Sponsorship Proposal: Chick-fil-a, Dallas Cowboys, & Cowboys Stadium - "Jerry World"

Sponsorship Proposal Proposed by: MJM Sports Agency Group Members: Michael Fingado Jay Hendrix Michelle Snyder

TO: Steve Robinson, Chief Marketing Officer of Chick-fil-A, Inc. FROM: The MJM Agency DATE: June 17, 2010 SUBJECT: Sponsorship Proposal for Cowboys Stadium – Dallas, Texas The following document details a proposal for Chick-fil-A, Inc. to enlist as the title sponsor for the Dallas Cowboy’s, Cowboy Stadium, located in Arlington, Texas.

Within this proposal, The MJM Agency has outlined the many benefits that Chick-fil-A would receive, as well as, why both parties would greatly benefit from the partnership.

The investment required of Chick-fil-A denotes a title sponsorship amount of $25 million annually.

Within this proposal, you will find an executive summary, which outlines all of the aspects of the proposed title sponsorship deal. The first sections will describe the history and tradition of the Dallas Cowboys and the Cowboys Stadium, as well as, the mission, goals, and objectives of the property. They will also include a description of the property in the form of figures such as total expected attendance and production experience. The image compatibility and target market section will explain why the partnership will be easily recognized by the public eye and whom the sponsorship will key in on as their favorable target market. The sponsorship benefits will outline all of the benefits and sponsor opportunities that Chick-fil-A would receive. Another section includes the media and promotion plan, which will describe coverage and signage plans.

Finally, the proposal will conclude with plans for sponsorship investment and the impact measurement regarding how Chick-fil-A’s benefits will be measured and evaluated.

The MJM Agency believes that Chick-fil-A is the most favorable title sponsor for the sponsorship of the Dallas Cowboy’s Cowboy Stadium. The partnership would be mutually beneficial for all parties involved.

If you have any questions regarding this sponsorship proposal, please feel free to contact the MJM Agency at any time. We look forward to your consideration in this sponsorship, and are excited about the possibilities of forming a partnership with Chickfil-A as our title sponsor.

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Table of Contents Page Introductory Section Letter of Transmittal Table of Contents Executive Summary

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Historical Background and Associations Section Property Profile Property Description Sponsorship Details Section Compatibility and Strategic Fit Sponsorship Benefits Media and Promotion Plan Sponsorship Investment Impact Measurement

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Conclusion Section Conclusion

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Sources Section Addendum References

19 20-28 29

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Executive Summary The Dallas Cowboy’s Cowboy Stadium is a National Football League multipurpose arena located in Arlington, Texas. The Cowboys are referred to as “America’s Team,” therefore we at the MJM Agency believe that Chick-fil-A, “America’s Best Quick-Service Restaurant,” would be the perfect title sponsor for the Cowboy Stadium. Listed below are the key benefits that Chick-fil-A will receive if they enter a partnership to sponsor the Cowboy Stadium:           

Sponsorship of a stadium that houses an NFL team Facility naming rights changed to Chick-fil-A COWboys Stadium Image association between the “COWboys” Stadium and Chick-fil-A’s famous cow mascot A positive association between “America’s Team” and “America’s Best QuickService Restaurant Sponsorship of an NFL team in the state of Texas, which houses more Chick-fil-A freestanding stores and mall units than another state in the country Sponsorship rights to Super Bowl XLV that will be hosted at Cowboys Stadium in 2011 One luxury suite for use during all events Sixty additional tickets to Dallas Cowboys games Four major, large-sized banners: two on the JumboTron (one on each side) and two on the end zone scoreboards Frequent signage throughout the stadium in the form of banners, signs, and flyers Logo and branding images in all print materials associated with the facility, its events, and teams

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Profile of Cowboys Stadium Cowboys Stadium, which opened on June 30, 2009, is the sports and entertainment industry leader in facility use and size. It is the largest, most technologically advanced entertainment venue in the world. The three million square foot stadium sits on 73 acres of the 140-acre site in Dallas and cost a record $1.3 billion to construct.

Cowboys Stadium was designed by the HKS architectural firm and was constructed by the Manhattan Construction group. The stadium houses the world’s largest HDTV video and replay board. It has a seating capacity of 100,000 patrons while it offers multiple alternatives such as luxury suites, club seating, and standing-room-only sections. Year round, the Cowboys Stadium offers open to the public tours and use of the facility for a variety of events. Jerry Jones, who is the owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, is the principle financier and owner of Cowboys Stadium.

