For decades, sporting events have long been a great avenue for companies to host potential and loyal clients, respectively.
But now, more than ever, CEOs and corporate executives are focused on using luxury game day experiences to separate from the pack and forge unforgettable memories with their corporate partners. This new trend has not been lost on organizations across the sports world — including arguably the most powerful one of them all, the National Football League.
The NFL, realizing the market for high-end, all-in packages for corporations, launched NFL on Location in 2015., which handles on-set needs each year at the Super Bowl.
In an effort to ramp up its efforts in the premium experiential hospitality business, On Location has purchased established companies to add to their operations, including PrimeSport, Anthony Travel, CID Entertainment and Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours.
Frank Supovitz, a former league executive who left NFL corporate headquarters to launch his own experience-based company — Fast Traffic Events — believes that it takes three key ingredients for companies to believe these luxury experiences will be worth the money:
- High Quality
- Exclusive
- Unique
For a company that is looking to ‘wow’ its client base — a ticket to the Super Bowl simply isn’t enough. But a private jet trip to the host city, accompanied by an exclusive pregame party, suite tickets and an opportunity to go on the field after the final play of the game is the ultimate game changer that companies are striving to achieve.
Packaging unique assets together to create an unforgettable experience is not limited to football or even sports. As Paul Sullivan explains in this New York Times article, the rise and search for V.I.P. experiences extends from golf championships to private concerts and everywhere in between.
The verdict: If the experience is unique enough and the ROI is strong enough, companies will spend for luxury so long as it is best for business.
