3 Omnichannel Advertising Trends Set to Dominate the 2024 NFL Season

Back to Blog 08/29/2024 - by The Digilant Team

The 2023/2024 NFL season saw an average 17.9 million viewers for regular-season games, up 7% from the previous year, the highest viewership since 2015. (Our bets are on Taylor Swift’s game time appearances). On Thursday September 5th, the 2024-25 NFL season kicks off with the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Baltimore Ravens. With an increase in game viewership, advertisers are wise to use in-game TV ads to reach fans. But, if big-budget TV ads of $800,000+ (the average price of a 30-second TV ad during Sunday Night Football last season) are out of reach for your brand, fear not.

Today’s fans are omnichannel viewers. They’ll scroll through social media while watching games, subscribe to players’ podcasts, and browse in-game analysis or post-game highlights on their phones. All these actions provide ample opportunities for brands to create relevant and memorable interactions with fans.

3 Key Trends from Last Season and Their Projected Impact on the 2024-25 NFL Season

With plenty of opportunities available to advertisers, we’re helping them develop a successful strategy by analyzing key trends and media habits from the 2023/24 season. This analysis provides insights into where they can effectively reach their audience as they engage with football games and NFL-related content in the coming months.

1. Amazon Prime Video Coverage of Thursday Night Football

More people stream TV than watching cable or broadcast television. In June of 2024, time spent streaming rose to 40.3% (the highest share of TV usage in Nielsen’s reporting) followed by Cable at 27.2% and Broadcast at 20.5%. To keep up with this trend, major broadcasters offer game coverage via their respective streaming platforms—like NBC using Peacock, for example.

Last season marked Amazon’s second year of broadcasting Thursday Night Football (TNF) exclusively on Prime Video. According to Nielsen, this broadcast drew an impressive 11.86 million average viewers – a 24% increase from the previous year. In 2023, Prime Video also debuted its first Black Friday game (New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins). While viewership for this game was below the TNF average, it successfully attracted new audiences, with 24% tuning in to TNF for the first time that season.

Looking ahead to the 2024-25 season, Amazon is zeroing in on the strong viewership they received during these broadcasts by offering advertisers unique benefits/opportunities to get their ads in front of viewers. For example, interactive video ad capabilities, allowing viewers to seamlessly add products to carts through shoppable ads without missing any of the action.

Plus, Prime’s advertising partners can take advantage of audience-based creative, delivering tailored messaging within the same ad spot to specific viewers. Amazon Ads’ Vice President of Global Advertising Sales Alan Moss gives an example: “an automotive brand could run an ad for a sports car aimed at younger adults, a spot for an SUV tailored to more outdoorsy consumers and a general audience commercial, all within the same 30-second ad position.”

2. The Power of the Second Screen

In 2023, 87% of sports fans used a second screen while viewing a sports broadcast–some even triple or multiple screening. Additionally, 63% engaged on social media during broadcasts, seeking highlights, behind-the-scenes content, and more to stay connected with their favorite teams.

Brands have a great opportunity to align their ads with NFL-related content using contextually placed display, video, or social media ad units. With NFL-specific ad buys, your message appears within contextually-relevant publishers alongside content such as:

Betting/odds predictions
Opinion & expert analysis
Key storylines throughout the season

Because consumers are viewing these ads on mobile or laptop devices, advertisers can utilize ad creative that drives them further down the funnel. Incorporating action-related content, encourages consumers to click to learn more, driving them to your website.

Moreover, second-screen viewers can easily scan TV QR codes on their mobile devices while watching a game, seamlessly directing them to a website, app, or online store.

3. Audience Reach Goes Beyond the Field as NFL Podcasts Grow

With increasing listenership rates, nearly every industry has seen an influx in podcast content as the value of this media form has become increasingly obvious. Sports — specifically the NFL — are no different. In 2024, the number of podcast listeners is expected to reach 76 million in the U.S, and a major category is within sports podcasts. In 2021, the NFL teamed up with iHeartMedia to launch the NFL Podcast Network. This partnership included “the distribution of NFL Media’s existing podcasts, as well as the co-production and distribution of two dozen new original podcasts… focusing on NFL history, inside access, and more.” The network currently has 31 podcasts, ranging in topics from game highlights, rankings, team updates, and more.

Additionally, networks across the industry — Barstool Sports, Wave Sports + Entertainment, and LockedOn — continuously add new content to the mix as players, teams, coaches, and analysts throw their hats into the podcasting ring, growing their audience, reach, and influence all while monetizing their content.

As advertisers look to the upcoming season, podcasting provides a great outlet to reach fans beyond Thursday, Sunday, and Monday game schedules. With a host of targeting options — show, content, genre, publishers —advertisers can reach their specific audiences as they tune into NFL content throughout their week.

Stay Flexible and Tuned in to Trending Moments

As the NFL season approaches, one of the best tools advertisers can incorporate is to stay flexible and ready for whatever may come their way. Think back to the viral tweet of Taylor Swift in September of 2023 while supporting the Kansas City Chiefs, with the caption “Taylor Swift was eating a piece of chicken with ketchup and seemingly ranch!”

Brands quickly jumped in on the buzz, with Heinz leading the charge. Within 24 hours, they launched sweepstakes for 100 bottles of their limited edition “Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch,” had an aisle dedicated to the product in Walmart, and more which quickly made the sauce a viral hit. With what was once a struggling product called “Kranch,” the rebranded sauce resulted in 6 billion earned impressions and social engagement 690% over previous benchmarks.

For advertisers, using tools like automatic content recognition (ACR) data is critical in reaching viewers during trending moments or during specific games, allowing advertisers to precisely identify and target viewers based on real-time content engagement, ensuring that campaigns resonate with the specific moments and teams that fans are most passionate about. Having a solid strategy in place at the start of the season — incorporating some of the channels and strategies above — ensures flexibility to jump in on trending conversations and critical moments throughout the season to increase reach and engagement with fans.

Score Big with Digilant’s NFL Advertising Solutions

It’s never too late to add football and NFL-related ad buys into your media strategy. Digilant has custom, data-driven NFL and Football omnichannel packages at the ready to help you score big with fans this season. Contact us today to get started.