SiriusXM Takes an Airline Brand's Campaign Beyond Game Day

From leagues to teams, sports inspire the kind of loyalty and fandom that brands can only dream of. But reaching fans through the sports they love can drive a halo effect that lets brands benefit by association. And there are more ways to tap into the passion than game day ad placements and sponsorships.

For sports fans, the excitement doesn't begin or end with a single game. From pregame predictions to postgame analysis, they're constantly looking for ways to stay connected to their favorite teams and players. And audio delivers. In fact, sports fans spend an average of six hours and 26 minutes with audio each day, from mid-game play-by-plays to post-game analysis to in-depth athlete interviews and more. 1

For brands, the opportunity to reach and influence fans beyond game day and into the offseason is huge. In this case study, you’ll see how one brand tapped into football content on SiriusXM to score with fans.

Challenge

While football offers mass appeal—and plenty of consumer reach—competition for attention around major games is intense. 

Take sports marketing beyond the stadium

One major airline already had a strong presence in sports marketing, with partnerships and sponsorships spanning multiple leagues and events. But football represented an opportunity to take that strategy further. The airline wanted to expand its reach into this passionate fan base without relying on a traditional league or team sponsorship.

The challenge: Find a way to connect with football fans in meaningful moments throughout the season while strengthening brand perception and consideration.

Solution

Enter SiriusXM. With dedicated sports channels, expert commentary, and programming that keeps fans connected before, during, and after the game, SiriusXM offered the airline a way to get in on the action.

Align with content football fans crave

The airline launched an audio campaign across SiriusXM's premium sports programming, including ESPN, FOX Sports, Mad Dog Sports Radio, NBC Sports Radio, SiriusXM NFL Radio, and more. The goal was to align the airline's messaging with the content football fans actively seek. Placements across football-focused channels and broader sports talk programming helped the brand connect with listeners as they followed the latest matchups, debated the biggest plays, and kept up with their favorite teams.

Reach fans who are likely to fly

The SiriusXM subscriber base was a natural fit. SiriusXM sports listeners aren't just passionate fans—they're frequent travelers, too. While an impressive 75% of listeners exposed to the campaign have taken any flight for personal or business within the past year, sports fans were an even better fit. In fact, 82% of exposed SiriusXM sports listeners had taken a personal or business flight in the past year. 2

The airline's creative reinforced the connection, using aspirational messaging centered on improvement, potential, and success. The approach gave the brand an opportunity to deliver an empowering message while reaching an audience with a demonstrated propensity to travel.

Results

The campaign delivered impressive mid-funnel lifts, demonstrating the impact of connecting with sports fans through SiriusXM.

Brand favorability and consideration take off

A Veritonic brand lift study found significant increases in two key performance indicators among listeners exposed to the campaign: 2

• +32-pt lift brand favorability

• +49-pt lift in purchase consideration

Results were even stronger among SiriusXM sports listeners: 2

• +35-pt lift in brand favorability

• +55-pt lift in purchase consideration

Effective creative sends brand perception soaring

The creative made an impact, too. Listeners responded positively to the airline's aspirational messaging, describing it as empowering and unique. Among exposed respondents, agreement that the brand was always improving its customer experience increased by 42 points. 2

SiriusXM Sports FTW

For this airline, connecting with football fans on SiriusXM proved to be a winning play. Sports audio can help brands go beyond traditional sponsorships to reach relevant audiences, strengthen brand perceptions, and inspire consideration. And with us, you can tap into eight professional league partnerships, 20+ sports talk stations, eight podcast publisher partners, and 500+ sports podcasts.

We did it for them. We can do it for you. Let’s talk.

Check out more SiriusXM case studies