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Score a touchdown with Experian’s football audience playbook

Published: January 7, 2025 by Lucy Simmonds

Huddle up: Target football's biggest fans with Experian Audiences

The stakes are high when it comes to advertising during football’s biggest games as the cost of advertising continues to rise, with the average 30-second TV ad during the 2023-24 Sunday Night Football season priced at $882K. With record viewership at the College Football Playoff and the Super Bowl drawing in 123.7 million average viewers, the largest TV audience on record, it’s no surprise that brands are willing to pay those prices since football games are prime time for reaching engaged audiences. In fact, an estimated 51% of viewers search for an ad they saw during the game, underscoring the potential of second-screen engagement to amplify campaign impact. Whether you advertise on TV during these games or not, brands are exploring how they can use football season to drive a deeper connection to their audience. To do this, brands need data driven strategies.

In this blog post, we’ll reveal audience segments designed for you to craft tailored marketing strategies that resonate with football fans in the stands and on the couch. You can find the complete audience segment name in the appendix.

Make a game-winning play with Experian Audiences

With playoff season fast approaching, it’s the perfect time to go on the offensive and target football fans. Utilize Experian’s syndicated audiences to ensure your marketing messages resonate with fans when they’re the most engaged.

  • Experian’s 2,400+ syndicated audiences are available directly on over 30 leading television, social, and programmatic advertising platforms.
  • Reach consumers based on who they are, where they live, and what they do using data ranked #1 in accuracy by Truthset.
  • Run omnichannel campaigns based on a reliable understanding of households, people, digital identifiers, and marketing attributes.

Four football audience categories to add to your advertising lineup

Football fans come in all shapes, sizes, and viewing habits. From dedicated supporters to casual viewers, targeting the right audience can make or break your campaign.

Here are four football audience categories you can target:

  • Sports enthusiasts
  • College football fans
  • 21+ audiences
  • TV viewers

Let’s huddle up and break down the audience segments within each category. Whether it’s tailgating, tuning in, or cheering from the stands, these insights will get your campaign into the end zone.

Sports enthusiasts

Sports enthusiasts

Whether they’re following their favorite teams, attending games in person, or watching professional sports events on TV, football fans are deeply engaged, making them an ideal target for advertisers looking to score big.

Here are five audiences to target:

  1. NFL Enthusiasts
  2. Football (FLA/Fair Lending Friendly)1
  3. Sports Enthusiasts
  4. NFL Stadium Visitors
  5. Professionals Sports Event

College football fans

College football fans

College football fans bring unmatched passion and loyalty, with bowl games during the 2023 season drawing on average of 4.6 million viewers across 40 total games—a 5% increase year-over-year. From students to alumni, these fans represent an invaluable opportunity for advertisers to connect with a deeply invested audience.

Here are four audiences to target to connect with passionate college football fans:

  1. College Football Stadium Visitors
  2. College Football Bowls
  3. College Students
  4. College Sports Venues

21+ audiences

21+ audiences

With 84% of U.S adults reporting that they drink alcohol while watching football on TV, targeting 21+ audiences during game season is a winning play. Whether they’re cracking open a cold one at a tailgate, hosting a game-day party, or relaxing on the couch, these audiences represent a key audience for brands looking to tap into football culture.

Here are four audiences that you can target this post season:

  1. Imported Light Beer Enthusiasts
  2. Domestic/Imported Beer
  3. High-end Spirit Drinkers
  4. Discretionary spend: Alcohol and wine $331 – $726

These audiences can help you serve up campaigns that pour directly into the heart of football fandom.

TV viewers

TV viewers

Football games attract some of the most engaged and diverse TV audiences, with 85% of sports fans preferring to watch live sports on TV rather than in-person. Notably, for the first time, viewers aged 18 to 49 spent the majority of their sports viewing time (54%) via streaming. This shift highlights the immense opportunity for advertisers to connect with highly attentive viewers tuned into every play.