Cowboys Stadium houses many other events outside the Dallas Cowboys football games. The 2010 NBA All-Star game was played there on February 14, 2010, setting an NBA alltime attendance record of 108,713. Cowboys Stadium will play host to the 2011 Super Bowl and the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 2014. To continue with previous tradition, the stadium houses the Texas A&M University and University of Arkansas rivalry game. Beginning with this past January, the Cotton Bowl Classic will continue to be hosted at the Cowboys Stadium until its contract expires in 2020. Cowboys Stadium also hosts concerts, religious ceremonies, high school football, soccer matches, motocross races, and rodeos.

According to Paul Turner, the new Director of Event Operations, the Cowboys Stadium currently does not have a mission statement. Turner claims, “We are working on our mission statement, employee policies, training programs, plans for staffing, parking, and traffic strategies – everything related to service in a state-of-the-art building. We want the entire stadium experience to be unlike any the fans have ever encountered. That’s what our objective is and what we have prepared to implement in the near future.”

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Property Description Cowboys Stadium is located at the corner of 1 Legendary Way and 900 East Randol Mill Road, Arlington, Texas, 76011. The stadium seats more than 90,000 occupants and has over 300 luxury suites – the most of any stadium in the NFL (NorthTexasSuperBowl.com). The Cowboys Stadium will play host to Super Bowl XLV on February 4, 2011.

Cowboys Stadium has five administrative departments of staff: Ownership & Management, Facility & Event Operations, Sales & Marketing, Merchandising, and Legends.

Each department works hand-in-hand to see that each event is carried out from a behind-the-scenes standpoint. When it comes to the everyday operations throughout the stadium, Cowboys Stadium employees over 5,000 workers in its Event Staff & Stewards department. Some of these employees stock, distribute, and sell merchandise while others facilitate customer service centers, tours, and other attractions throughout the stadium (DallasCowboys.com).

Cowboys Stadium is a multi-purpose facility. Through the use of internal assets and benefits, the Cowboys Stadium provides ample opportunities for sponsors to promote their organizations to all patrons in attendance at each given event. These assets that can be put into action may include but are not limited to the following: stadiums naming rights, concessions, NFL licensed products, parking, tickets, guest/star appearances, other sporting and entertainment events/shows and their sponsors, luxury boxes, the audience, announcements via PA and JumboTron, kids club sponsorships, as well as, outward communication including emails, mailing lists, thank you notes and contact information. Other inventory assets that can maximize profitability and sponsor’s viewership and accessibility throughout the city of Dallas, the greater-Dallas area, the state of Texas, and the United States as a whole include media advertisements, outreach program, prestige and honor, goodwill, billboards, and word of mouth. The Cowboys Stadium also has avenues within advertisement such as radio spots, newspaper, television commercials, television game time programming, magazine articles, magazine inserts, new media such as pop-up ads, websites, and mass email, billboards, and flyers to broadcast to all of our potential consumers, sponsors, and partners.

Along with goodwill and prestige, another of the Cowboys Stadium’s important assets includes outreach programs and sponsors. The NFL has two keynote outreach sponsorship deals with their exercise initiative programs NFL Play 60 and NFL Rush. To piggyback off these programs, the Dallas Cowboys have created an exclusive sponsorship deal through PepsiCo, Inc. using Gatorade as its lead product to host Junior page 7

Football Training Camps throughout the year. For more information about the Cowboys and the NFL’s community outreach and health-based programming visit: http://www.dallascowboys.com/community/community_home.cfm.

