Episode 12 Transcript
John Kiker: [00:00:00] So today’s podcast, we were thrilled to have Marissa Solis, who’s the SVP of Global Brand and Consumer Marketing for the NFL. And this is a podcast about stories. And if you think about the stories that the NFL can tell, whether that’s about the league or the events, super Bowls, drafts, uh, combines, uh, international, the growth of women in football.
John Kiker: Uh, the growth of, of, uh, a, a broadening demographic. I. To different parts. Uh, lemme start over again. Uh, so today we have Marissa Solis with us, uh, for Giant Stories. It was an unbelievable discussion, and this is a podcast about storytelling. And Marissa is the SVP of Global Brand and Consumer Marketing for the National Football League, the NFL, and the stories that they have to tell.
John Kiker: She actually said it in the interview, it’s one of the hardest jobs you can think of because there’s so many stories you can tell. So the conversation was focused around how they, uh, find different ways to connect with their audiences, um, across different demographics and even different [00:01:00] geographies. We talk about the NFL moving across to, uh, play in Europe and, and how those fans engage versus how they engage in Mexico, or how they might en engage in Sao Paulo.
John Kiker: Uh, it, it was a fascinating conversation and. Really something I think any brand market or advertising agency can, can, can walk away from really understanding how to leverage the assets that you have and connect with your audience in meaningful and genuine ways, and we hope you enjoy it.
John Kiker: Welcome to Giant Stories, a podcast inspired by people and brands with meaningful stories to share. I’m John Kiker, your host and president of Median Giant, a fully integrated creative agency in Dallas, Texas. The tools we have at our disposal to create and share stories have never been more broad and varied.
John Kiker: The fundamentals of great storytelling remain as transcendent as ever. Despite the headwinds our industry faces, clients and brands will always covet companies that remain steadfast with a steady eye on culture and understanding of the business dynamics at hand, and a commitment to, to the fundamentals of what makes a great [00:02:00] story.
John Kiker: So very few brands have a more. Uh, a story that’s more entwined with American culture over the past century than the National Football League. The pride built through every team’s connection to their community over generations, to the iconic venues, the athletes, the coaches, the owners in the events. The NFL’s ability to bring cities, regions, and our nation together is unmatched.
John Kiker: So many of us can remember where we were and who we were with during iconic conference, championship games, super Bowls, and even Super Bowl halftime shows. In my mind, what’s really been transformative about the NFL over more recent years has been their ability to extend their brand across several dimensions, whether it’s the calendar itself, think about the draft of what that’s become, uh, geography or outreach to a much broader demographic.
John Kiker: In addition, the NFL’s ability to be a highly visible driver of societal opportunity has set the bar for other professional. Sports leagues to emulate. So on today’s podcast, we’re very honored and and beyond excited to have a marketing leader who’s smack dab in the middle of all this transformation.
John Kiker: Joining us is Marissa Solis, senior Vice [00:03:00] President, global Brand and consumer marketing for the NFL in her role for the past. Three and a half years, Marissa has helped lead the NFL’s efforts to both celebrate and grow the brand and the sport of football. So whether that’s, uh, the NFL 100 celebration, flag football, port La Cordura, uh, that initiative, international footprint expansion you guys have played in the uk, Germany, Brazil.
John Kiker: I think you’re going to Spain and Army. We are, we are. That’s awesome. Uh, promoting women in sport and women in the front office or major brand partnerships. She’s been at the heart of all these efforts. Prior to her time with the NFL, Marissa spent 16 years with PepsiCo, most recently as SVP, leading media partnerships and Core Branch such as Doritos, Cheetos, and Tostitos.
John Kiker: She’s a proud graduate of Georgetown University, Hoya Saxa and the University of Texas Boomers. Oh, sorry. No. Uh,
Marissa Solis: look hard. Sorry
John Kiker: I’m a sooner I couldn’t help myself. Uh, man. Yeah. Uh. She, uh, she, she has some amazing stories to share. We’re super glad that she’s here. Marissa, thank you for joining us.
Marissa Solis: Thank you for having me.
Marissa Solis: This is exciting.
John Kiker: Yeah, no, we’re excited. Uh, we’re very excited to [00:04:00] have you. Um, so we always start out our podcast by, um, asking our guests to tell us a little bit about their story before we dive in.
Marissa Solis: Sure. I mean, I, my story is anything but linear. It is, uh, it’s kind of a great adventure and it’s, it’s come a little bit full circle to be honest with you.
Marissa Solis: Um, immigrant from Mexico grew up in the border area in South Texas, and I. Growing up, uh, up in
John Kiker: the valley, huh?
Marissa Solis: Grew up in the valley. And, uh, growing up, you know, with immigration kind of always at the forefront, my dream was always to be an ambassador. Um, so I went to Georgetown to become an ambassador. I went to the School of Foreign Service and pretty much had that in the bag.
Marissa Solis: I mean, I had my, you know, foreign service exam. I was going into the foreign service. And two weeks before graduation, my dean pulled me to the side and said, you know. If you really wanna be an ambassador, you may wanna think about going into corporate America, making a name for yourself, you know, [00:05:00] make lots of money, contribute to a campaign, and then maybe one day someone will appoint you or something.
