Amex Deepens NFL Marketing with Amazon Prime Video Partnership
American Express (Amex) is leveraging its new role as the NFL’s official payments partner to deepen its marketing efforts, particularly through its collaboration with Amazon Prime Video for Thursday Night Football. The NFL’s massive TV viewership presents a prime opportunity for Amex, with over half of the top 100 most-watched programs last year being NFL games, according to Nielsen ratings. Jessica Ling, EVP of global advertising at Amex, highlighted that becoming an official sponsor has allowed the company to integrate more deeply into NFL programming and broaden its partnerships with networks.
Amex’s partnership with Prime Video for Thursday Night Football is a key focus, especially as the streamer enters its fifth year of broadcasting the games. Despite initial challenges in selling ad inventory, Prime Video has seen a 6% year-over-year increase in advertisers this season, including five brands new to the NFL. Amex is the presenting sponsor of the TNF Kickoff pregame show, with its branding featured in 16 pregame shows this season, including one wild-card game, plus additional social media extensions.
The goal of Amex’s NFL sponsorship is to enhance brand consideration by offering cardholders exclusive experiences and access to events. With over 70% of Amex cardmembers being NFL fans, the partnership aligns well with the company’s target audience. Amex is also utilizing Amazon’s audience-based creative offerings to target different consumer groups more effectively, reducing advertising waste and improving campaign relevance.
Another aspect of Amex’s strategy involves integrating broadcast talent into its activations. The TNF Tonight pregame show features hosts and analysts like Charissa Thompson and Tony Gonzalez, whom Amex plans to incorporate into various events and social content throughout the season. Amazon’s ad tech and targeting capabilities are also crucial for Amex, allowing the brand to tailor its messaging to specific audience segments, such as small business owners and personal credit card users.