(Out)Back-ing Out of Tampa: Shift in Bowl Game Sponsorship
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Innovation in Action
Localization & Brand Recognition: Part 1
In this two-part series, we are analyzing how local sponsors resonate with their fan base and how they can penetrate new markets. While a local company can still be a national brand (e.g: Coors Field in Denver), every market is different and should be treated as such.
For the first time since 1996, the Tampa Bay Bowl game at Raymond James Stadium had a new name, rebranding from the Outback Bowl to the ReliaQuest Bowl. While most title sponsors use the bowl schedule for brand awareness activations, Outback Steakhouse (a staple restaurant under Bloomin Brands, headquartered in Tampa Bay) incentivized fans to know who won the game. Depending on the outcome, fans were entitled to either a free Bloomin’ Onion or Coconut Shrimp appetizer.
ReliaQuest is also based in the Tampa Bay area. The common trend we are seeing is how local companies ingrain themselves across the community through hiring local and sponsoring the home team/venue-regardless of company size or reach across markets.
Bowl games are often played between teams from specific conferences, making it easier for brands to know where their target market is coming from. This information is very valuable, as it helps influence marketing opportunities, sponsorship activations, and market evaluation.
To explore the impact of Outback’s title sponsor, we analyzed our data between the month before and after the Bowl game since December 2018. Our hypothesis was the weeks before and after would be prime target windows for Bowl-game sponsorship effectiveness. Spending data was quite revealing, indicated by the chart below. We looked at the spending patterns per consumer towards Outback Steakhouse across three markets: Tampa Bay (its headquarters), Cincinnati (there are as many locations here as Tampa, per ScrapeHero), and the rest of the population.
*Our data comes from a random panel of 10 million credit & debit card holders in the United States. Transactions portrayed here are from 1/1/2020 through 1/18/2023.
Three things stand out to us:
The Tampa Bay area is either the market leader or very equal to the rest of the country when it comes to spend per consumer
Dec. 2021 - Jan. 2022 saw a bump in spend per consumer, potentially a macro-economic indicator as the economy grew in 2021 and continued in January 2022
From December 2021 - December 2022, the Tampa Bay area’s dip in consumer spending was half that of Cincinnati
Point 3 stands out to us the most. Prior to last year, Outback may have exhausted most sponsorship opportunities having been in the space for over 20 years, especially when there is a high cost of being a title sponsor. Other opportunities Outback is exploring, like Name, Image, & Likeness, shows their understanding of the changing landscape and how to penetrate new markets, which is something we’ll explore more in part two of this series.
New Netflix Series “Break Point” Coincides with 2023 Australian Open
Netflix's new series, “Break Point'' has dropped! The 5-episode docu-series highlights some of the world's most talented tennis players as they strive to be the best during the 2022 tournament season. The series explores players' mental game, drama on and off the court, and- of course- the actual tennis! The five episodes highlight greats like Rafeal Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Nick Kyrgios, and many more. However, they also show young, up-and-coming tennis players journey through the tournament system and look at behind the scenes of practice courts, medical attention, and even hotel rooms.
The series intentionally debuted at the beginning of the 2023 Australian Open, which was very timely due to the focus on the Australian Open in "Break Point." The Australian Open began January 16th, and ends January 29th. While most matches are still in the preliminary rounds, you can follow along with both new and seasoned tennis players mentioned in the docu-series!
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