Okay.
Marissa Solis: Kind of a dose of reality. And so that. Made me pivot and, you know, I pivoted quickly. I landed in Proctor and Gamble in Latin America. Uh, I didn’t study business or marketing. I had no idea what brand marketing was, and yet there I was at 22, you know, and San Juan, Puerto Rico ready to market brands like, uh, tide and Downey and Pampers, and it.
Marissa Solis: It started a great adventure that later took me into politics back here in Texas and Deloitte and you know, eventually PepsiCo where I thought I was going to retire and live out the rest of my, you know, marketing days and. One serendipitous day I got this, uh, incredible phone call to join the league.
Marissa Solis: You know, if you get this phone call, come join the NFL. It’s one of those things you really can’t say no to. So
Right.
Marissa Solis: Uh, and here I am, you [00:06:00] know, almost four years later and it’s been a crazy, crazy ride, but a little bit full circle ’cause we’ll talk about how I do feel a lot of times that I am a bit of an ambassador for sure.
Marissa Solis: Um, so it is a bit full circle, kind of a. You know, great, great story that
John Kiker: it’s
Marissa Solis: been
John Kiker: outta curiosity, what was your dream assignment when you were in foreign service? Like where, where did you want to get posted?
Marissa Solis: I actually wanted to be anywhere in Latin America because that, you know, that was the dream.
Marissa Solis: Growing up with immigration. I thought I would bring, you know. Our cultures together. And so, you know, whether it was Mexico, Chile, Argentina, I mean, any of those countries would’ve been amazing. Hey, you never know. No, I can still go one of these days. So. That’s
John Kiker: amazing. That’s awesome. The NFL’s are we, is there a game in Mexico City this year?
Marissa Solis: Um, there is not a game in Mexico City. Okay. Um, they are actually finishing up the Azteca for the World Cup.
John Kiker: Oh, okay.
Marissa Solis: Um. So
John Kiker: kind of an important thing. Yeah.
Marissa Solis: So once that’s done, we will be back in Mexico City. So you better believe that is a place we won’t, uh, certainly [00:07:00] won’t abandon.
Oh, no. Uh,
Marissa Solis: but Mexico, you know, we had Sao Paulo last year.
Marissa Solis: Yes. We’ll go back this year. Now we’re adding Madrid. Um, so yes, very, very exciting times in the international front.
John Kiker: So. From a, from a brand story perspective, you always wonder how sports resonate in different geographies and in different cultures. What do you think it is about the NFL in Spain, or obviously they’ve been in England for, for, for several years, um, for decades really playing games up there.
John Kiker: What is it about the NFL that resonates from a, from a brand and experience perspective, just Yeah. To foreign fans?
Marissa Solis: You know, it’s, it’s a great question and, and we have to start with, you know, the essence of the brand. Um. We are by far, arguably the most, you know, powerful league in America. Um, we are a macrocosm of an America, a reflection of that American dream.
Yep.
Marissa Solis: So, um, you know, when you go abroad, it’s a very different story. We’re the market leader here. Um, we command, you know, excitement and [00:08:00] attention abroad. We are anything but that. Um, and so we’re very much a challenger brand. So many people. Don’t understand the game. Don’t know the game. It’s
John Kiker: so nuanced.
John Kiker: It’s very
Marissa Solis: nuanced. Yeah. And so as we go abroad, I think it’s a little bit of, you know, taking the core elements of the brand that are timeless and that resonate here that we’ll know are, you know. Resonate will resonate with all of humanity no matter where you are. So the excitement, the thrill of the game, the epic possibilities, um, and the fact that the league brings people together, the game brings people together.
Marissa Solis: Um, yeah, so that joy of coming together to experience this thrill and this. You know, stage of epic possibilities. That is true wherever you are.
Yeah.
Marissa Solis: Um, I think then we have to really be thoughtful about the timeliness and then. The local aspect, um, of the sport and how we [00:09:00] tie into that local aspect. Um, you know, in Mexico it’s been years of NFL history.
Marissa Solis: Yeah. And there’s teams that are very ingrained, whether it’s the Dallas Cowboys or the Steelers. And so we take some of that history
mm-hmm.
Marissa Solis: Um, and help build the fan base with the local culture there. Um. So, yeah.
John Kiker: So, so, so talk about going to Sao Paulo versus say Yeah. Uh, Berlin.
Marissa Solis: Yeah. And,
John Kiker: and how it shows up.
Marissa Solis: Very, very different. Um, so in Berlin, as in as in London also, um, it’s a real celebration of coming together. Mm-hmm. So when you go to a game in, you know, Berlin this year, Munich last year, um. It’s, it’s people come and it’s like a parade of jerseys, right? It, it almost doesn’t matter what to,
John Kiker: it’s almost like an all star game.