Here are seven audiences that you can use to create a game-winning strategy to reach engaged TV watching football fans:

  1. Cable Satellite or Streaming Network Subscribers
  2. Streaming Video: High Spenders
  3. Cord Cutters
  4. Cable and Streaming TV Service Subscribers
  5. Paid TV High Spenders
  6. Screen Size – Large
  7. Co-Watchers

Whether they’re catching the action on a large TV screen or streaming from their phone, these audiences will help you craft campaigns that deliver results with highly engaged viewers.

Score big with Experian this postseason

As some of football’s biggest games approach, it’s time to huddle up and connect with consumers who live for the thrill of the game.Whether they’re tuning in to cheer for their favorite teams, tailgating with friends, or enjoying the game-day experience from home, Experian Marketing Data provides the playbook to score big with targeting, enrichment, and activation. With Experian’s data-driven insights, you can turn every opportunity into a game-winning play!

You can activate our syndicated audiences on-the-shelf of most major platforms. For a full list of Experian’s syndicated audiences and activation destinations, download our syndicated audiences guide.

Explore our other seasonal audiences that you can activate today.

1Fair Lending Friendly” indicates data fields that Experian has made available without use of certain demographic attributes that may increase the likelihood of discriminatory practices prohibited by the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”). These excluded attributes include, but may not be limited to, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, disability, handicap, family status, ancestry, sexual orientation, unfavorable military discharge, and gender. Experian’s provision of Fair Lending Friendly indicators does not constitute legal advice or otherwise assures your compliance with the FHA, ECOA, or any other applicable laws. Clients should seek legal advice with respect to your use of data in connection with lending decisions or application and compliance with applicable laws.


Appendix

Sports enthusiasts

  • Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Activities and Entertainment > NFL Enthusiasts
  • Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Sports and Recreation > Sports Enthusiast
  • Mobile Location Models > Visits > NFL Stadium Visitors
  • Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Sports > Football (FLA / Fair Lending Friendly)2 Travel Intent > Activities > Professional Sports Event

College sports fans

  • Mobile Location Models > Visits > University Stadium College Football Visitor
  • Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Sports > College Football Bowls
  • Mobile Location Models > Visits > College Students
  • Mobile Location Models > Visits > College Sport Venues

21+ audiences

  • Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Activities and Entertainment > Imported Light Beer Enthusiasts
  • Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > In-Market > Domestic/Imported Beer
  • Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Retail > High-end Spirit Drinkers
  • Financial – Analytics IQ > Discretionary Spend > Alcohol and Wine: $331-$726

TV viewers

  • Television (TV) > Household/Family Viewing > Cable Satellite or Streaming Network Subscribers
  • Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Entertainment > Streaming/Video/Audio/CTV/Cable TV: Streaming Video: High Spenders
  • Television (TV) > Household/Family Viewing > Cord Cutters
  • Television (TV) > Household/Family Viewing > Cable and Streaming Service Subscribers
  • Television (TV) > TV Enthusiasts > Paid TV High Spenders
  • Television (TV) > Viewing Device Type > Screen Size – Large
  • Television (TV) > Household/Family Viewing > Co-Watchers

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Tapad, a part of Experian, wins iMedia ASPY awards for Best Customer Service and Best Mobile Partner

NEW YORK, May 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ – Tapad, the leader in cross-device marketing technology and now a part of Experian, has been honored with two iMedia ASPY Awards. Announced on May 3rd at the iMedia Summit in Lost Pines, TX, Tapad's 2016 ASPY Awards include "Best Customer Service" and "Best Mobile Partner." In 2015, Tapad's proprietary technology, Tapad Device Graph™, was named "Best New Media Innovation" and Tapad employee Chris Martin was awarded the "Rising Star Award." The iMedia ASPY Awards – determined exclusively by agency votes – recognize the industry's top marketing technology, media companies and publishers for outstanding service to agencies. The award for "Best Customer Service" recognizes Tapad's client services team and their dedication to helping agencies fully understand their consumers' behavior and achieve the best cross-screen campaign ROI through Tapad's Campaign Pulse and TV Pulse analytics reporting. The "Best Mobile Partner" win recognizes the abilities of the Tapad Device Graph™ to deliver unified cross-screen solutions for the company's partners. "We are privileged to have a talented and dynamic group of people on our client services team, and we are honored to be recognized by iMedia Connection and our agency partners," said Tapad Founder and CEO, Are Traasdahl. "We have always strived to provide the best solutions and the best customer support, so it's extremely gratifying to be rewarded for our efforts. If our clients and partners are happy, we are happy." For more information on the iMedia ASPY Awards please visit: http://aspyawards.com. Read the full press release here. Contact us today!