Currently, the following companies are the Cowboys Stadium and Dallas Cowboys’ official sponsors: Mitsubishi Electronics, Exxon Mobil, AT&T, Kraft, Ford Motor Company, Bank of America, Quicksilver Resources and sister company Quicksilver Gas Services, Miller Brewing Company, Dr. Pepper, the Salvation Army, and PepsiCo, Inc. The following charts identify the seating capacity, average costs per tickets, and the attendance history and figures from the 1993 Dallas Cowboys’ football season until present day:

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Compatibility Cowboys Stadium is a multi-purpose facility that is home to one of the most successful professional sport franchises in the world. Often referred to as “America’s Team,” the Dallas Cowboys have a long-standing tradition that has amassed a loyal following of millions. Cowboys Stadium presents arguably the best presently available opportunity for naming rights of any venue in the United States. With its tremendous size and the notoriety of the Dallas Cowboys as “America’s Team,” it presents a vast opportunity for Chick-fil-A to gain national notoriety in line with its goal to be recognized as “America’s Best Quick-Service Restaurant.” Cowboys Stadium’s goal and brand image is closely tied to that of Chick-fil-A, which is to provide patrons with the best possible overall experience and build recognition as the best in venue in America. The Cowboys' new home beat out Yankee Stadium for the Sports Facility of the Year award given by the SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily. Chick-fil-A has been recognized as America's Best Drive Thru a record-breaking six times by QSR magazine's annual survey of restaurant-chain drive thrus. Cowboys Stadium and Chickfil-A both enjoy a positive winning image that could be furthered even more through this sponsorship opportunity.

Strategic Fit Brand identity and customer match can best describe the fit between Cowboys Stadium and Chick-fil-A. Overall, The MJM Agency has chosen Chick-fil-A as the title sponsor because its tradition, name, prestige, and business foundations are in line with the winning tradition of the Dallas Cowboys. We believe this association will positively reflect on the facility and all that associate with it. The MJM Agency believes that Chickfil-A’s fit with the Cowboys Stadium is a favorable one for both parties. To begin, the name “COWboys” Stadium itself can be linked with Chick-fil-A’s now famous cow mascot. The public eye and advertising campaigns run by Chick-fil-A continually feature one or more of these cows. They have become Chick-fil-A’s “moovers” and shakers alongside the famous Chick-fil-A trademarked logo.

The Chick-fil-A target audience differs from the usual fast food clientele, which includes many teens and children. The market for chicken is skewed towards adults with a higher level of education and income than the hamburger market. Customers have a more active lifestyle and are likely to be in white-collar jobs. Mindful of these demographics, Cowboys Stadium would provide Chick-fil-A a great venue to promote to its target market. page 10

Cowboys Stadium has high visibility throughout the Arlington, Texas area. The stadium itself can house more than 111,000 people at any given time and last year alone it hosted more than 2.7 million people for various events. That is more than Dallas County itself, which has an estimated population of over 2.5 million. With more Chickfil-A restaurants in Texas than any other state, strategically building the brand with Cowboys Stadium is a very sensible option. Cowboys Stadium supports community involvement programs and as the title sponsor Chick-fil-A will be presented with many unique opportunities to reach out to the surrounding community, and in doing so, potential customers. Chick-fil-A’s name and logo will appear in many joint promotions and advertising done on behalf of Cowboys Stadium. The title sponsor logo designed by The MJM Agency, seen below, presents a great strategic fit from a brand image perspective.

Chick-fil-A’s dominate success in the college football arena sparks major interest and fit with the National Football League (NFL). The MJM Agency believes Chick-fil-A’s successful sponsorship with some of college football’s largest universities and its bowl games is a significant stepping-stone towards even greater opportunities, such as this sponsorship with Cowboys Stadium. Furthermore, Super Bowl XLV will be hosted at Cowboys Stadium in 2011, presenting an opportunity to feature both the stadium and Chick-fil-A brand at the premier level second to none. This presents a mutually beneficial strategic fit, which would partner “America’s Best Quick-Service Restaurant” with “America’s Team,” the Dallas Cowboys.

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Sponsorship Benefits As stated previously, we seek to make Chick-fil-A the title sponsor for Cowboys Stadium and the events, such as the Dallas Cowboy football games, that occur at the facility. The naming rights have not been sold to an outside entity as of yet and as a result the stadium and its venue will remain “Cowboys Stadium” indefinitely until a suitable and willing sponsorship is secured. Some potential sponsors suitable to approach include telecommunication companies such as AT&T and Verizon Communications. AT&T already has naming rights at Texas Tech and Verizon may want to use this as an opportunity to directly compete for business and brand awareness in the state of Texas. Naming rights are very significant sources of revenue for a venue and allow companies to become easily recognized with the organization or team they secure naming rights to. Cowboys Stadium presents arguably the best presently available opportunity for naming rights of any venue in the United States. With its tremendous size and the notoriety of the Dallas Cowboys as “America’s Team” it presents a great opportunity for any company looking to gain national notoriety. With this title sponsorship, we will change the name of our facility to the Chick-fil-A COWboys Stadium. For the official logo and stadium naming portraits please refer to the Addendum at the end of the proposal packet.

