The BIG Game: How 12News Teams Champion Local Businesses when the Super Bowl and Open Come to Town
For two weeks, Phoenix becomes the center of the athletic universe, hosting Super Bowl LVII and the WM Phoenix Open. Michael Ogaz of TEGNA’s 12News discusses theopportunities for brands. Learn more.
By Michael Ogaz, Digital Sales Manager, TEGNA’s 12News
For a pair of weeks during Arizona’s sublime winter, Phoenix becomes the center of the athletic universe. Not only is the city hosting Super Bowl LVII, but at the very same time, Phoenix will also be home to ‘the People’s Open’ – also known as the WM Phoenix Open. Larger-than-life signs, murals, and promotions create a buzz in the desert only seen when this extraordinary convergence of gamesmanship takes place.
And like an all-pro player spiking the ball and finishing off a game-winning drive, the 12News teams in Phoenix will be fully flexed out during this unique window of time.
The planning is months, nay, years in the making, and it all comes down to this. Of course, there’s an art to being everywhere at once. How do you take something so massive and translate the energy and excitement to audiences? To offer a sense of how local storytelling takes place, you first must look at the profiles of the very local folks who are tuned in to 12News.
Residents And Visitors Make Game Plans
Residents and visitors play a variety of integral roles in the wild scene. Some enjoy being right in the middle of the action, hunting down the opportunity to party alongside Gronk, Shaq, Kevin Hart, and the multitude of renowned personalities popping into town. Others will attend big-name concerts starring the likes of Maroon 5, Jason Aldean, Machine Gun Kelly, Dave Matthews Band, and many more.
Many play somewhere in the middle, where they check out free concerts in one of the city’s massive parks or settings like the NFL experience at the ideally located convention center. Of course, some are perfectly content admiring it all from their big screens while on the couch.
‘Quick buck’ Phoenicians even set up their homes as temporary rentals on Airbnb or VRBO to cash in huge on last-minute planners that fly in to support their teams or catch a convenient flight to attend the late-night after parties and award ceremonies like the NFL honors.
Businesses Get Busy
Local businesses plan months in advance as well, starting with Arizona’s already-bustling hospitality industry. Big local brands partner with groups like the Super Bowl LVII Host Committee to put their name alongside all the fun events. We locals know that the Valley will throw such a good party, replete with big helpings of warmth and fun, that folks who came for the fun will likely stay for the sun.
It’s this intersection of local business and game-planning where 12News sales and marketing team members come onto the proverbial promotional ‘field of play’ as well. With 12News’ fully-fledged local promotion strategy team, digital strategists partner with integrated account executives to develop multi-screen video promotions to their fullest capabilities. All industries are welcome to play ball as 12News weaves together on-air branded segments and digital viewership on NFL and golf content throughout the streaming landscape.
Every business, ranging from restaurants to law firms, and from furniture stores to trampoline parks, can take full advantage of this unrivaled concentration of consumer eyeballs. The 12News promotional strategy team can also geofence (i.e.: serve ads to mobile devices in specific areas) all the concerts, clubs, stadiums, and festivals to relay real-time digital branding to highly engaged consumers.
HOT TAKE
You can play ‘underdog’ and even WIN the branding and marketing game without putting millions into one spot during the game. The 12News promotion team will get you the playbook, keep score, and even create a dynasty worth of business. Contact us today at 12news.com/advertise.