May 04,2016 by Experian Marketing Services

Developing a mobile app? Don’t forget about SMS

This article is an excerpt from Experian Marketing Services’ 2016 Digital Marketer Report. Download the full report to discover more insights and trends for the upcoming year! Support your mobile app with other mobile marketing initiatives Marketers are fascinated by mobile, and for good reason. It’s increasingly the device of choice for consumers. SMS and MMS messages, push notifications and the app inbox all offer marketers the ability to communicate directly with customers in a way that is immediate and friendly. Yet there seems to be an interest gap between developing mobile apps and building other mobile initiatives. In this year’s Digital Marketer Survey, 53 percent of respondents indicated that they plan to integrate a mobile app into their mobile marketing program in 2016, compared with only 40 percent for other mobile programs like SMS or MMS. Without a doubt, well-designed apps can be incredibly useful for building the brand relationship. Good apps focus on improving the customers’ experience by making their lives easier – by tailoring the content to their personal experience or lessening the number of steps it takes for them to perform an action. In service-based industries, apps can alleviate the need for in-store or in-branch services, helping companies become more lean and efficient. For example, consumer bank apps have redesigned the experience of depositing a check or transferring money between accounts, allowing them to cater to their customers’ needs faster and more efficiently than ever possible through a physical teller. That said, mobile apps are also time- and resource-intensive to develop, especially if they are well designed. Other mobile initiatives, like SMS and MMS text messaging programs or mobile wallet, require less investment to create and maintain. Additionally, imagine if every marketer who shared a plan to build an app actually followed through. That would mean a lot of competition for customers’ limited phone space. This is why I find the interest gap fascinating. Mobile apps are useful, but they should be part of a cohesive mobile strategy, supported with other mobile programs like SMS and MMS messaging that are less costly and can serve as an effective alternative for communicating with customers who have push notifications disabled, are inactive users, don’t have compatible phones or simply haven’t downloaded your app. Business needs can dictate mobile marketing strategy This concept is especially important for brands that use the mobile space to communicate service-related or operational messages, such as shipping and delivery notifications, fraud alerts or travel delay notices that require immediacy. These kinds of messages are time-sensitive and valuable. Customers who don’t have your app will benefit from their receipt if you offer it to them via another channel. Of course, it’s important to remember that not every business fits usage of SMS and MMS or app programs. Consider the needs and preferences of your unique customers to determine the need to develop a mobile program. After all, mobile experiences that are not well thought through may be more damaging than beneficial. According to a Google study of smartphone users, 66 percent of consumers will take negative action if a mobile site or app doesn’t satisfy their needs, such as being less likely to return to the site or app (40 percent) or purchase products from the company in the future (28 percent). Ultimately, if you’re investing in a mobile app experience, don’t forget about the power of a complimentary text message strategy. Mobile app marketing and text messages can go hand in hand. Develop an SMS experience that proves the value of your brand in the mobile space. Once you do, your customers and prospects will be more likely to believe in the value of your full app experience.