John Kiker: Teams are playing. It shows up because
Marissa Solis: yeah, everybody shows up with an NFL jersey and, um, and so it really isn’t about one versus the other. Um, I think [00:10:00] it’s just a celebration of the game. Um, it was so cool in Munich when you hear the crowd and the Germans. Singing, you know, singing altogether. Yes. Uh, country race.
Marissa Solis: Yes. And they don’t know a word of English. Yes. And yet they’re all hugging and singing along. And that is the instance of unity. Like we are the ultimate unifier. And that’s, I think, the. Brand theme that you’re gonna see as we go. Um, you know, Bri Brazil was very different. Um, Brazil really was about embracing, um, there’s a joy in that country and just a flavor, um, and an atmosphere of, you know, it’s like carnival all the time.
Marissa Solis: And capturing celebr, capturing that celebratory joy, um, you know, was really special to us and making. Making sure that Brazilians felt that the game could also be their game. Um, because their game is the other football. Right? Right. And so [00:11:00] we have to kind of earn that spot in their hearts of saying, Hey, American football can be our game too.
Marissa Solis: And I think when we were at that game last year, it was just so emotional. Um, when they played the anthems and. All of the Brazilians in the stadium, just singing their anthem at the top of their lung and that Brazilian pride.
Yeah.
Marissa Solis: But still an in an American football game. So really, really exciting. Yeah.
Marissa Solis: Yeah.
John Kiker: So what’s interesting about. The game and, and the players themselves. And I, I would say today’s NFL versus maybe 10, 20 years ago, obviously the, the, the, the players are giving a given a ton of liberty to celebrate on the field and to, you know, when they scored touchdowns, like all the, the rituals that they have, which is a lot more flashy than it used to be.
John Kiker: And I think societally here it was a little bit like, ah, you know, don’t showboat it. Now. I, I think we’ve come to embrace, it seems like if you think about soccer around the world. They’re so much more demonstrative, you know, after a goal than what they do. It seems like that would be one of the things [00:12:00] that would really resonate well with a lot of the, a lot of the countries that you guys are playing because they’re used to, you know, to, to soccer stars scoring a goal, celebrating doing these things.
John Kiker: And so when they see the NFL players doing that, I think that that would be a really nice moment of connection between the, between the game and the fans to sort of pull them in.
Marissa Solis: Yeah, for sure. I mean, it’s, it’s a lot deeper than that. There’s a, there’s an actual strategy behind all that because I think, um, you know, if you look back to 20 20, 20 19, 20 20 where the league was Yeah.
Marissa Solis: Here in America.
Yeah.
Marissa Solis: You know, the league wasn’t necessarily in the best of places. Um, and the relationship that the league had with the players, you know, was at times tense. And, you know, and, and Rocky, and I think as we’ve come, I. We knew that in order to truly change the face of the league and truly make it approachable mm-hmm.
Marissa Solis: And human and inclusive. You had to see the players in a very different light. And it’s [00:13:00] no accident that our strategy is called helmets off. I mean, that is what our marketing strategy is called because it literally was or and is about taking the helmets off the players, seeing them as the human beings that they are on and off the field, right?
Marissa Solis: And so on. Field celebrations certainly are. A reflection of that humanity. Yeah. Um, and then showing them off the field in their day-to-day lives and how they are as. Husbands and brothers and sons and all the things, community members, that’s really opened up, I think, a whole world for people to really see.
Marissa Solis: And I think it’ll help us globally too.
John Kiker: Yeah.
Marissa Solis: As people get to know them. Well,
John Kiker: if you think, you know, HBO having partnered with, with the NFL for so long, for, you know, the. Preseason. Um, oh,
Marissa Solis: hard. Hard knocks. Yeah, hard knocks. Hard knock is Fanta. Yeah. Hard now.
John Kiker: It’s now it’s much more of a year round thing. You guys pick a team and now
Marissa Solis: you see quarterback.
Marissa Solis: Exactly. And you see receipt or, so yes. That content also [00:14:00] has helped to open the doors. Yeah. Globally and here in terms of like really showcasing the behind the scenes, the players, a lot of the hu humanity and truly the storytelling behind the league, which I think makes it all the more exciting.
John Kiker: Yeah. I mean, what I love about hard knocks is they’ll always focus on a couple of rookies just trying to make the team and you know, every now and then they’ll get lucky and sometimes they won’t.
John Kiker: Yeah. But just, yeah. Getting their background and where they come from and, you know, the effort that they had to put in to get to even where they are, to even have this opportunity, I think is, is incredibly captivating. And especially if they make the team and then they start doing well, then all of a sudden, like their brand profile Yes.
John Kiker: Sort of explodes from that.
Marissa Solis: Yes,
John Kiker: for sure. It’s, it’s, it’s neat. I love it. Um, talk a little bit about the growth of the game in terms of increasing fan interest. Um. You guys have done some, some really deliberate, not just work with, um, not just broader appeal to, let’s say, like the Hispanic demographic, but really investing in the communities, um, where, where your teams are with, uh, the, the Latino [00:15:00] Youth Awards that you guys are doing and other things like that, because obviously there’s a, there’s a rich story there that you guys are being very deliberate about.
