Allstate, Northwestern Mutual Title Sponsors for College Football Playoff Games
December 23, 2014 by Michael Buck, senior associate editor, BestWeek: Michael.Buck@ambest.com
OLDWICK, N.J. – Sports fans tuning in to watch the inaugural College Football Playoff semifinal match ups on New Year’s Day will see two insurance companies as the title sponsors on both games.
The Rose Bowl Game is being presented by Northwestern Mutual, which will be played in Pasadena, California, and pits the University of Oregon against Florida State University. The other semifinal is the Allstate Sugar Bowl, which will be played in New Orleans, featuring the University of Alabama against Ohio State University.
While Allstate Corp. is a longtime sponsor of the Sugar Bowl, it inked a new deal to sponsor the event for six more years beginning with this game, according to Pam Hollander, vice president of integrated marketing communications at Allstate. The personal lines insurer first had its name on the event beginning in 2007.
“College football in general has just been something that we’ve tapped into that we’ve seen a terrific amount of return for us,” Hollander said.
This is the first time Northwestern Mutual, a life insurer, has put its name on the Rose Bowl Game. The deal, which runs through 2020, includes positioning across ESPN’s coverage of 23 college sports championships, the company said previously. Both companies declined to comment on costs.
“It also feels like a marquee-type of event for us,” said Chad Dern, director of brand and advertising at Northwestern Mutual. “For a company like ours who doesn’t do a lot of sponsorships and who has chosen very carefully, it was an interesting move for us to make.”
Northwestern Mutual has a larger deal in place with ESPN that includes on-air presenting sponsorship of 20 Men’s and Women’s NCAA championships across various sports and exclusivity in the life insurance, retirement planning, wealth management, financial planning and mutual fund categories, the company said.
The title sponsorship is just the start for Northwestern Mutual. It will have its brand on the field, on tickets, various signage and show televisions spots during the game, Dern said. The company also has a sponsorship deal with the Tournament of Roses Committee, he said. Sponsoring an event like the Rose Bowl, and other college sporting events, attracts the kinds of eyeballs that Northwestern Mutual is interested in, Dern said.
“We start with who is watching these sports,” Dern said. “The biggest commonality of people who watch college sports are people who went to college … with college education comes affluence. It has a great male/female balance, which we really like.”
Through the sponsorship, Allstate is able to tap into the passion of college football fans, who are frequently alumni, Hollander said. They get younger households, which react to and engage with the brand, she said.
Along with holding the title sponsorship, Allstate has ancillary events planned for the game, Hollander said. The Allstate brand will be on the field goal nets on all the playoffs games and the national championship game, and branding on the field, she said. Branding in and around New Orleans will be extensive, which Hollander said has something of a “surround sound” effect around the game.
“If you’re in New Orleans, we actually … paint the town blue,” Hollander said. “I don’t think anyone could walk off an airplane in New Orleans and not realize who the title sponsor is.”
Allstate Insurance Group in 2013 had net premiums written of $26.5 billion, making it the third-largest property/casualty insurer in the United States. Northwestern Mutual Group companies in 2013 had assets of $217.17 billion, making it the seventh-largest life/health insurer in the United States ranked by admitted assets, according to Best’s Review.
Other insurance industry firms sponsor sporting events and teams. Aon, a broker, last year extended by eight years its sponsorship of United Kingdom soccer team Manchester United (Best’s News Service, April 8, 2013). American International Group sponsors a New Zealand rugby team. Insurers have also long positioned their brands around prime time events like the Super Bowl.
Allstate Insurance Group companies currently have a Best’s Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior), while Northwestern Mutual Group companies are currently rated A++ (Superior).