May 03,2016 by

Carat North’s first UK cross-device campaign scores with 59% conversion rate

Cross-screen marketing tech firm, Tapad, drove unified campaign; partnered with Statiq to measure cross-screen impact on in-store visits LONDON, March 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Carat North completed the UK's most comprehensive digital campaign with Tapad, the leader in cross-device marketing technology and now a part of Experian. Coupled with location-based audience data from Statiq, this marks the first time a UK-company has measured the impact of unified, cross-screen campaign on in-store visits. Carat North served display and video ads to grocery shoppers for the leading retailer ASDA from August through October. During the campaign, Tapad utilized Statiq's audience data to measure which users visited a store after being exposed* to the campaign's ad on multiple devices. The digital campaign demonstrated a lift of 59% for in-store visits when users were exposed to ads on three devices over people who were shown an ad only on onescreen. Those who engaged with the ad were also 411% more likely to visit an ASDA store. Of those who were exposed to an ad, 248% were more likely to visit a store. Impressions served to mobile devices saw the highest success rate with an in-store visit lift of 67%. The campaign leveraged Tapad's proprietary technology, The Device Graph™, which Nielsen confirmed Tapad's cross device accuracy to be 91.2%, to serve ads sequentially on connected devices belonging to the same user. CARAT NORTH: "The ability to know which devices belong to our customer, coupled with the ability to deliver the right ad, and right message, wherever they are and on whatever device they're using, has been something this industry has long needed," said Steve Thornton, Digital Account Manager, Carat North. "We're impressed with the results that have come from the work with Tapad and Statiq for this media-first, and look forward to continuing to offer these solutions to clients like ASDA. Matching unified cross-device capabilities with real insights on campaign performance is an invaluable advantage in the marketing world." TAPAD: "This campaign is a perfect example of the capabilities of cross-device advertising," said Are Traasdahl, Founder and CEO, Tapad. "In addition to reaching users across devices, we're able to analyze campaign results and determine how different combinations of ad exposure, creative type or view frequency affected their decision to visit a location." STATIQ: "As a location data specialist, Tapad is our ideal partner – they are an industry leader and by working with them we are able to determine the impact unified messaging has on real world consumer behaviours," said Dean Cussell, Co-Founder of Statiq. "We believe this type of analysis will significantly aid brands in optimising future ad spend." About Carat North Carat North is a leading independent media planning & buying specialist in digital and non-traditional media solutions. Owned by global media group Dentsu Aegis Network, the Carat network is more than 6,700 people in 130 countries worldwide across 170 cities. Carat defined the sector when established as the world's first media independent in 1968 and is now Europe's largest media network, a position held for more than 15 years. For more information visit www.carat.co.uk About Tapad Tapad Inc. is a marketing technology firm renowned for its breakthrough, unified, cross-device solutions. With 91.2% data accuracy confirmed by Nielsen, the company offers the largest in-market opportunity for marketers and technologies to address the ever-evolving reality of media consumption on smartphones, tablets, home computers and smart TVs. Deployed by agency trading desks, publishers and numerous Fortune 500 brands, Tapad provides an accurate, unified approach to connecting with consumers across screens. In 2015, Tapad began aggressively licensing its identity management solution, the Tapad Device Graph™, and swiftly became the established gold-standard throughout the ad tech ecosystem. Tapad is based in New York and has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit,Frankfurt, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Toronto. TechCrunch called the powerhouse Tapad team "a hell of a list of entrepreneurs who created some of the most valuable online advertising companies of the last decade." Among Tapad's numerous awards: EY Entrepreneur of The Year (East Coast) 2014, among Forbes' Most Promising Companies two year's running, Deloitte's Technology Fast 500, Crain's Fast 50, Entrepreneur 360, Digiday Signal Award, iMedia ASPY Award, and a MarCom Gold Award. Read the full release here. *Tapad utilized Statiq's audience data to measure which users visited a store during, or within one month of, being exposed to the campaign's ad on multiple devices. Contact us today!