Marissa Solis: Yeah. I mean, you know, a again, for the league, the currency of the league is relevance. Uh. We have to be relevant now and in the future and to future generations, and I think we had a real realization that if we weren’t relevant to that future generation. You know, business, business is over and that future generation is increasingly multicultural.
Marissa Solis: Um, very, very different in terms of the way they behave, the values that they have, the way they consume the sport. So everything that we’re doing now is very deliberate to ensure that we’re capturing that generation. Um, you know, and you talked about particularly the Latino community, I mean, when we looked and defined.
Marissa Solis: What our growth audiences would be, and that’s exactly what we call them, growth audiences. Um, we saw that it would [00:16:00] be, um, you know, gen Z and Gen A. So 35 and under huge. Right? And, and. More than 25% of that generation is Latino. So by definition, we needed to appeal to that community.
Mm-hmm.
Marissa Solis: Um, women is a very important community, um, to embrace, to make sure we engage with, I mean, they’re making, you know, way more than half of the decisions, commercial decisions in the household.
Marissa Solis: Um, and they’re also great fans and provide, you know, a whole different perspective on the game. So. As we define those growth audiences, we’ve also been defining the way we tell stories, the way we engage. Um, another really important piece is the fact that it isn’t just about the game and how exciting and thrilling it is, but I.
Marissa Solis: The NFL family, we see ourselves as, um, a force for good. Um, we wanna transcend the game and really inspire positive change in our communities. And so ensuring that our fan [00:17:00] base comes along with us in that journey and gives back to every single local community that we touch is super, super important. So whether it’s Latino Youth Honors or Inspire change.
Marissa Solis: Crucial catch. There’s so many different initiatives that we do to make sure that we uplift the community.
John Kiker: So from a storytelling perspective, talk about, you know, marketing, the NFL to me who grew up in, you know, grew up, John Elway was my hero. I grew up in Denver, so like I, I, I’m, you know, steeped in, in, in that era of the NFL.
John Kiker: Talk about how you look at. Gen Z millennial and tell the story like what are the most important pivots you guys have made from, you know, marketing to, and still marketing to people like me, but also making sure that you’re appealing to the younger.
Marissa Solis: Yeah. I mean, what
John Kiker: is it about the brand that appeals to them in a different way?
Marissa Solis: I will tell you, um, you know, before we get into the specifics, yeah. Marketing, the NFL is the hardest thing ever because we are truly the macrocosm of America. So by definition, anything we do anything. [00:18:00] 50% of the people are gonna love it and 50% of the people will absolutely hate it.
Yep.
Marissa Solis: So we can never please.
Marissa Solis: Every single person. Right. But it is our job to ensure we engage you and the future generation. And that’s why storytelling is so important. ’cause there’s so many different stories.
Yeah.
Marissa Solis: Um, that’s why the data is actually very important because the data helps us identify motivations and you know, what kind of stories to tell to what audience.
Marissa Solis: Yeah. And we’ve done a lot of work in creating what we call fan journeys. Mm-hmm. So there’s literally hundreds of fan journeys. Your fan journey is probably very different than mine. Um, but understanding the, you know, the moments that matter to you and how to get to those moments to get you excited and get you engaged versus the moments that matter to me is really interesting.
Marissa Solis: And so we’ll play out the scenario. You know, you’re probably a big, big ardent fan. Um, you know, [00:19:00] you’ve lived the history. Um, and so for you, you know. This is an important time, right? Uh, draft is about to happen exactly at the end of the month. Um,
no
Marissa Solis: draft defines. Teams, it defines wins. I mean, you know, who would’ve thought Jaden Daniels would’ve done what he did for the Washington Commanders?
Marissa Solis: My my goodness. Yeah. You know, if the Washington commanders were nowhere, now they’re like at the top of their game. So you know how important and what a pivotal moment this is. Yeah. And so I wanna make sure I reach you in that way, and maybe I’ll throw out you. Some of the awesome stories of Combine and get you excited about some of the things and skill sets we saw and, you know, where’s Sanders gonna go?
Marissa Solis: Where’s, you know,
yeah.
Marissa Solis: That’s, that is you. Right, right. Um, I am much more emotional and connected to the, to the stories and, and, and the humanity. So for me it might be about that [00:20:00] story of, you know, that kid who grew up in Germany, um. You know who saw the game when it came to town and all of a sudden fell in love with the league, starts training, and now has an opportunity at the draft to be drafted into the American sport in the NFL.
Marissa Solis: And you know, I may wanna see what. That kid’s mom is feeling Sure. Um, how he, you know, grew up through life. And so a little bit more of this, the emotional storytelling, and that’s just draft. Um, you know, as, as we think about any given game, um, I think it was a Cowboys, it was cowboys and I. Pittsburgh Steelers.
Marissa Solis: Okay. Um, this year.
Mm-hmm.
