Wanda Barquin, Drew Knapp, Beatriz Weisson
Aug 12, 2015
Wanda Barquin, Drew Knapp, Beatriz Weisson
Organization Overview• American professional football league operating with 32 teams spread over two
divisions (AFC & NFC).
• The teams participate in a 17-week regular season, with each playing 16 games and having one bye (or “off”) week.
• Following the conclusion of this regular season, 12 teams compete in a post-season tournament for the right to play in the Super Bowl, one of the largest and most marketing-heavy annual events across the world.
• Boasts the highest average attendance of any professional sports league of anywhere in the world.
Organization Leadership• The NFL’s executive officer is the
commissioner, Roger Goodell.
• He has held this spot since 2006, when he took over from Paul Tagliabue
• Goodell has overseen some of the most prominent changes in both player safety and player conduct rulings since taking office--often to much criticism.
Audience
Fans
●Currently the NFL holds over 150 million fans in America. In the US, this accounts for >65% of all adults, with 56% saying they
tune in via television and 9% tuning in via the internet.
●Outside of the US, 38% of the international adult audience tunes into NFL games, with notable spikes in Mexico, India, and China.
This means that the international audience for the NFL is nearly 4x that of the audience within the US.
●American men are more likely (74%) than women (56%) to be fans, while 25-34’s are the most tuned in age-group.
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Audience (cont.)
Fans cont.
●That said, women are the NFL’s fastest growing demographic. They now account for 45%of total NFL fans and helped NFL
revenue top a record $9.5 billion last year.
●Nielsen data shows women have grown to represent more than a third of the league’s average viewership. “Sunday Night
Football” ranked first among women ages 18 to 49 for the first time last season, and Fox said its female football viewing audience
had hit a record high.
●Further, NFL fans are 20% more likely to buy products they are advertised during games than non-fans.
Audience (cont.)
Employees (including players)
●In the last decade, over 90 players have been arrested for cases of domestic violence, 5 of which have been charged with the crime
twice.
●In 2014, the NFL instituted a new conduct policy primarily focused on ending domestic violence. This policy imposes a six game
unpaid ban for first time offenders and up to a lifetime ban for second time offenders.
●The NFL has also increased its efforts with new players, instituting a mandated anti-domestic violence training session for draft
picks. The first session of this training will occur with the 2015 class.
NFL’s Reactions
Blaming the victim
Steve Bisciotti, Ravens Owner, blamed Janay
Ray Rice punches his then-fiancée Janey Palmer
Manipulating the Law
The law states that “Any defendant charged with a crime is eligible for enrollment in a pretrial intervention program. If accepted, candidates must obey several conditions and, upon completion, have no record of conviction and no mark on their criminal record”
'What was the prosecutor thinking,'" said Donna D'Andrea, a legal advocate for the women's center.
Misleading the Public
Goodell denies seeing Ray Rice video
"We had not seen any videotape of what occurred in the elevator," Goodell said. "We assumed that there was a video, we asked for video, we asked for anything that was pertinent, but we were never granted that opportunity."
New Policy
NFL’s popularity
NoMore Commercial
https://youtu.be/cfto6ZXgt70
Communications CampaignGoal: To regain the trust of their fan base by informing key publics of commitment to stop acting violently at home & re-position the NFL as a credible, morally reputable organization.
Communications StrategyGoodell appealed to the fans’ desire to put the issue to rest by:
•Recognizing publicly that they had a problem.
•Showcasing players’ introspection & executive commitment “to get it right” this time.
•Leveraging reputable and popular domestic violence Brand Ambassadors and experts.
•Securing new communications strategists as expert resources on domestic violence.
Communications Objectives/Publics•Manage NFL image more effectively, starting 2014.
•Educate 100% of the coaches, players, family members, and selected college and high-school students, starting 2014.
•Establish relationships with the top influencers in domestic violence influencers –nationally-- to partner for a 2014-2015 awareness campaign.
•Launch multi-media Public Service Announcements (PSAs) to raise public awareness with NoMore.org and others.
NFL Strategy
Traditional & Non-Traditional Tactics:August: Letter to 32 teams. Sept. Press Conference: Updated personal conduct policy.
•Announced positioning VP SR and three expert advisors, incl. law enforcement.
•Internal training, extended to family members & coaches. Developed a NEW outreach program for high school and college players.
•Began airing NO MORE PSAs during football broadcasts, NFL donated time to air an ad on domestic violence during Super Bowl.
•NFL donated Super Bowl airtime 100 million viewers w/video by Grey Advertising at no cost.
NFL Tactics
TACTICS• NoMore Tool Kit
• NoMore Pledge
• Television ads
• NFL wearing purple in October “Domestic Abuse Awareness Month” (Proctor & Gamble no longer NFL partner)
• Partnered with NBC’s Special Victims Unit
• “A Call to Coaches” video
• Social media Campaign (Instagram)
• NoMore Week event
More Tactics
TOO LITTLE TOO LATE• SIMPLE is a Strategy (not easy)
• Be FIRST in doing something
• New alone is not a position
• Rely on WOM
• Deliver on promises “Authoritative Source”
StrengthsHuge fan base in the USAMost attended domestic sports league in the worldSome loyal fans defend the NFL’S positionHigh advertisement viewSuper bowl its an international event
StrengthsHuge fan base in the USAMost attended domestic sports league in the worldSome loyal fans defend the NFL’S positionHigh advertisement viewSuper bowl its an international event
WeaknessesReputationLack of response toward crisisSeeks profit from every actionOperates as a businessLack of credibility from its audienceHigh suicidal rates among playersCriminal records among playersCorruption within NFL
WeaknessesReputationLack of response toward crisisSeeks profit from every actionOperates as a businessLack of credibility from its audienceHigh suicidal rates among playersCriminal records among playersCorruption within NFL
OpportunitiesTransform into the biggest advocacy group against domestic violenceEmployment opportunities for womenCounseling and guidance for playersPartnership with Women Collision and experts in domestic violence
OpportunitiesTransform into the biggest advocacy group against domestic violenceEmployment opportunities for womenCounseling and guidance for playersPartnership with Women Collision and experts in domestic violence
ThreatsWomen’s disgust toward the NFLLost of endorsementsPublic perceptionDomestic violence support groupsPopularity of other American leagues such as MLB and NBA
ThreatsWomen’s disgust toward the NFLLost of endorsementsPublic perceptionDomestic violence support groupsPopularity of other American leagues such as MLB and NBA
SWOT Analysis
Questions?Questions?