Mar 08,2016 by Catherine Leonard

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Tapad, a part of Experian, wins iMedia ASPY awards for Best Customer Service and Best Mobile Partner

NEW YORK, May 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ – Tapad, the leader in cross-device marketing technology and now a part of Experian, has been honored with two iMedia ASPY Awards. Announced on May 3rd at the iMedia Summit in Lost Pines, TX, Tapad's 2016 ASPY Awards include "Best Customer Service" and "Best Mobile Partner." In 2015, Tapad's proprietary technology, Tapad Device Graph™, was named "Best New Media Innovation" and Tapad employee Chris Martin was awarded the "Rising Star Award." The iMedia ASPY Awards – determined exclusively by agency votes – recognize the industry's top marketing technology, media companies and publishers for outstanding service to agencies. The award for "Best Customer Service" recognizes Tapad's client services team and their dedication to helping agencies fully understand their consumers' behavior and achieve the best cross-screen campaign ROI through Tapad's Campaign Pulse and TV Pulse analytics reporting. The "Best Mobile Partner" win recognizes the abilities of the Tapad Device Graph™ to deliver unified cross-screen solutions for the company's partners. "We are privileged to have a talented and dynamic group of people on our client services team, and we are honored to be recognized by iMedia Connection and our agency partners," said Tapad Founder and CEO, Are Traasdahl. "We have always strived to provide the best solutions and the best customer support, so it's extremely gratifying to be rewarded for our efforts. If our clients and partners are happy, we are happy." For more information on the iMedia ASPY Awards please visit: http://aspyawards.com. Read the full press release here. Contact us today!

May 04,2016 by Experian Marketing Services

Developing a mobile app? Don’t forget about SMS

This article is an excerpt from Experian Marketing Services’ 2016 Digital Marketer Report. Download the full report to discover more insights and trends for the upcoming year! Support your mobile app with other mobile marketing initiatives Marketers are fascinated by mobile, and for good reason. It’s increasingly the device of choice for consumers. SMS and MMS messages, push notifications and the app inbox all offer marketers the ability to communicate directly with customers in a way that is immediate and friendly. Yet there seems to be an interest gap between developing mobile apps and building other mobile initiatives. In this year’s Digital Marketer Survey, 53 percent of respondents indicated that they plan to integrate a mobile app into their mobile marketing program in 2016, compared with only 40 percent for other mobile programs like SMS or MMS. Without a doubt, well-designed apps can be incredibly useful for building the brand relationship. Good apps focus on improving the customers’ experience by making their lives easier – by tailoring the content to their personal experience or lessening the number of steps it takes for them to perform an action. In service-based industries, apps can alleviate the need for in-store or in-branch services, helping companies become more lean and efficient. For example, consumer bank apps have redesigned the experience of depositing a check or transferring money between accounts, allowing them to cater to their customers’ needs faster and more efficiently than ever possible through a physical teller. That said, mobile apps are also time- and resource-intensive to develop, especially if they are well designed. Other mobile initiatives, like SMS and MMS text messaging programs or mobile wallet, require less investment to create and maintain. Additionally, imagine if every marketer who shared a plan to build an app actually followed through. That would mean a lot of competition for customers’ limited phone space. This is why I find the interest gap fascinating. Mobile apps are useful, but they should be part of a cohesive mobile strategy, supported with other mobile programs like SMS and MMS messaging that are less costly and can serve as an effective alternative for communicating with customers who have push notifications disabled, are inactive users, don’t have compatible phones or simply haven’t downloaded your app. Business needs can dictate mobile marketing strategy This concept is especially important for brands that use the mobile space to communicate service-related or operational messages, such as shipping and delivery notifications, fraud alerts or travel delay notices that require immediacy. These kinds of messages are time-sensitive and valuable. Customers who don’t have your app will benefit from their receipt if you offer it to them via another channel. Of course, it’s important to remember that not every business fits usage of SMS and MMS or app programs. Consider the needs and preferences of your unique customers to determine the need to develop a mobile program. After all, mobile experiences that are not well thought through may be more damaging than beneficial. According to a Google study of smartphone users, 66 percent of consumers will take negative action if a mobile site or app doesn’t satisfy their needs, such as being less likely to return to the site or app (40 percent) or purchase products from the company in the future (28 percent). Ultimately, if you’re investing in a mobile app experience, don’t forget about the power of a complimentary text message strategy. Mobile app marketing and text messages can go hand in hand. Develop an SMS experience that proves the value of your brand in the mobile space. Once you do, your customers and prospects will be more likely to believe in the value of your full app experience.