The title sponsorship offers a luxury suite for Chick-fil-A’s use during all events held at the Chick-fil-A COWboys Stadium. Sixty additional tickets to each home Dallas Cowboy game will be given for Chick-fil-A’s use and its discretion otherwise. As part of this sponsorship, Chick-fil-A will receive four major, large-sized banners, two on the JumboTron (one on each side) and two on the end zone scoreboards. These prime locations provide for maximum viewing from all attendees. Other signage will be placed frequently throughout the stadium in the form of banners, signs, and flyers. The sponsorship also includes logo and branding images in all print materials associated with the facility, its events, and teams. Every time the facility is referred to, Chick-fil-A will be mentioned as well (i.e. “We’d like to welcome you back to the Chick-fil-A COWboys Stadium for tonight’s game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys”).

This approach has proven successful for other companies in the category of beverage and food services, such as “YUM! Brands” who owns KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut (DallasCowboys.com).

The stadium has 3,000 TV monitors for which digital ad space will be sold to sponsors. Along with this advertising space numerous party decks and the naming rights of bars within the stadium will be sold to suitable companies with deep pockets. Dr Pepper and Pepsi have already bought up party decks and Absolut, Maker's Mark and Patron all sponsor bars inside the stadium. Once this sponsorship goes into effect, Chick-fil-A will receive two of these party decks per level throughout the stadium. As part of its media coverage rights, there will be a thirty second clip commercial played every other commercial sets throughout stadium on the closed circuit channels that will associate the Dallas Cowboys, COWboys Stadium, and Chick-fil-A together. page 12

Media and Promotion Plan Cowboys Stadium is host to some of the most prestigious sporting events and concerts in the world. This presents lucrative media and promotional opportunities, which until now have only been obtainable in markets such New York City and Los Angeles. Notable recent events include:  

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NBA All-Star Game where attendance reached 108,713, the largest attendance ever for a basketball game. A league official says he would consider bringing the game back to Cowboys Stadium.

Cowboys Stadium will host tennis matches between Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams and between Andy Roddick and John Isner. The court will be set up in an end zone.

Manny Pacquiao defeated Joshua Clottey in the stadium's first boxing match, which held a crowd of 50,994 spectators.

Professional Bull Riders tour events have been a success at Cowboys Stadium, which may lead to Cowboys Stadium as host to National Finals Rodeo in the near future.

George Strait headlined a concert that filled the stadium with 60,188. The stadium receives rave reviews for its plush appearance

Each of these events received a tremendous amount of coverage from print and broadcast media. Leveraging future media coverage for both Cowboys Stadium and proposed title sponsor Chick-fil-A is of utmost importance to The MJM Agency. This media and promotional plan will target local and national media both in print and broadcast media. The MJM Agency has a proven track record of success at leveraging public relations for clients, such as, Firehouse Subs and Steak ‘n Shake. This promotional plan will outline some of the media connections that The MJM Agency will leverage to provide greater brand awareness for both Cowboys Stadium and Chick-fil-A. Print Media - Articles and Editorials: As the past has shown, events held at Cowboys Stadium attract coverage from several local and national media outlets. Past print media coverage include some of the largest circulation newspapers in the country, such as, The New York Times, Newsday, and Dallas Morning News. Sports specific publications, such as, Sports Illustrated and ESPN the magazine will also be pitched weeks prior to an event. At MJM we have access to contacts at every major publication, especially those in the Dallas area. Some of our main print media contacts that will prove invaluable for Cowboys Stadium and Chick-fil-A include: page 13

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Todd Archer covers the Cowboys football team for the Dallas Morning News.

James McKinley is the Texas area bureau chief for the New York Times. He covers local and regional news.

Mark Godich is senior editor for Sports Illustrated and covers football and college sports. In addition to his current position, he is an NFL editor and Pro Football editor.

Advertising opportunities within any of these publications will be made available, at cost, to the Cowboys Stadium title sponsor.

