Miami Gardens, FL – Following ratification by the International Committee today, the NFL announced that the Miami Dolphins have been granted access to three International Home Marketing Areas (IHMA) across Brazil, United Kingdom and Spain. This ground-breaking, new initiative grants clubs access to international territories for marketing, fan engagement and commercialization as part of an important, long-term, strategic effort to enable clubs to build their global brands while driving NFL fan growth internationally. "We are excited that the NFL has created this global initiative to allow teams to connect with their worldwide fanbases," said Tom Garfinkel, Vice Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium. "The Miami Dolphins have an international brand with passionate followings in Brazil, United Kingdom and Spain. While our priority remains to service our fans in South Florida, we are committed to investing in and growing our presence internationally in the coming years with our fan clubs and partners through innovation, technology and local community impact." As part of the International HMA program, clubs will have access to international markets for at least a five-year term, during which a club will have rights to pursue activities in that international market that are consistent with what they can do in their domestic HMA. This includes in-person and digital marketing, corporate sponsorship sales, fan events and activations, merchandise sales and co-marketing relationships with other sports and entertainment properties in the market. "NFL fandom begins with our clubs," said Christopher Halpin, NFL Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer. "This initiative enables the NFL to more effectively pursue its long-term fan growth efforts by empowering our teams to develop meaningful relationships and touchpoints that not only grow the number of NFL fans abroad but also drive fan avidity. We were very pleased with the number of proposals and level of commitment we received in this initial application period and look forward to teams launching their efforts early next year." Follow Along on Social: Twitter Brazil: @dolphins_br United Kingdom: @dolphins_uk Spain: @dolphins_esp Instagram Brazil: @dolphins_br United Kingdom: @dolphins_uk Spain: @dolphins_esp
And as Brit living in Gibraltar - may I humbly suggest we get a little love too. We're tiny, sure, but we do have dolphins, and sun!
I don't understand. What's the purpose of this? Teams that are not part of this program are otherwise NOT allowed to engage in "in-person and digital marketing, corporate sponsorship sales, fan events and activations, merchandise sales and co-marketing relationships with other sports and entertainment properties in the market"? I don't see any business sense in that if that's true. Some teams aren't participating apparently, like Green Bay. So what's the purpose of this?
It's how fanbases are built. Direct local marketing. I imagine that a team has a responsibility to invest in marketing to get rights. Neto makes Brazil an easy fit for Miami.
I thought the same thing- how can the NFL hand out territories in areas we don't even play? It sounds like a whole lot of nothing to me.