May 03,2016 by

Carat North’s first UK cross-device campaign scores with 59% conversion rate

Cross-screen marketing tech firm, Tapad, drove unified campaign; partnered with Statiq to measure cross-screen impact on in-store visits LONDON, March 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Carat North completed the UK's most comprehensive digital campaign with Tapad, the leader in cross-device marketing technology and now a part of Experian. Coupled with location-based audience data from Statiq, this marks the first time a UK-company has measured the impact of unified, cross-screen campaign on in-store visits. Carat North served display and video ads to grocery shoppers for the leading retailer ASDA from August through October. During the campaign, Tapad utilized Statiq's audience data to measure which users visited a store after being exposed* to the campaign's ad on multiple devices. The digital campaign demonstrated a lift of 59% for in-store visits when users were exposed to ads on three devices over people who were shown an ad only on onescreen. Those who engaged with the ad were also 411% more likely to visit an ASDA store. Of those who were exposed to an ad, 248% were more likely to visit a store. Impressions served to mobile devices saw the highest success rate with an in-store visit lift of 67%. The campaign leveraged Tapad's proprietary technology, The Device Graph™, which Nielsen confirmed Tapad's cross device accuracy to be 91.2%, to serve ads sequentially on connected devices belonging to the same user. CARAT NORTH: "The ability to know which devices belong to our customer, coupled with the ability to deliver the right ad, and right message, wherever they are and on whatever device they're using, has been something this industry has long needed," said Steve Thornton, Digital Account Manager, Carat North. "We're impressed with the results that have come from the work with Tapad and Statiq for this media-first, and look forward to continuing to offer these solutions to clients like ASDA. Matching unified cross-device capabilities with real insights on campaign performance is an invaluable advantage in the marketing world." TAPAD: "This campaign is a perfect example of the capabilities of cross-device advertising," said Are Traasdahl, Founder and CEO, Tapad. "In addition to reaching users across devices, we're able to analyze campaign results and determine how different combinations of ad exposure, creative type or view frequency affected their decision to visit a location." STATIQ: "As a location data specialist, Tapad is our ideal partner – they are an industry leader and by working with them we are able to determine the impact unified messaging has on real world consumer behaviours," said Dean Cussell, Co-Founder of Statiq. "We believe this type of analysis will significantly aid brands in optimising future ad spend." About Carat North Carat North is a leading independent media planning & buying specialist in digital and non-traditional media solutions. Owned by global media group Dentsu Aegis Network, the Carat network is more than 6,700 people in 130 countries worldwide across 170 cities. Carat defined the sector when established as the world's first media independent in 1968 and is now Europe's largest media network, a position held for more than 15 years. For more information visit www.carat.co.uk About Tapad Tapad Inc. is a marketing technology firm renowned for its breakthrough, unified, cross-device solutions. With 91.2% data accuracy confirmed by Nielsen, the company offers the largest in-market opportunity for marketers and technologies to address the ever-evolving reality of media consumption on smartphones, tablets, home computers and smart TVs. Deployed by agency trading desks, publishers and numerous Fortune 500 brands, Tapad provides an accurate, unified approach to connecting with consumers across screens. In 2015, Tapad began aggressively licensing its identity management solution, the Tapad Device Graph™, and swiftly became the established gold-standard throughout the ad tech ecosystem. Tapad is based in New York and has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit,Frankfurt, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Toronto. TechCrunch called the powerhouse Tapad team "a hell of a list of entrepreneurs who created some of the most valuable online advertising companies of the last decade." Among Tapad's numerous awards: EY Entrepreneur of The Year (East Coast) 2014, among Forbes' Most Promising Companies two year's running, Deloitte's Technology Fast 500, Crain's Fast 50, Entrepreneur 360, Digiday Signal Award, iMedia ASPY Award, and a MarCom Gold Award. Read the full release here. *Tapad utilized Statiq's audience data to measure which users visited a store during, or within one month of, being exposed to the campaign's ad on multiple devices. Contact us today!

Mar 08,2016 by Catherine Leonard

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