What Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Can Teach Marketers, Marketing & Advertising News, ET BrandEquity

What happens when the world’s biggest pop star and two-time Super Bowl champion team up? As Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s romance shows, there’s a lot of excitement. But in the midst of all the cheering, flirting, and Instagram flirting, the situation offers some useful insights for marketing. Here are his five lessons that experienced marketers can consider.Embrace audience expansion

Swift gives the NFL a unique opportunity to expand its appeal to a demographic that may not have traditionally been interested in American football: young women. Swifties, known as Swifties fans, are eager to see the pop icon in love. So every time she visits the stadium to cheer on Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Kelce, a media frenzy ensues.

Avid football fans want to focus on the football, but the NFL is smart enough to take advantage of this opportunity. After all, Swift is a super popular star. She has the most charting songs ever on Billboard’s Top 100 (212 songs), Top 10 hits (42 songs), and her debut No. 1 song (5 songs).

The Chiefs continue to be known for their winning ways and star power, continuing to attract and satisfy traditional fans. Still, Swift’s presence brought a more playful vibe to the game. Usually serious Chiefs coach Andy Reid joked about the pair (“I set them up”), and the meme about Swift having to leave the stadium with a popcorn machine was participatory. is a next-level combination of pop culture, celebrity, and sports.

Audience expansion is an effective tactic for companies, as long as marketers open up to new fans and don’t alienate old fans. And so far, it’s working for the NFL, with ratings soaring when Swift appears in games and sales of Kelsey jerseys soaring. The renewed interest in the sport is welcome, especially since his NFL TV ratings between the ages of 18 and 35 had previously shown some decline.

Leverage fan motivation

The biggest dream of any entertainment or sports marketer is to attract fans of all kinds and help them realize their personal reasons for being there. So in addition to demographic appeal, marketers would be wise to consider “psychographics.” This means that rather than simply segmenting audiences by demographics such as young women or college students, marketers tailor their appeals to lifestyles, interests, activities, and consumer mindsets. .

Swift’s crossover gives NFL sports marketers an opportunity to attract new fans with different motivations. A good example is when the NFL changed his X profile to “NFL (Taylor Edition)”. It’s a nod to Swiftie’s in-group identity and humor. New fans who are drawn to these attractions may later become more serious about the sport.

Make consumers feel at home

The NFL and the Chiefs now have a unique opportunity to capitalize on the sudden interest of people who aren’t known to be fans. But to convert them into regular viewers, newcomers need to feel a sense of belonging.

A subtle example of this type of outreach occurred when the Chiefs used social media to welcome Swift, and by extension her loyal fans, to the “Chiefs Kingdom.” Similarly, the league has made it abundantly clear that the Swifties are welcome in the stands, even if the small but noisy NFL fans don’t want to be near the stands. This open-mindedness has a positive impact on business.

Leverage human co-branding

In this age of social media, human branding has never been more important. Having a strong personal brand leads to more endorsements, Google searches, product sales, and ticket sales. In other words, Swift and Kelsey benefit from human co-branding.

Don’t think only locally

The final insight for brands and marketers is that they are not limited by geography. With the proliferation of digital commerce and social media, researchers are increasingly interested in “distant fans” who travel long distances for events.

Swift and Kelce’s relationship, and the NFL’s emphasis on it, is an example of why it’s important not to be bound by geography. A cardboard sign at a Chiefs game in Kansas City in December 2023 read, “We’re here to see Taylor Swift!”