{"title":"Demonstrating and communicating artificial intelligence brand capabilities: Amazon Web Services sponsorship with the National Football League","authors":"John A. Fortunato, Allie Kosterich","doi":"10.1108/ijsms-03-2024-0065","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Purpose</h3>\n<p>As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to influence sports league and team operations, the brands providing these services are sponsoring sports properties to demonstrate and communicate their performance capabilities. This article examines Amazon Web Services (AWS) sponsorship with the National Football League (NFL). This sponsorship features functional congruence, which is when a sponsor has a participatory role in performing services for the property.</p><!--/ Abstract__block -->\n<h3>Design/methodology/approach</h3>\n<p>The AWS sponsorship with the NFL is captured by examining specially created websites, in-game sponsored elements, and television commercials aired during the broadcast of NFL games. The AWS website focuses on the services profiled in this article.</p><!--/ Abstract__block -->\n<h3>Findings</h3>\n<p>AWS provides the NFL with performance-based (on-the-field) and business-based (off-the-field) services. Of particular note, AWS capabilities help the NFL create the game schedule and address the issue of player health and safety. Demonstrating functional congruence appears to be especially valuable in business-to-business marketing where purchase decisions are more focused on brand reliability. AWS television commercials feature the tagline, “if AWS can do this for the NFL, imagine what it can do for your business.”</p><!--/ Abstract__block -->\n<h3>Originality/value</h3>\n<p>With the role of AI in sports in its relative infancy, it is imperative to document what services AI brands are performing for a professional sports league. Examining AWS sponsorship with the NFL provides a timely, practical example of how an AI brand communicates and positions itself using sponsorship as a marketing strategy.</p><!--/ Abstract__block -->","PeriodicalId":501000,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship","volume":"66 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1108/ijsms-03-2024-0065","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to influence sports league and team operations, the brands providing these services are sponsoring sports properties to demonstrate and communicate their performance capabilities. This article examines Amazon Web Services (AWS) sponsorship with the National Football League (NFL). This sponsorship features functional congruence, which is when a sponsor has a participatory role in performing services for the property.
Design/methodology/approach
The AWS sponsorship with the NFL is captured by examining specially created websites, in-game sponsored elements, and television commercials aired during the broadcast of NFL games. The AWS website focuses on the services profiled in this article.
Findings
AWS provides the NFL with performance-based (on-the-field) and business-based (off-the-field) services. Of particular note, AWS capabilities help the NFL create the game schedule and address the issue of player health and safety. Demonstrating functional congruence appears to be especially valuable in business-to-business marketing where purchase decisions are more focused on brand reliability. AWS television commercials feature the tagline, “if AWS can do this for the NFL, imagine what it can do for your business.”
Originality/value
With the role of AI in sports in its relative infancy, it is imperative to document what services AI brands are performing for a professional sports league. Examining AWS sponsorship with the NFL provides a timely, practical example of how an AI brand communicates and positions itself using sponsorship as a marketing strategy.