Impressions - Sports Fan Retailer - December 2015 - 17

ADVERTORIAL

The Opportunity to Create Lasting Fans

ootball is a huge, vibrant
part of the college landscape
and is growing more powerful
every year. Likewise, merchandise featuring NFL players is achieving
record sales on a national level, as fans
root for their favorite Fantasy Football
stars week in and week out, regardless
of team affiliation.
It's no surprise, then, that the NFL
Players Association (NFLPA) - via its
licensing and marketing arm, NFL Players Inc. - has launched a comprehensive
collegiate co-brand licensing program
to provide ardent college football fans
a fun new way to show off their school
and player pride.
NFL players maintain their popularity
long after they leave campus. Those unforgettable college football experiences
occupy a special place in the hearts of
alumni nationwide, and avid fans enthusiastically follow their favorite players
from college to the pros.
Leading the charge for new NFLPA
collegiate co-brand product is exclusive
trading card licensee Panini America,
whose new trading card sets feature NFL
players in their college uniforms.
"The ability to incorporate college photography into our NFLPA products is a
huge benefit," says Jason Howarth, Panini
America vice president of marketing. "It
provides for so many compelling opportunities in terms of the different types of
trading cards we can deliver; and it also
adds a great deal of diversity and legacy."
According to Howarth, response has
been overwhelming from both longtime

SportsFan Retailer

collectors and college
football fans for the
first two mainstream
college-focused football sets: 2015 Contenders Draft Picks Football and 2015
Prizm Collegiate Draft Picks Football.
"Being able to put rookies and current players in their college uniforms
through our NFLPA group license, and
launching our first multi-school collections with legacy brands like Contenders
and Prizm, was definitely the right way
to introduce our college presence and
has been really well received within both
mass retail and at hobby," he says. "At the
same time, being able to feature current
NFL players in school-specific sets has
also brought a welcome addition to our
collegiate portfolio."

The NFLPA has retained The Brandr Group as its agency of record to exclusively represent NFL player group
licensing rights across all categories for
collegiate co-brand licensing and sponsorship opportunities. Heading into 2016
at the Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show
and beyond, the NFLPA and The Brandr
Group are focused on introducing new
collegiate co-brand products across the
Hardlines and Apparel categories. Panini's trading cards validate the demand.
More new co-brand licensed products will
soon be on the way to feed the appetites
of millions of loyal fans.

For more information on collegiate co-branding with NFL players,
go to nflpa.com/players or call (202) 572-7465.

December 2015 17

http://www.nflpa.com/players

Impressions - Sports Fan Retailer - December 2015

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