OUT OF BOUNDS: The NFL's Intensive Campaign to Target Children
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athletes because concussions have a cumulative
effect that can result in severe brain injury or death
from secondary impact syndrome (SIS) if an athlete
suffers another head trauma too soon after an initial
injury. The nation’s leading expert on concussions,
Robert Cantu, M.D., recommends no tackle football
before the age of 14 (high school).
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Even then, Dr.
Cantu recommends teams run no-tackle practices in
order to significantly reduce the number of collisions
sustained by high school players.
These revelations have led to increased concern
about the safety of youth tackle football. According
to a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, 40% of Americans
said that they would encourage their children to play
a different sport than football due to concerns about
concussions.
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Youth football participation is, in fact,
on the decline. Between 2010 and 2012, the nation’s
largest youth football program, Pop Warner, saw a
9.5% drop in participation.
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In recent years, a number
of states have seen up to double-digit declines in high
school football participation.
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The NFL’s own research found that 60% of its
most avid fans became interested in football during
elementary school; those who become interested
later in life are more likely to only be casual fans.
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Because the NFL ensures its adult fan base by
inculcating children with a love of football, any
decline in youth football participation is a serious
threat to league profits. For that reason, the NFL has
turned to other methods for “getting kids hooked on
the game.”
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The NFL's 360
o
Child-Marketing Strategy
In 2012, Peter O’Reilly, then the league’s VP of fan
strategy and marketing, told The Los Angeles Times,
“We’ve been laser-focused for the last five years
trying to connect kids to the NFL.”
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Since then, the
league has stepped-up efforts to target children. The
NFL now uses what marketers call a 360° approach—
using television, gaming, online and mobile marketing,
and in-person events—to completely immerse kids in
its brand and promote its televised broadcasts, other
media properties, and licensed products.
Former NFL Chief Marketing Officer Mark Waller
explained the shift in the league’s approach to children,
“When I grew up as a kid, you played a lot and you
watched a bit of television. The next generation grew
up with a lot of playing and a lot of television. This
generation is growing up with some playing, some
television, and some online.”
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The NFL now targets
young children through a multi-media approach “on
television when they’re in television mode, and when
they’re in digital and online mode they’ve got content
of ours they can engage with it in that world too.”
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The league also integrates itself into children’s lives
through partnerships with government agencies,
local schools, non-governmental organizations,
industry trade associations, and for-profit companies.
Current partnerships are touted as promoting
physical activity, healthy eating, and elementary
education but all serve first and foremost to promote
the NFL’s brand to children.
The NFL’s Youth Marketing Hub: NFLRUSH
In 2007, when “the big adult NFL brand wanted to
connect with kids,”
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the league launched NFLRUSH,
a website created and produced by youth marketing
firm Brandissimo. NFLRUSH began as multiplayer
gaming site but has evolved to include contests,
video, apps, and an online community. As of
November, 2013, NFLRUSH had more than 3 million
registered users.
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An email sent to parents after their
children register describes the breadth of the league’s
current efforts to target kids:
NFLRUSH is a network of youth online websites
and mobile apps, managed by the National Football
NFLRUSH homepage.