SBJ Marketing: FanDuel bets on live Super Bowl moment

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" -- Eleanor Roosevelt.

Brand awareness, customer acquisition key for FanDuel at Super Bowl

Gordie Gronkowski has seen his son Rob kick a field goal before, but not since high school -- and that was just once. So, when FanDuel last October asked the more famous Gronk to kick a field goal for a live Super Bowl commercial, both son and father were a bit anxious. “He loves challenges, and he’s been in a lot of Super Bowls," said Gordie. “The only thing I wondered about was the difference between being on the field with your teammates and being out there with millions of people watching only him.”

This will be FanDuel’s first Super Bowl ad. When its top marketers started brainstorming on the opening Thursday of this NFL season, they knew more about what they didn’t want: no mindless mix of celebrities for an expensive piece of creative that wouldn’t have a day’s shelf life.

A year earlier, FanDuel EVP/Marketing Andrew Sneyd was meting out sound bites like M&M's that a Super Bowl ad would be “about as valuable for a sportsbook as a candy ad on Halloween night.” Consequently, his creative team built a campaign with an arc that began with the NFL playoffs and culminates with Gronk attempting a 25-year field goal in a live spot during the first commercial pod of the third quarter.

“The Kick of Destiny" will allow anyone placing a $5 Super Bowl bet through FanDuel to share in a $10 million pool (which can only be used on future FanDuel wagers). “We wanted everyone engaged across the playoffs," said Sneyd. Given all the wagering around the Super Bowl, Sneyd described the campaign’s objectives as raising brand awareness and customer acquisition. “We wanted a fun way to get lots of people who may have been interested in sports betting, but just haven’t signed up," he added. "And we’re trying to position FanDuel as the brand people just naturally start with when they begin in this category."

Deeper push into sports zeitgeist also among FanDuel's goals

FanDuel Executive Creative Director Steve Giraldi said the process was the result of a goal to not just burnish the brand among its legal sports betting competitors but to also “become an iconic brand in sports.” With an ambition to break through on the biggest and most competitive stage in advertising, “Our thoughts were ‘what’s crazy, and will they buy it?'" he said.

Dollar signs are an easy way to get gamblers' attention. FanDuel is promising $10 million in free bets to be shared by all who bet at $5 or more on the Super Bowl at its site. Gronkowski does not have to make the kick for the payout, which makes us wonder about a “surprise” ending. “We thought this this would fray if we didn’t give away a substantial amount of money,” Giraldi said. We were initially pushing to give away $50 million, but we settled for $10 million.’’

Gronkowski had signed on as an endorser just before the “Kick of Destiny” concept was finalized in October. During their initial meeting to discuss the campaign, Gronk responded with a line that made it into the first teaser ad “I don’t kick, I catch."

FanDuel wanted a “fish out of water” for this campaign, and a tight end kicking is just that. Still, the Super Bowl is a familiar place for Gronkowski; he’s played in six, winning four, and his Super Bowl ad credits include a pair with teammate Tom Brady: a T-Mobile spot, and the familiar “We’re going to Disney World,’’ ad, both from Super Bowl LV.

“Kick of Destiny” was approved in October and shot in mid-December at Dignity Health Sports Park, home field of MLS' L.A. Galaxy.

Live element of Gronk ad not without risks

Even before the anxiety of a live ad, Sneyd said the most difficult part of the entire campaign was securing the requisite approvals from the NFL, Fox and "convincing an athlete to risk failure in front of millions." Sneyd: "I’d call that a very long three-legged parlay."

The live component adds extraordinary complexity. The kick will be staged around 20 miles from State Farm Stadium in Glendale, site of the Super Bowl, and there’s a unique concern. “I’ve never worried about weather at a shoot before,’’ said Giraldi. “For this, we had to look back at the weather for 10 years and plan for the possibility of rain or high wind," though in the desert, those would seem unlikely.

Wieden+Kennedy is FanDuel’s creative agency, and its Group Creative Director Gerard Caputo is helming his seventh Super Bowl ad. The campaign features three teaser ads leading up to the Big Game, the first of which aired at the start of the playoffs. "Most celebrities show up for the shoot, do a tweet or two and they’re done," he said. “This has continuity, because we’re looking to maintain audience engagement thought the playoffs, which is ambitious for any Super Bowl campaign. As for learnings after six prior Super Bowl ads? “These always feel different,” Caputo said. “The audience and stakes are far bigger.”

Perhaps once the live shot is over, the crew will pay attention to the score of the Super Bowl. Or maybe not. “We’ll exhale finally and see if we can get off our blood pressure meds," laughed Giraldi.

One caveat, as an NFL Punt, Pass and Kick contest veteran, Gronkowski kicked his singular field goal straight on. Former Pats kicker Adam Vinatieri, in the campaign as Gronk’s kicking coach, has him kicking soccer style for the Super Bowl attempt. “It’s a fantastic idea for a Super Bowl ad,’’ said the elder Gronkowski, “as long as he makes it.”

• Chipotle has signed on as title sponsor of the Knuckle Huck Ski and Snowboard competitions at X Games Aspen, which begins Friday, reports SBJ’s David Broughton.

• U.S. skier Mikaela Shiffrin set a new FIS World Cup ski win record this week, and brands affiliated with her and U.S. Ski & Snowboard took to Twitter to offer their congratulations. Shiffrin sponsors Land Rover, Longines and Ikon Pass posted congratulatory messages, while Adidas used gold medal emojis to spell out 83. U.S. Ski & Snowboard sponsor Stifel posted a video to mark the achievement, while Xfinity retweeted the NGB's announcement of the record with their own message.

• The Sounders will have a new front-of-jersey sponsor when they become the first MLS team to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup next month, reports SBJ's Alex Silverman. Not-for-profit healthcare system Providence will be the third kit sponsor in Sounders history under a 10-year agreement that begins this season.

• Host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be allowed to sell their own corporate sponsorships to help offset the costs associated with hosting matches, but key guidelines affecting the expected value of those deals are still coming into focus, notes Silverman.