Marissa Solis: Very important game. It’s a, it’s a nice little rivalry. Yeah. Um, you obviously would wanna watch it and see everything. Um, you know, probably a 15-year-old wouldn’t even sit for four minutes to watch the game, and so they’d be
John Kiker: looking at their phone if they were now,
Marissa Solis: or they’d be looking at their phone.
Marissa Solis: And so partnerships [00:21:00] like what we did with The Simpsons and we did that game completely in an alternative cast. Um. With the Simpsons playing it. And you know, when you see a homer or someone making a home run touchdown, it’s kind of a fun thing. Um, and so just different ways to engage with different audiences.
Marissa Solis: You know, we have, we engage a lot with the wives of the players, um, sisters, moms. To story tell. I mean, they have hilarious stories to tell and
John Kiker: well, some of them, sometimes
Marissa Solis: they have more followers Yeah. Than the players themselves.
John Kiker: Yeah.
Marissa Solis: Um, and so it’s been a, it’s just a great way to, again,
John Kiker: Kelsey’s wife for sure is a, is a good example.
Marissa Solis: Kelsey’s. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She’s got a bigger, much
John Kiker: better following than he does.
Marissa Solis: She’s amazing. Yeah. Um, and you know, just. Uh, people like, uh, Kristen Ick who designed the, you know, the jacket for Taylor and now all of a sudden she’s like household name. She’s got a big deal. Um, you know, fashion has been big.
Marissa Solis: Last year we took Joe Burrow to Fashion Week in [00:22:00] Paris and that just sparked all sorts of conversation in the summer timeframe, right? When, you know, the league is supposed to be quote unquote off season, and all of a sudden everyone’s talking about. What’s the league doing in Paris Fashion Week? But it, it’s things like that where you really extend the story to all sorts of different Yeah.
Marissa Solis: Angles and audiences. And
John Kiker: I, I think that’s one of the things that the league’s done brilliantly is to figure out how to extend the calendar. So whether it’s like, okay, free agency just opened up, what’s going, oh yeah. There, there
Marissa Solis: is no out season.
John Kiker: Yeah. Literally. And then there’s OTAs, and then there’s all these different things that are happening.
John Kiker: Yeah. One of the. One of the things that the NFL did that I thought was brilliant, which has just exploded, is moving the draft out of New York and going into the different cities. Oh, it’s been so
Marissa Solis: much fun.
John Kiker: Uh, I just remember where the first kind of whoa moment was when they were in Nashville and all of Broadway was, I mean, it was however many people.
John Kiker: Awesome,
Marissa Solis: awesome. I mean, Detroit last year Yeah. Was. Unbelievable. Like you would think, you know, people were skeptical about [00:23:00] having a draft in Detroit and the entire city came out and it was just, you know, that you could feel the spirit of Detroit there. Yeah. Um, and it was just great. And obviously having Eminem open up with the commissioner was great.
Marissa Solis: Oh gosh.
Yeah. Um,
Marissa Solis: and now we’re going to Green Bay. Like that thing’s gonna be unbelievable. It’s gonna be at LA in Lambo field. Um, is
John Kiker: that where they’re gonna do it? Like it’s in.
Marissa Solis: Side, Lambo field in this field, the big, the big stage, and there’s gonna be just people everywhere. I mean,
oh wow.
Marissa Solis: I think, you know, if you are an aspiring NFL player.
Marissa Solis: You understand the meaning of that place and, and the history of that place? Yeah, I, I just think, you know, it gives me chills to even think like, wow, I could be drafted to the National Football League in Lambo Field.
John Kiker: Yeah.
Marissa Solis: What a cool thing. So.
John Kiker: Well, it just is. Yeah, the. To your point, it’s one of the most unique venues in terms of the city that it’s within.
John Kiker: By obviously the smallest market. Um, but probably one of the, you know, one of the top two or three fan [00:24:00] bases in all of football. Oh,
Marissa Solis: for sure, for sure. We
John Kiker: do there. That’s amazing. So talk about, um, so obviously you represent. The league and the brand, but, but you work with 32 teams
Marissa Solis: Absolutely. That
John Kiker: all have their own brands, their own stories, their own personalities.
John Kiker: Talk about that integration and partnership with specific teams and how you guys work together from a storytelling perspective.
Marissa Solis: Yeah, I mean, like you said, every team has their own brand. Every team has their own story, um, and they have to develop that story, right? But they also have to coexist within the broader league.
Marissa Solis: And I think, um, it is a really great collaboration in terms of. Elevating the unifier, you know, the epic possibilities, the force for good, like all of those are things that we all believe in that. Yep. Put us all together, but then each, each team is very unique. Right. You want, I mean, um, you know, Miami talks about them wanting to be, um, the key to the Spanish speaking world [00:25:00] because of where they are.
Mm-hmm.
Marissa Solis: Um, you know, obviously we talk about the Dallas Cowboys and their Americas team. The Chiefs are talking about being the world’s team, and now you see the Vikings, um, and what they’ve been able to do to build their brand, and now they’re going abroad in London and everybody knows the Vikings in London.
