Select Page

It’s hard to believe that college football is now underway (and unfortunately for some teams, their CFP aspirations are already looking a little bleak). But no matter how your favorite team may be doing thus far, this season’s dominating ratings should not go unnoticed. College football is the place to be (a recent Gallup poll shows college and professional football nearly tied for having the second-largest U.S. fan base behind the Olympics).

This being said, brands looking to take advantage of college football fandom need the right tools and information to make strategic decisions and build the right campaigns that will authentically integrate into the game and engage its passionate fans.

Brands that can boast some of the most successful metrics* around their college football sponsorship tenures, such as Dr Pepper and Nissan, can credit the following:

1. Strong creative: Dr Pepper is one of the most recognized brands in the space, particularly due to its multi-year attention-grabbing creative campaign starring Dr Pepper vendor mascot Larry Culpepper, a spokesperson who has since become synonymous with college football culture.

2. Activating consistently throughout the college football season: Dr Pepper consistently ran its Culpepper ads throughout the college football season and the championships. The brand recently announced the retirement of the Culpepper campaign to launch “Fansville,” an episodic mock TV drama that premiered at the beginning of the season and will release new episodes until its “season finale” during the National Championship in an effort to keep fans engaged throughout.

3. A signature asset: Nissan continues to keep its eight-year Heisman House sponsorship fresh with an ad campaign that utilizes the familiar faces of fan favorite Heisman winners.

Without having a comprehensive measurement plan in place, brands will struggle to know if they are maximizing their sponsorship opportunities and if strategy changes will move metrics in a positive direction. At rEvolution, we deliver concrete data and valuable insight that will do just this, for all types of brands from those already heavily invested in the space to those currently looking to join the party.

If you’re interesting in chatting more about our college football expertise, sponsorship ROI and how rEvolution’s research and integrated services can help uncover your sponsorship’s value, reach out to me here.

*Source: rEvolution college football research