The NFL kicks off tonight with the Saints against the Vikings. True Saints and Viking fans will be sure to be watching. And, millions and millions of non-Saints and Vikings fans who play fantasy football gamers will be glued to their TVs with their rosters, scorecards and computers at the ready. 
The Fantasy Football Trade Association (yes, there really is an association for fantasy football) reports its membership represents 27 million adult Americans who play fantasy football. ESPN estimates that 50 million people play fantasy football worldwide.
For years, fantasy football has been ignored (marketers have found video games and social media more fun to talk about). Most thought it was just a game for geeks and sports nuts. Well, there are a lot more nuts than we thought, and they are males 18-49–typically a hard-to-target audience.
Papa John’s is connecting with this growing target market by offering the “Fantasy to Reality” fantasy football promotion. Papa John’s is the official pizza of the NFL, but this takes their sponsorship to a new, extremely inclusive level. Instead of being satisfied with their NFL sponsorship, Papa John went searching how to exploit their investment and really look at how they could sell more pizzas.
What are you sponsoring? Can you exploit your sponsorship in ways that will deliver real value? (Or, are you just getting a logo on a T-shirt?) Make your future sponsorship a reality of results.
