Research shows that the most loyal National Football League (NFL) fans became engaged with the sport during their elementary school years. So the NFL turned to Atmosphere BBDO, New York, to tackle the creation of a kids’ site that would provide a gateway to all things young and fun in the NFL. The result–NFLRush.com, a new interactive Web site.
“In the past we had an NFL kids site that didn’t get the attention and resources it deserved given how critical our kids’ fan base is and how big it is,” explained Peter O’Reilly, director of marketing for the NFL.
What makes NFLRush.com so rich is that is it is more than a news site or a game site. There is a little bit of everything to keep kids on the site, whether you are a young fan who actually plays or who just wants to learn more about the NFL.
The site features various sections like the Buzz, the news portion of the site that highlights player activities and breaking stories about the league. Kids can also visit Players of the Day, where players share childhood stories and favorite things.
“It’s a place where you can come for information that makes the players more human and isn’t necessarily hard news about what’s going on on the field but brings to life the wacky, fun side of the players, which is there,” O’Reilly pointed out. “You have to remember so many of these guys are pretty young themselves.”
A different player is highlighted each day and the news is updated weekly.
“We wanted to make sure content was fresh and update it regularly to make sure kids were coming back and not being disappointed by the same old stuff,” said O’Reilly.
There’s also an arcade featuring several games like Rush to School, where kids can choose a cartoon animated version of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck or New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan to run and jump through a series of obstacles, including fire hydrants, barking dogs and bullies on their route to school.
The three players are spokesman for the 2006 NFL Take a Player to School program, one of the offerings found in the Contest section of the site. Videos of players visiting the schools of past winners are also located in that area of the site so kids can emotionally connect with what it would be like to win the contest. The Take a Player to School program has a prominent presence on the home page and was the anchor that the site was built around.
“Prioritization was probably the trickiest part,” O’Reilly said, “because there are so many different things going on on the youth side of the NFL. But we wanted to make the experience as clean and clear as possible for kids going in there.
“So the question was, How do you prioritize? What do you make the hero of the site. Then how do you build things out around it?”
Some of the other elements built around the program are Hit the Field, a portal where youngsters can find out about and sign up for NFL youth football programs in their hometown, and Boot Camp, where young fans can learn the basics of the game by rolling over different parts of the field and the different pieces of a uniform.
From a creative standpoint, the challenge was choosing a look and content for the site that would be meaningful for the age range of the audience–it had to look cool yet not too kid-like, and had to be youthful but also inspirational. The content had also had to be engaging for the target as well as educational, but in a fun way, not in the didactic talking down to kids manner.
“It seems like a specialized audience because we’re doing something for kids. But there is an age range from five to eleven. We had to find a balance that would be meaningful for a target that may vary in age and where they are in school. The look and feel were something we worked on very closely with the client to get it just right.” said Patrick Clarke, creative director at Atmosphere BBDO. ”
The client and creative team decided one of the key ways to connect with the overall age group is through customization and audio elements–kids can customize the site based on their favorite team and at the start of the season they can customize team schedules and player profiles and select their own mix of music to listen to while surfing the site through NFL Rush Radio.
“NFL Rush Radio was added at the 11th hour. But it’s another element to make it fun. Kids are already listening to music, why not have that enhance their experience when they are on the site,” Clarke said.
The site is currently being promoted through a spot for the Take the Player to School program and through partnerships online with Nickelodeon and JCPenney.
“I’m pleased with the initial response. Early traffic metrics show we’re averaging really good numbers on the site and the time that kids are spending on the site is significant,” said O’Reilly. “We’re already well over traffic numbers we had in the past.”
The creative team at Atmosphere BBDO couldn’t be more satisfied. “It’s rewarding having the opportunity to speak to a whole new audience of fans and hopefully be partially responsible for creating fans in kids who could be more engaged with the sport than they might otherwise be,” Clarke said.
Hollywood’s Oscar Season Turns Into A Pledge Drive In Midst Of L.A. Wildfires
When the Palisades Fire broke out in Los Angeles last Tuesday, Hollywood's awards season was in full swing. The Golden Globes had transpired less than 48 hours earlier and a series of splashy awards banquets followed in the days after.
But the enormity of the destruction in Southern California has quickly snuffed out all festiveness in the movie industry's high season of celebration. At one point, the flames even encroached on the hillside above the Dolby Theatre, the home of the Academy Awards.
The fires have struck at the very heart of a movie industry still trying to stabilize itself after years of pandemic, labor turmoil and technological upheaval. Not for the first time this decade, the Oscars are facing the question of: Should the show go on? And if it does, what do they mean now?
"With ALL due respect during Hollywood's season of celebration, I hope any of the networks televising the upcoming awards will seriously consider NOT televising them and donating the revenue they would have gathered to victims of the fires and the firefighters," "Hacks" star Jean Smart, a recent Globe winner, wrote on Instagram.
The Oscars remain as scheduled, but it's certain that they will be transformed due to the wildfires, and that most of the red-carpet pomp that typically stretches between now and then will be curtailed if not altogether canceled. With so many left without a home by the fires, there's scant appetite for the usual self-congratulatory parades of the season.
Focus has turned, instead, to what the Oscars might symbolize for a traumatized Los Angeles. The Oscars have never meant less, but, at the same time, they might be more important than ever as a beacon of perseverance for the reeling movie capital.
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