Guest Columnist: Lisa Baird

Say the three letters N-F-L in a conversation with just about anyone in the United States today and most people will instantly engage you in a conversation about their team, their views of the League or the latest story in the news. Go one step further and tell people you work at the NFL and you have their undivided attention. And a stream of ideas bursts forth.

Most of my friends, family and colleagues think that I have the coolest job in the world. Especially my three kids. And I think I do too as every fan I meet has an idea and an opinion of how to market the NFL. And while some may think that I spend most of my time talking about the matchups or going to games, and attending parties at the Super Bowl, most people would be surprised at how much time is spent thinking about how to grow and engage the fan base and talking and listening to the fans. .And that is what I like most about working at the NFL.

Most of my career has been spent in marketing positions at blue chip companies like Procter and Gamble, General Motors and IBM. And while business at big companies can be full of surprises, nothing prepared me for the wild unpredictable ride at the NFL. Some call the NFL the Ultimate Reality Show. And the ups and downs, twists and turns challenge me, as a marketer, to think more creatively and react more quickly—to market dynamics. And to come up with exciting new ideas to keep fans engaged. For example, last year we held a contest allowing fans to pitch us their ideas for the Super Bowl. This gave fans an outlet to fulfill their desire to be “in the conversation with the NFL” and not just be observers. That’s how I came up with the idea in the first place…by listening to fans tell me ideas for what a cool Super Bowl commercial would be. A Bills fan named Gino Bona came up with the winning pitch—an ad about how hard it is to say goodbye to the season. One of the clever ideas that we inserted as a surprise was to end the commercial with a shot of Brett Farve and a clever joke that “saying goodbye to the NFL season is hard (for our fans), and for some it’s even harder.” At that time he was wrestling with the decision to retire. The day before the ad aired on the Super Bowl he announced that he was staying…and boy what a season he is having!

There are a number of other ideas that we are doing at the NFL that are all inspired by the fan and their love of the game. Stay tuned and see what surprises are coming.