Marissa Solis: And
yeah,
Marissa Solis: it’s a really, really, um, interesting way, um, because I think it, it goes deeper. Um, it, it allows us to tell. A unifying story, but in so many cases, right, because you can tell it in LA in two different ways. There’s two teams there,
right?
Marissa Solis: Um, all the way to New York. Um, and every team has their own, their own little, you know, special sauce and
John Kiker: the, and the, you know, the, the, the teams that, you know, you’re, whether it’s the, the, the Niners or the Patriots, you know, they’re cowboys that have stacked championships.
John Kiker: And then you’ve got your Cleavers of the world, which had never even been to the Super Bowl, which is, you know. I, I think that they would probably look on that as probably sort of a negative cache, but it’s a unique cache [00:26:00] about them and, you know, they’re like the, the Browns, you know, uh, constantly trying to, you know, trying to, to whether it’s um, you know, changing quarterbacks or coaches or whatever trying to, you know, figure out that formula forever.
Marissa Solis: But there is, but there is this, uh, inherent hope
John Kiker: Yeah.
Marissa Solis: That exists in all of them.
John Kiker: Hopium is real.
Marissa Solis: Um, and, you know, that’s
John Kiker: what the draft is all about, right? Yeah. You’ll see it at
Marissa Solis: draft and, you know, even at the beginning of the season. Yeah. Everyone’s on equal footing. Any team can win. I think that’s the magic of the league.
Marissa Solis: Yeah. Um, which is very different by the way, than most sports, and especially in Europe. Um, yeah. Where, you know, there’s, there’s usually always a clear leader, um, the beginning of the season, you don’t know. Right. Um, and even, I mean, this season going into week 18, I think there were still.
Five or 16?
Marissa Solis: No, there was like 28 teams that could still make the playoffs.
Marissa Solis: Oh, wow. Like in that last week. I mean, it was like, I mean, you knew the ones that had already been in, [00:27:00] but Right. But. There were very few that were eliminated,
John Kiker: but, and to your point, that late in the game, and to your point, nobody at the beginning of last year would’ve predicted Washington did what? They
Marissa Solis: Oh, no.
Marissa Solis: No. Not at all. And then look at Detroit. I mean,
John Kiker: yeah,
Marissa Solis: Detroit’s just a great story. Um, the Texans are a great, I mean, there, there’s so many great stories. Um, and you know, of course people ask me, you know, if I have a team and you, you, I’m, I love all the teams now that I know their stories. But I came from Dallas, so
Sure.
Marissa Solis: Obviously I have an affinity to the Cowboys and
Right. And
Marissa Solis: they’re, they’ve been my team. But once you get there and you understand all the different stories and what all these teams have gone through, I mean, I can’t help but really look out for the ones that I really wanna see, you know, succeed or something happen.
Marissa Solis: Yeah. Um, so that story comes full circle.
John Kiker: Yeah. Well, and, and very cool. Having traveled around all the cities, you see what those bonds are between the community and that team and, and what it represents and what they mean. And, um, [00:28:00] that’s a unique perspective for sure. I, I wanna talk a little bit about. Flag football and the NFL’s efforts.
John Kiker: And I, I love at the end of the spot that you guys ran trying to, um, get flag football as a varsity sport in every single state. But talk about the genesis of that and how you guys Yeah. How you guys have invested in that.
Marissa Solis: Yeah. I mean, I think flag football is such a unique sport. Um. Because it’s so inclusive, anybody can play, um, any gender, any ability level.
Marissa Solis: Um, and it’s really opened the door, particularly for youth participation. So when you think about the strategy to bring more people into the league and expand our fan base and then educate and international fan base about the sport, flag football is perfect. Absolutely. And so for us, you know, it started really with.
Marissa Solis: I think it was two years ago, um, when we did our Super Bowl spot that featured Diana.
Yep.
Marissa Solis: And talked her story, you know, world champion champion, I mean, and that’s who she is. Um, world champion, Mexican [00:29:00] national team. Just a terrific, terrific ambassador to the sport. And that spot was so critical and just really.
Marissa Solis: Building massive awareness. ’cause it got so many eyeballs all over the world. For sure. And it just started the revolution, right? Um, it was that spot that created the momentum that then got us to LA 28. Um, so
John Kiker: amazing
Marissa Solis: when we became
John Kiker: ministers who don’t know it’s gonna be, it’s gonna be a Olympic sport.
John Kiker: Olympic big sport. Yeah.
Marissa Solis: Um, in LA 28, um, we are in the process of going to Brisbane to. Pitch for that so that we’re in the next Olympics as well. And so it’s, that is a big deal, right? Because people see, start to see a path there to potentially being an Olympic champion. Um, and so how that connects, um, in America to high school sports, right?
Marissa Solis: Um, so important, right, for it to be recognized and legitimized as an official high school sport because absolutely. Once it’s an official sport, it opens the path to NCAA and [00:30:00] scholarships and potentially playing professionally. And so the pipeline for these kids could be huge. And you know, obviously for boys, but.
Marissa Solis: Boy can’t, I mean, I can’t stop speaking about the opportunities that it has for girls. All sorts, for young girls and women, um, to really participate in the sport. And so it’s been, you know, it’s been a real fight to get there. Um, every club is involved and, you know, the communities involved Yep. To make it happen.
