Bowl.

What used to be called ​“Radio Row” has evolved into a media nerve center encompassing every major network in the U.S. and numerous foreign countries, where an athlete, entertainer, politician or reality TV star could spend as many as five consecutive days conducting a series of interviews and generating more media exposure than may be possible during the rest of the year combined. For many years, FWV has been representing clients on Media Row and at major parties such as the Moves Magazine party, the annual Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party and others. Football may be our national obsession, but the events, promotional partnerships and branding opportunities that ride the coattails of the Super Bowl every year are the stuff that marketing dreams are made of.