The marketing and promotional effort for the upcoming arrival of NFL Thursday Night Football on CBS’ primetime lineup will be the biggest in the company’s history, CBS said this week.
CBS Marketing Group boss George F. Schweitzer told The New York Times that “no stone will be unturned” as they roll out “a lot of firepower” to support the new show.
For months now, the network has been running “Football Starts Here” promos featuring CBS stars such as Juliana Marguilies and Jon Cryer, in which they sport eye black or rip off a garment to reveal a football jersey.
Localized versions for CBS O&Os have also appeared, featuring local branding and news talent.
And all of the 200 affiliates are getting marketing materials so they can create their own versions of the promos.
CBS has incorporated the Thursday Night Football messaging into other network shows, including a TNF-themed contest on last week’s episode of Big Brother, and NFL on CBS analysts making guest spots on Blue Bloods and Elementary.
And on the daytime side of the ledger, football is getting promoted on The Talk, The Price is Right, and Let’s Make a Deal.
CBS is also using NFL Network logos in its Thursday Night Football branding, and running that network’s promotions with the tagline “Together, we make football.”
Read More: The New York Times
Brief Take: CBS is pulling out the big guns because they know that in an age of time-shifted viewing, live sports—and football in particular—remain one of the last bastions of appointment viewing with Nielsen numbers that can generate significant advertising revenue.
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