Marissa Solis: We are, I think at 15 states official, there’s 19 in pilots, so it’s a very. You know, near possibility that all 50 states will be there.
That would be incredible.
Marissa Solis: Um, and then, you know, with LA 28. Looming. We now have, you know, speaking of extending the calendar, we added the flag championships in July. So for the first time, that was last year.
Marissa Solis: Um, it’s broadcast on ESPN and that’s everything from under 10 all the way to adult. Oh,
wow.
Marissa Solis: So [00:31:00] imagine you’re, you know, 15-year-old. Girl playing, um, you know, playing on national television. Um, that’s awesome. And then the potential two years later to go on and play in the Olympics and, and win a, win a medal.
Marissa Solis: I mean, it’s, it’s just a really, really inspiring thing.
John Kiker: The, what’s interesting about it too is it’s obviously another avenue for. A broader demographic to fall in love with the game, which if they stick with it and they stay with it, you know, there’s a, there’s a, there’s a million examples if you look at front offices of any major sports, like of people who played the sport and then went on Oh, absolutely.
John Kiker: To front office roles. So talk about. I know you guys are putting a huge focus on that across the NFL tools as far as women’s opportunities in the front office.
Marissa Solis: Yeah. I mean, um, there’s, there’s a lot that’s being done, not just the front office, but, you know, coaching position.
Yeah.
Marissa Solis: Um, so all kinds of position for women.
Marissa Solis: Um, we have an incredible program called the Accelerator Program that introduces. Really [00:32:00] talented, um, women leaders to owners across the league. Um, and, you know, really starts to place ’em, whether it is in coaching positions, right? Um, or in the front office. Um, you know, as an executive myself, I mean, I’ve been, I.
Marissa Solis: Recipient of developing development programs and to really understand the business of the league, um, which is, which is really incredible. And so you, we’ve seen the growth of, um, you know, women representation in every aspect of the sport. Um, we have women presidents now women owners, so it’s really exciting, women executives.
Marissa Solis: Um, so yeah, it’s, it’s incredibly exciting and I think. Part, the, the link of from participation all the way to potential ownership. Um, it’s exciting. Yeah.
John Kiker: Very much.
Marissa Solis: Yeah.
John Kiker: So taking it back to storytelling, you obviously, so the NFL to your point, it’s, it’s almost an impossible job because you could tell a million different kinds of stories.
John Kiker: So you’ve seen what’s worked well, [00:33:00] you’ve seen what’s. What’s resonated well for you guys, but as you look around, because you know, you obviously spend a lot of time with PepsiCo, with p and g. As you look around the marketing scape and you, and you see the, the, the stories that brands are telling. When you think about it, what do you like?
John Kiker: If I see one more X one, one more type of story this way, I think I’m just gonna lose my mind because it’s stale or it’s disingenuous, or there’s just way too many of them. What, when you look around, what do you see you like?
Marissa Solis: Yeah, I mean I think, uh, any type of story that is, uh, well first of all, transactional, there’s still a lot of transactional stories out there.
Marissa Solis: Like, Hey, I’ll give you this if you just do that. Um, you know, I think. People see right through that, and especially young people, um, you know, they don’t,
yeah.
Marissa Solis: Um, it, it’s, it’s the death of an influencer, quite frankly, um, in this kind of influencer world that we live in. Yep. If you see right through someone that gets paid to.
Marissa Solis: To push something. I [00:34:00] mean, that’s it. Yeah. You know, it, I think, um, you see a lot of tropes out there, um, still, still, yeah. Uh, on anything, whether it’s, uh, women, the Latino community, young people, um, and that’s just a big note. I, that’s just a big note, right. With so much access to information and data. I think it’s just the onus is on brands to really do their homework and understand deeper motivations and tell human stories, you know, that appeal to much more than the wallet.
Marissa Solis: Um, so that, that’s, that’s I think one big thing, like not transactional, no tropes, um, or just doing, uh. Crazy things for the sake of crazy things. Right. A lot of stunty
Yeah.
Marissa Solis: Kind of stunty things that I’ve seen also, um Yep. That haven’t, haven’t worked. Um,
John Kiker: I can imagine that having worked with the NFL now, [00:35:00] the, the cache that the league has, the fandom that the league has your access as a league to.
John Kiker: Influencers and who, who don’t do it, um, in a transactional way. Like they are born and bred. Bills fans, Rams fans.
Oh yeah.
John Kiker: Whatever fan. Like the, they will almost step up and say, how can I help? Or how can I promote? Um, and there’s such a, a much more genuine feel for that. I think that you guys have access to
Marissa Solis: ways Well, it’s, it’s a very different, it’s a very different model.
Marissa Solis: Yeah. Um, because the value exchange is quite different.
Yeah,
Marissa Solis: it is. It is all about. Access to the game, um, and allowing the creator or the influencer to tell their stories. Yeah. And they are people who are passionately, you know, they’re very passionate about the team or the league or, or, or an aspect of the, of the league.
