FanDuel is returning to the Super Bowl with the third installment of its The Kick of Destiny campaign and the brand’s chief marketing officer Andrew Sneyd couldn’t be more thrilled.
“We got really excited about what we could do to galvanize all of America to care about the same thing,” says Sneyd.
The first year, Gronk set out to kick a field goal and missed the kick. Year 2, the brand let users bet on whether he would make or miss the kick. He missed again. This year, Peyton and Eli Manning will face off in a live kicking competition on the FOX Super Bowl Pregame Show. Each Manning will attempt a 25-yard field goal to win the Kick of Destiny 3. FanDuel is offering customers the opportunity to make a free pick on which Manning will win through the FanDuel Sportsbook app.
“Both have two Super Bowl titles to their name,” explains Sneyd. “It’s time for the sibling rivalry to be decided once and for all on Super Bowl Sunday in the head-to-head matchup where they will break the tie and forever have superiority at the Thanksgiving table.”
“This is now going to be the third year of us bringing this franchise to game day,” Sneyd continues. “We have to keep outdoing ourselves. We have to show up and surprise and delight. We are innovating it in such a fun way. We just love that it lets everyone make a free pick on our app and just build interest towards the game, which is the biggest business day of the year for us.”
The company will then cut this pregame contest into a :30 second ad, which will run later during the broadcast of the game.
Brand Innovators caught up with Sneyd from his office in New York to talk about the Kick of Destiny and how the Super Bowl offers the brand a chance to attract new betters. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What are you thinking about as you head into the Super Bowl?
Marketers from around the world are in shock and really jealous of what’s been built in America on Super Bowl Sunday. The fact that we can run commercials with the broadest audience possible and people are gathered together and shushing each other to be able to pay attention to content that they want to see and talk about that happens to be ads is an unbelievable blessing that we have as marketers here in this country. It’s important to rise to the challenge on that stage.
This community has given us a chance and we have to make sure that we’re doing our jobs of selling our brands and raising awareness but also acknowledging that we have an opportunity to entertain and be a part of Super Bowl Sunday like an advertiser cannot do on any other day of the year.
What is the strategy for FanDuel to keep the Kick of Destiny challenge going?
We found something that really engaged consumers and the challenge is making sure as a marketer that we don’t get tired of it and how to fuel more interest in how it can come to life to be even better this year. It’s incredible that we’re able to take advantage of the natural sibling rivalry that exists with Peyton and Eli and let people actually pick this person versus that person.
The improvements that we’re making to let it play out as a segment in the pregame show are really exciting. During the first year, the first big live national moment happened where we had no idea, was he going to make it or miss it, but it could only happen in 30 seconds.
What’s great now is that we have the ability for it to play out as part of the pregame show. Fox is excited to be involved as well. They’ve seen the interest that this franchise has created with America. The NFL is being very supportive as well. Now we’re building a field right beside the Superdome and beside where Fox is broadcasting from. Anyone that’s going to the game in New Orleans gets to actually show up early and watch this event. It’s part of the show.
We then take that moment and we have very little time to turn that into an edit that will be :30 long and aired just before kickoff that recaps the whole thing. We now get the power of editing to show it in a fun way. Then we’ll have an ad in the broadcast, as well that we’ll be simultaneously editing that brings it to life to really show up in the moment while 125 million pairs of eyeballs are enjoying the second quarter.
You’ve obviously been having success at the Super Bowl or you wouldn’t keep coming back. How has advertising in the Super Bowl helped you grow the brand?
This is America’s sports holiday. As a brand that’s born in sports and is all about sports, we exist to make every moment more for sports fans. This is us rising to the occasion of the biggest day in the sporting calendar. The biggest part of our business is not just Super Bowl Sunday, but all the excitement that rolls through the playoffs to the big game. These are all incredibly big audiences, which means big business for us. We’re able to take advantage of the fact that we have a Super Bowl ad and bring all kinds of excitement in the run up and anticipation with this campaign. It really helps the performance of our work and interest for the brand and our business even before getting to Super Bowl game day.
On the day itself, it’s unbelievably difficult. We are very fortunate to be part of the conversation that’s now happening on Super Bowl Sunday so that we can expand the franchise from not just all the people that have been placing sports bets during the season, but the broadest group of people possible. They now say, ‘I’m going to download this app. I’m going to make my free pick of Peyton versus Eli. It’s time to see what everyone’s talking about.’ It’s just a great acquisition opportunity for when we have most of the television sets in America all tuned into the same thing. It is a great opportunity for us to welcome in the next wave of sports betters.
How does this Super Bowl media buy and push through the rest of the year?
We’ll now bridge forward to the NBA and the MLB. We’ve got some interesting things in the mix on how we can continue to bring this same franchise idea there. I wonder if someone that’s not typically doing the sport can be a great fish out of water, the same way quarterbacks aren’t kickers. We continue to move on to how we can make every moment more with our NBA campaign and continue to bring fun and appreciate that our product is naturally a part of the game, which we can make that more interesting for sports fans.
The biggest way that we help is that whoever picks correctly is going to share in $10 million. The very next day, all the folks that got it right, will have their bonus bet winning in their account and will have an opportunity to move on and not just pick something for the football season but for any of these sports that are live.
Will you be engaging these winners in any special way?
We have an extensive campaign with customers. We will be emailing winners congratulations, making sure they’re aware of the bonus bet that has landed in their account with their win. Then they have an opportunity to bet again. ‘Hey, I’ve just done my NFL betting. I’m going to get back into the NBA. What am I going to decide to pick today?
