Nearly half of NFL stadiums with naming rights sponsors improve fans’ feelings about those brands, according to a new study that measures the impact of media coverage on brand sentiment. And an iconic name, like Lambeau Field or Soldier Field, doesn’t necessarily translate to fuzzy feelings either, according to Prosek Partners, which conducted the study.
At the top of their rankings is State Farm Stadium, home to the Arizona Cardinals, followed by Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Seattle’s Lumen Field, Minnesota’s U.S. Bank Stadium and Houston’s NRG Stadium. The Cardinals are on the opposite end of Sportico’s NFL team valuations as of August 2023, ranking No. 27 at $4.17 billion. Fortunately, Jake from State Farm is there.
Conducted throughout 2023, each of the league’s 30 stadiums were ranked by weighted scores on volume of news, engagement and net sentiment, which is a real-time measure of customer satisfaction. The research observed traditional earned media coverage of the stadiums, their sponsoring brands and the teams themselves.
Prosek found that while naming rights are highly effective at driving brand awareness, not every team has been able to consistently maximize their best-known sponsorships.
Case in point, brand sentiment and team performance don't necessarily go hand-and-hand. Just two stadiums that performed well in the study—Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium and Detroit’s Ford Field—are home to teams in the top 10 of the 2023 NFL standings.
Also notable are how the three NFL stadiums without entitlement sponsors varied in terms of positive net sentiment. Cleveland Browns Stadium ranked fourth, Green Bay's Lambeau Field was in the middle of the pack at 17, and Chicago’s Soldier Field ranked No. 25.
Besides the Browns’ improved on-field performance, the good vibes for Cleveland Browns Stadium, which opened in 1999, could stem from returning to the original name after the sponsorship deal with FirstEnergy was terminated last April in light of the energy company’s role in the 2020 Ohio House of Representatives bribery scandal. The Browns are ranked No. 25 in Sportico’s NFL team valuations at $4.2 billion.
The favorability of some venues could relate to a name change. State Farm is one of America’s biggest brands—as evidenced by the frequent “Jake from State Farm” ads during commercial breaks—and the insurance company added its brand onto the Cardinals’ nest after the University of Phoenix terminated its 20-year rights deal in 2017 due to financial issues.
Prosek recommended that when companies and sports teams evaluate options around stadium naming rights, they should leverage earned media to tell their business story, create content that can be shared on team and sponsor channels, and integrate stadium sponsorships into larger marketing campaigns.