It seems later than ever this year, but Pro Football season is finally around the corner. By now, you’ll probably have your fantasy team drafted, your DirectTV subscription filled and your tailgating equipment purchased. Kickoff between the Titans and the Steelers is only 9 days away, and for the franchising industry, football brings a whole new season of its own.
Pro football is definitely the national past-time these days, and realizing this, more and more franchises are reaching out to NFL teams and their players in order to forge new partnerships. It’s an interesting strategy for exposure, and it seems to be working for a range of companies.
Chainleader profiled some of the links between pro teams and franchises in a recent story. Duffy Sport’s Grill have been named the official sports grill of the Miami Dolphins. Wingstop are now the official wings of the Dallas Cowboys. Gold Star Chili have announced they are the official chili of the Cincinnati Bengals.
This is hardly a new trend, but does it pay-off? QSR franchises clearly feel that direct partnership with NFL franchises provide them with access to an essential demographic, but it’s not without its financial costs. There is no statistical evidence to show whether these NFL partnerships work, but as long as football is the big game in town, franchises, be they in the QSR sector or restaurants running Monday Night Football promos or even the plumbing franchise that wants to be the Official Plumbing Franchise of the (Insert Team Here), will eagerly look forward to that first touchdown of the year.