Marissa Solis: Yeah. Um, you know, if you follow flag. We work a lot, uh, with, with an influencer named Destroying, [00:36:00] um, who is a phenomenal flag ambassador. He was gonna be a player and then I think he did rap for a bit and now he just does these one V one Okay. Flag. Okay. Challenges and goes all, all over the US and he’s just phenomenal.
Marissa Solis: Um, with, with youth and love it. Um. He does it because he loves it. Um, and he has an incredible following, and we give him access to come to all of the big events and Right. You know, do the celebrity flag games and all of these things because, um, he’s, he’s real and he’s authentic.
John Kiker: Again, having the benefit of the brand, having access to that kind of community is, is a gift.
John Kiker: I’m, I’m just glad that you guys are. Taking advantage of it in the right way. That, that, that comes across genuinely, especially, you know, to your point, to very different demographics and broader demographics. So the NFL obviously has, has also has access to, if you think about technology and the way to deliver the game and the way [00:37:00] to experience the game, whether that’s live, whether that’s, um, you know, through NFL films or, or all these different things.
John Kiker: You guys are, are always an experimental bunch, um, when it comes to game presentation and all that. So think about the next few years, what excites you about the most, about what’s on the horizon for you guys and how you deliver the game and how you bring the game?
Marissa Solis: Yeah, I mean, this is probably the thing that gets me the most jazz because the game experience is going to completely transform in the next, I mean.
Marissa Solis: Probably in the next year. It already is transforming, if you think about it. And now with AI and with the tools that we have at our disposal with our streaming partners, um, I mean, it’s gonna be great. Um, you’ve already seen things like alternative cast where we go to Andy’s room and we do a whole toy story game in real time.
Marissa Solis: Um, you know. When we’re streaming games, uh, with Netflix all over the world for Christmas, and we’re about to do it with Amazon as [00:38:00] well this coming year. Um, so those kinds of things are happening. Uh, but I think what I’m most excited about is, um, you know, as AI continues to evolve and change that technology and the ability to personalize the experience mm-hmm.
Marissa Solis: It’s going to be crazy. We just announced a, a partnership with Adobe. Mm-hmm. That’s going to, I think, change the game a lot in the way that we story tell, in the way that we showcase the game. Every single one of our big broadcast media partners is, I. Leveraging that kind of technology so that, you know, you may turn on your app or your, your streaming platform, um, and not only access one game, but you may be able to access, you know, your own dashboard that will have your fantasy players on their, all the stats.
Marissa Solis: Um, what games are coming up, uh, what happened last week, um,
John Kiker: even. In the game moments like where, you know, [00:39:00] the, the, the last couple years they might tell you if, uh, if there was a, an interception, runback for a touchdown. Sometimes they could tell how fast the guy was running. Oh. He just like, oh yeah.
John Kiker: Interesting stuff. Yeah. All
Marissa Solis: those, all those statistics.
John Kiker: Yeah. It just immediately. You know, I, I, I think baseball was, was pretty good about getting a lot of that stuff now, but seeing what the NFL is doing and how they’re, um, you know, looking at percentage of success at a certain play and down in distance and, you know,
Marissa Solis: it’s, it’s really incredible.
Marissa Solis: Um, the, you know, we, we, our partnership with AWS has been a. Amazing. Not only from a stats perspective, and they certainly enhance the broadcast because you are able to call those statistics. Yeah. You know, real time as they’re happening. Um, but think about, you know, even in the realm of. Making the game safer.
Marissa Solis: Yeah. And player health and safety and
Sure.
Marissa Solis: The amount of data that we can collect to help predict, you know, future injury and el and eliminate that. Right. So if we can predict it, we can certainly plan better for it. Design better [00:40:00] equipment. Sure. Um, better plays. And so that’s really powerful stuff and it’s really, really exciting when you see how that technology plays in, in, in that regard.
Marissa Solis: Um, so everything from. Player safety all the way to the fan experience and everything in between, you know, the statistics. Um, it’s, it’s just really, really exciting. It’s gonna bring the game literally to your fingertips. Um. And it, it’s just the be better for the fan. Right? Better for the fan for sure. The
John Kiker: game, for sure.
John Kiker: Well, Marissa, this has been an awesome conversation. I really, um, appreciate your perspective on your career. Going full circle back to this moment as an ambassador and, uh, uh, now we just appreciate your set surround, the NFL congrats to, to you and your success and to, uh, we’re excited to see, uh, the draft next month and.
John Kiker: Um, you know, hopefully the Cowboys are gonna do something this year. We’ll see.
Marissa Solis: We shall see. Yeah. Always surprises. Always good surprises.
John Kiker: Yeah. Well, thank you very much. Appreciate it. [00:41:00]
Marissa Solis: Thank you.
John Kiker: Giant Stories is a production of Medium Giant in our parent company, the Dallas News Corporation. Interested in learning more about how your brand’s story can be better told and sold. Visit medium giant.co or send an email to hello@mediumgiant.co.
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