Television The media plan includes utilizing television as part of the strategy. Each event will have its own licensed broadcaster from a list of pre-negotiated broadcast affiliates that include: FOX, ABC (ESPN), and KTVT/CBS 11. Chick-fil-A will be mentioned accordingly whenever Cowboys Stadium is referred to during a broadcast. (i.e. “We’d like to welcome you back to the Chick-fil-A Cowboys Stadium for tonight’s game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys”). This approach has proven successful for other companies in the category of beverage and food services, such as “YUM! Brands” whom own KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut. Signage/Banners As part of this sponsorship, Chick-fil-A will receive four major, large-sized banners, two on the JumboTron (one on each side) and two on the end zone scoreboards. These prime locations provide for maximum viewing from all attendees.

Other signage will be placed frequently throughout the stadium in the form of banners, signs, and flyers. The sponsorship also includes logo and branding images in all print materials associated with the facility, its events, and teams.

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Sponsorship Investment As Title Sponsor, Chick-fil-A would be the benefactor of both promotional and hospitality benefits. Most notably, Cowboys Stadium’s would become the Chick-fil-A COWboys Stadium.

Promotional Benefits      

Title Sponsor Naming Rights: Chick-fil-A Cowboys Stadium Four large-sized banners o Two on the JumboTron (one on each side) o Two on the end zone scoreboards Name listed in Press Releases Television/Print Advertisements Logo and branding images in all print materials associated with the facility, its events, and teams.

Other signage will be placed frequently throughout the stadium in the form of banners, signs, and flyers.

Hospitality Benefits   

A (35 person) luxury suite for Chick-fil-A’s use during all events Sixty (60) additional tickets to all (non-playoff) home Dallas Cowboy games Right of first refusal (ROFR) for purchase of luxury suite for Super Bowl XLV

Chick-fil-A is asked to pay $25 million annually for the Title Sponsorship. The sponsorship would be extremely valuable to Chick-fil-A. Being associated with Cowboys Stadium and the events that it hosts will bring Chick-fil-A increased awareness on a national level. This Title Sponsorship will complement Chick-fil-A’s growing brand by tapping into new emerging markets around the country that do not yet, but soon will know the Chick-fil-A brand name.

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Impact Measurement Measurement and evaluation of sponsorship benefits is essential for both the sponsor and the property in order to continue to improve sponsorship benefits for all involved. Cowboys Stadium in conjunction with The MJM Agency will measure the many ongoing benefits Chick-fil-A will receive from this sponsorship deal. The MJM Agency has on hand news and media clipping services, and will consult market research expertise from numerous third party firms to better measure the success of the sponsorship. The MJM Agency will use formal polling and new smart polling technologies as ways of detecting even subtle changes in opinion and perception, probing beneath people’s surface opinions to detect not just what they’re really feeling, but why.

As part of the sponsorship Chick-fil-A will be updated quarterly with this market research and progress of the title sponsorship’s impact on Chick-fil-A’s brand awareness and sales. Upon reviewing these impact measurements, any adjustments, if deemed necessary will be made to better serve all parties involved.

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Conclusion The sponsorship proposal outlines an exceptional opportunity for Chick-fil-A. The numerous benefits Chick-fil-A will receive from the title sponsorship of Cowboys Stadium, coupled with the excellent image compatibility and consumer match make this a perfect complement to Chick-fil-A’s sponsorship goals. By agreeing to become the Title Sponsor for Cowboy Stadium, both parties will develop a relationship that will help them reach their respective goals. The MJM Agency is dedicated to making this a lasting and mutually beneficial sponsorship between both Cowboys Stadium and Chick-fil-A.

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Addendum

Chick-fil-A COWboys Stadium logo

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References http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/news.cfm?id=0A2D935E-B8D1-C5C80FDAB58D39070A03 http://www.northtexassuperbowl.com/stadium http://football.ballparks.com/NFL/DallasCowboys/newindex.htm http://stadium.dallascowboys.com Chick-fil-A-Company Fact Sheet http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2380104/Chick-Fil-A http://www.DallasCowboys.com www.lamaroutdoor.com http://www.lamaroutdoor.com/outdoorfiles/Content/ChickFilA.pdf Sports Business Journal http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article.main&articleId=57 264 http://www.truettcathy.com

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